DFS raises profit outlook as it names new CFO
DFS Furniture has posted a 2.3% rise in group order intake for the first half of its financial year and upgraded its profit expectations.
In the 26 weeks to 28 December, both its DFS and Sofology brands contributed to the uplift.
Underlying pre-tax profit before brand amortisation is expected to be £30 million to £31 million in the period, up £13 million to £14 million year-on-year. Gross sales, which are recognised on delivery of orders, are also expected to be up, rising by around 8.7%.
Subscribe to TRBTim Stacey, DFS group chief executive, said: “Our three key enablers of scale and vertical integration, utilising data and harnessing our unique culture are strengthening our market leading proposition and driving order intake across both DFS and Sofology in a broadly flat market.
“We have continued to make good progress growing our gross margins and managing our cost base effectively. As a result, I am pleased to report an upgrade to our full year profit expectations following a strong first half performance.”
DFS is now expecting its full year underlying pre-tax profit before brand amortisation to come in between £43 million to £50 million, which is ahead of the current consensus of £41 million.
The company said its important winter sale trading period has started in line with expectations.
Looking ahead, Stacey added: “I am confident that the business is well positioned to continue delivering against our strategy and we remain committed to achieving our medium term targets of £1.4 billion revenue and 8% PBT margin and delivering attractive returns for our shareholders as the market recovers.”
While announcing its results, DFS confirmed that it has appointed Dominique Highfield as is new chief financial officer, Currently chief financial officer at Bloom and Wild, she previously held senior finance and operational roles at Purplebricks, Pentland and Amazon. She is due to join the business in May.
