// DFS underlying profit before tax up 31.1% to £50.2m in the pro-forma 52 weeks to June 30
// Profit before tax in the 48 Weeks to June 30 down 13.1% year-on-year to £22.4m
// The furniture retailer made good progress since launching its new strategy in March
DFS has had a “good trading performance” thanks to the progress made since the launch of its new strategy.
In the pro-forma 52 weeks to June 30, underlying profit before tax increased by 31.1 per cent to £50.2 million, compared with the 52 week period to July 28 2018.
However, profit before tax in the 48 weeks to June 30 decreased year-on-year by 13.1 per cent to £22.4 million.
READ MORE:
The furniture retailer also reported like-for-like sales growth “across all brands and channels” – with pro forma gross sales up 14.4 per cent, and pro forma revenue up 14.4 per cent.
In the 48-week period, both gross sales and revenues increased by 3.5 per cent.
In March 2019, DFS presented a new strategy for the group that was designed to prepare it to navigate an “uncertain trading environment” and benefit in the long term.
“Our trading performance for the last financial year was good overall, as we continue to execute our new strategy to lead sofa retailing in the digital age,” DFS group chief executive Tim Stacey said.
“Like-for-like growth across all brands and all channels, especially online and in Sofology, has enabled us to grow our market share and as we celebrate DFS’s 50th anniversary, we believe that our group is well positioned for the long term.
“Recent trading conditions have reflected the increasingly uncertain political and economic
backdrop and we have seen reduced levels of footfall across all our brands, which we attribute to lower levels of consumer confidence and housing transactions, the two key drivers of the upholstery market.”
Despite the rise in profits, DFS said it faced a “particularly uncertain UK consumer market” in the run up to the UK’s departure from the EU and beyond.
While DFS is not immune to the impact of the uncertainty, the board said the retailer was well-positioned to manage short-term market uncertainties and had a confident outlook.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
