REG - DFS Furniture PLC - Trading Statement

DFS FurnitureAnnouncement

13/01/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 5990M  DFS Furniture PLC  13 January 2023

13 January 2023

 

Immediate release

 

DFS Furniture plc ("DFS" and the "Group")

 

Interim Trading Update

 

Good start to the winter sale trading period

Profit guidance reiterated

 

DFS Furniture plc, the market leading retailer of living room and upholstered
furniture in the United Kingdom, today announces a trading update for the
twenty six week financial reporting period to 25 December 2022, together with
an update on recent trading.

 

Summary:

·      +10.6% order intake growth* relative to the FY19 pre pandemic
period

·      Strong second quarter performance supported by further market
share gains

·      Good start to the important winter sale trading period

·    Reiterate our mid case profit guidance of £36m profit before tax and
brand amortisation (range £30m-£40m)

 

Trading overview

Group order intake for the period* was +10.6% compared to the pre pandemic
FY19 period (-4.8% Vs FY22).

 

Following low market wide demand levels at the start of the financial year,
trading improved in the second quarter* with order intake growth relative to
FY19 increasing to +16.3% (+18.8% Vs FY22). We continue to observe further
market share gains based on our proprietary Barclaycard data set.

 

Group gross sales, which are recognised on delivery of orders to customers,
are up +9.6% on the FY19 comparator period (-1.1% Vs FY22).

 

Outlook

Current order intake performance remains strong, with the important winter
sale trading period starting well. Whilst the macroeconomic and consumer
outlook remains hard to predict, our mid case FY23 guidance remains unchanged
at £36m profit before tax and brand amortisation, with the range narrowing to
£30m-£40m.

 

This assumes the improved momentum we have seen in order intake continues
through the second half, alongside delivery of planned margin improvements and
normalisation of the order bank which remains elevated at the end of the first
half due to the weighting of order intake. Profit delivery will be second half
weighted with first half profits expected to be in mid-single digit £
millions.

 

We remain committed to our strategy to lead furniture retailing in the digital
age. Our scale, trusted brands, innovation, final mile two-man logistics
platform, digital capabilities and integrated retail strategy give us
significant advantages in our market and will allow us to maintain our track
record of market share gains whilst driving attractive returns for our
shareholders.

 

The Group will announce its interim results for the period ending 25 December
2022 on 16 March 2023.

 

Comment from Tim Stacey, Group Chief Executive

 

"The Group has traded well through the second quarter and the start of the
important winter sale trading period. Whilst the macroeconomic environment
remains challenging and hard to predict, we reiterate our full year profit
guidance supported by the positive current trading momentum.

 

As always, we continue to invest for the long term success of the business, to
further strengthen our market leading position and with our established
platforms, scale and expertise we believe we are well set up for growth over
the medium term"

 

*Order intake growth for the period calculated using weeks 1-25 of the
financial period (and for the second quarter using weeks 14-25) to remove the
impact of the different number of days in each financial year falling into the
post Christmas sale trading period. International and Sofa Workshop have been
excluded from the order intake and gross sales growth calculations given the
closure of these operations.

 

Enquiries:

 

DFS (enquiries via Tulchan)

Tim Stacey (Group CEO)

John Fallon (Group CFO)

Phil Hutchinson (Investor Relations)

investor.relations@dfs.co.uk

 

Tulchan

James Macey-White

Jessica Reid

+44 (0)20 7353 4200

dfs@tulchangroup.com (mailto:dfs@tulchangroup.com)

 

About DFS Furniture plc

 

The Group is the clear market-leading retailer of living room furniture in the
United Kingdom. Our Group purpose is to bring great design and comfort into
every living room, in an affordable, responsible and sustainable manner.  We
operate an integrated physical and digital retail network of living room
furniture showrooms and web sites in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland,
trading through our leading brands, DFS, Sofology and Dwell. We attract
customers through our targeted and national marketing activities and our
reputation for high quality products and service, breadth of product offer and
favourable consumer financing options.  We fulfil orders for our exclusive
product ranges through our own three UK finished goods factories, and through
manufacturing partners located in the UK, Europe and Far East, and delivered
with care through our expert final-mile delivery service "The Sofa Delivery
Company Limited"

 

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