Dunelm raises profit forecast after weather helps boost sales
Furniture firm Dunelm has raised expectations for the year after strong sales growth in recent months driven by poor weather.
The company said unseasonably favourable weather had boosted like-for-like growth in May and June as it continued to defy the UK’s gloomy retail sector.
Shares in Dunelm climbed more than five per cent as the company’s latest profits boost further buoyed investors.
Read more: Dunelm set to beat full-year expectations after sales boost
In a trading update, the board said it now expected pre-tax profit for the full year to 29 June to be £124-126m, up from the £102m it reported for 2018 and ahead of expectations.
Dunelm added that a weak comparative period last year had also contributed to the strong growth.
The homewares group previously raised expectations in April after higher-than-expected sales in the first three months of the year – like-for-like revenue was up 12.5 per cent to £264.6m.
Read more: Tesco and Dunelm defy retail gloom
Earlier this year the home furnishing retailer reported profit and revenue climbed in the first six months of the financial year but also warned its outlook was “cautious” due to Brexit uncertainty.
The firm said it had set aside just under £2m for Brexit stockpiling ahead the UK’s original departure date of 29 March.
“What do consumers spend on if they’re not eating out of jetting off on holiday? Curtains, bedding and other household accoutrements, according to Dunelm,” Fidelity International associate director Emma-Lou Montgomery said.
“The dismal summer weather so far has also encouraged stay-at-homes to beautify their nests and given Dunelm, the self-styled ‘home of homes’, good like-for-like growth, in May and June in particular,” she added.