17th Mar 2026 10:58
(Alliance News) - Wickes Group PLC on Tuesday reported plans for a new buyback programme, as it posted annual revenue and profit gains.
The Watford, England-based home improvement retailer reported GBP48.7 million in pretax profit for the financial year that ended December 27, more than doubling from GBP23.2 million a year prior.
Driving this advance was a 5.9% improvement in its top line, as revenue grew to GBP1.64 billion from GBP1.54 billion.
Wickes noted continued strong volume growth in Retail, as revenue improved 6.5%, with momentum continuing in Design & Installation as revenue grew 4.4%.
Wickes declared a final dividend of 7.3 pence per share, flat with the prior year. This brought the total dividend for the financial year to 10.9p, also flat.
The company also announced a new GBP10 million buyback programme, following the completion of its GBP20 million scheme in December.
Looking ahead, Wickes reported plans to start increasing its dividend as profit grows, within its dividend range cover of 1.5-2.5x.
The company said trading in the first 11 weeks of 2026 has seen continued volume growth across indoor projects and Design & Installation.
Wickes said that continued investment in its growth levers positions it will for 2026. The company added that it is comfortable with consensus expectations for adjusted pretax profit for financial 2026 of GBP57.6 million. This would be up 15% from GBP49.9 million achieved in financial 2025.
Shares in Wickes were up 2.6% at 220.50 pence on Tuesday morning in London.
"This has been another year of strong progress against our strategy. We've achieved volume-driven growth across all three areas of the business, as the strength of our proposition continues to resonate with customers. I would like to thank all of my colleagues for their continued hard work and commitment," said Chief Executive David Wood.
"Given the strength of investment returns from our proven store refit and new store rollout strategy, we have today announced the decision to accelerate our investment for future growth. This takes our ambition to reach 300 stores nationwide - creating over 2,000 new jobs as we bring Wickes' distinctive offer to new locations up and down the UK."
By Christopher Ward, Alliance News reporter
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