// DFS half-year sales jumps 17.3% to £572.6m
// Pre-tax profit for the same period came in at £76.5m, compared to £16.6m in the year prior
// DFS said sales were bolstered by online orders surging 66.2%
DFS has revealed bumper half year results as more people splashed out home furniture as a result of pent-up demand from nationwide lockdown and stay at home orders.
For the six months to December 27, the furniture retailer posted a 17.3 per cent increase in group revenue to £572.6 million.
This meant underlying pre-tax profit came in at £76.5 million for the half-year period, compared to £16.6 million in the same period in the previous year.
READ MORE: DFS confident for H1 results after “resilient” Q2
On a reported basis, pre-tax profit increased by £56.2 million to £72.1 million.
DFS said revenue excluding its Sofa Workshop fascia climbed by 18.7 per cent to £567.5 million, as the retailer benefited from pent-up demand following the first lockdown in spring last year and an acceleration in consumer spending towards the home.
It also said online revenue was strong, rising by 66.2 per cent year-on-year.
DFS added that its order bank was currently over £65 million higher in revenue terms than the prior year, with a £200 million higher order bank at Christmas time, providing resilience through the current lockdown.
“This strong first half profit and cash flow performance is a true reflection of the supreme efforts put in by our teams right across the group since the start of the pandemic,” DFS chief executive Tim Stacey said.
!I am hugely grateful to every colleague for their constant focus on the safety, health and wellbeing of all their colleagues and also our customers.
“Our business has proven to be resilient throughout the period, despite showroom closures and a significant amount of external disruption in our supply chains.
“The investments we’ve made in our digital channels have generated exceptional revenue growth.
“Consequently our order bank remains well above normal levels and, subject to showrooms reopening by April 12, our central planning scenario is for an expected full year profit before tax outcome of approximately £105 million, with further benefits to be realised in next year’s financial results.”
He added: “We expect to see a good level of activity in the home market as Covid-19 restrictions ease and, having accelerated the execution of our strategy and grown our market share, we are well set for future growth.”
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