DFS says it is on track to deliver its 2021/2022 profits forecast after trading continued to be strong.
In June it said strong Q4 orders carried into 2021/2022 would help it see profits of £105m, and nothing has changed it told shareholders.
‘Order intake has also remained strong in the current financial year to date, well ahead of our previous scenario of +7% growth on FY19, resulting in an order bank that continues to grow and which in absolute terms is very significantly ahead of normal levels. This order intake provides significant resilience, and confidence in our outlook,’ it says.
‘However the constraining factor on our reported short-term financial performance will be our pace of conversion of the order bank, which depends on both our supplier partner manufacturing capacity and also the capacity of our proprietary logistics operations.
‘We already have increased output capacity significantly in FY21. We continue to strengthen our operations, increasing warehouse capacity and resourcing levels, to meet customer demand. Notwithstanding this, it should be recognised that the short-term operational environment continues to be exceptionally uncertain and difficult, given well-reported logistics disruption, cost inflation pressures and unplanned Covid absences. We believe that we have the right plans in place to mitigate these impacts, underpinned by our scale, operating experience and long-standing relationships, and we are focused on delivering good customer service, protecting our colleagues and creating long-term value.’
