10th Jan 2019 08:51
LONDON (Alliance News) - DFS Furniture PLC on Thursday reported a good sales performance in the first five months of the year but kept its annual expectations unchanged amid weak consumer confidence.
Additionally, DFS said that after six years with the company Chief Financial Officer Nicola Bancroft has informed the company of her desire to leave her role. While the company conducts a succession process, Mike Schmidt, currently chief development officer, will become interim CFO with effect from April 1.
For the five months to December 30, the furniture retailer reported a 10% surge in adjusted gross sales despite the widely-reported "challenging consumer environment". On a reported basis, gross sales grew by 29% against the same period a year ago.
However, despite the strong trading performance, the company said it "remains cautious" amid the ongoing challenges of the retail sector, as it backed its full-year expectations.
"We are mindful of the broader political and economic uncertainty and the further risk this may pose to consumer confidence and lead times for the proportion of our made-to-order products that we source overseas," DFS said.
It added: "It is worth reiterating that the group has historically capitalised on any adverse trading conditions to build our market position and we continue to believe that our cash generation and long-term growth prospects will drive attractive returns for our shareholders."
At the start of the week, fellow furniture retailing peer Dunelm Group PLC also struck a cautious tone despite reporting revenue growth in the first half of the year.
Dunelm reported total revenue growth, for the 26 weeks to December 29, of 1.2% on the prior year, with like-for-like sales up 6.9%. However, citing similar reasons to DFS, Dunelm said it "remains cautious" about its outlook for the full-year.
DFS expects to publish its interim results on March 14.
Shares in DFS were trading up 0.7% at 206.50 pence each on Thursday.
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