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DFS Furniture PLC on Thursday said the macroeconomic outlook remains uncertain, as it reported a return to profit in the financial year recently ended. The Doncaster, England-based furniture retailer swung to a pretax profit of £32.9 million in the 52 weeks to June 29 from a £1.7 million loss a year prior. Operating profit increased to £71.1 million from £41.3 million. Gross sales increased 5.8% to £1.39 billion from £1.31 billion with revenue up 4.4% to £1.03 billion from £987.1 million. Revenue growth was lower than the reported order intake increase of 8.7% due to investment in interest free credit offers to drive demand in the weak market as well as the impact of Easter falling later in the year and a shift in customer orders to ranges with longer lead times. Underlying basic earnings per share ballooned to 9.2 pence from 1.5p a year ago. Comparative figures are for the 53 weeks to June 24, 2024. DFS described its performance as ‘resilient’, but said the broader business environment remains uncertain. The company did not recommend a final dividend, noting while its financial position has strengthened, current leverage remains outside the target range of 0.5 to 1.0 times. DFS paid no interim dividend for the recent year either, nor a final dividend for the previous year. Its last dividend was a 1.1p interim dividend for financial 2024. ‘We will continue to focus on reducing our debt levels, maintaining strong discipline on capital investment and bringing our leverage into our target range,’ DFS added. A decision will be made at the half-year financial 2026 results on the payment of an interim dividend based on profit and leverage outturn for the full year and future outlook, DFS said. Trading through the first 12 weeks of the new financial year is in line with expectations, and DFS said it is ‘comfortable’ with company compiled consensus for profit before tax and brand amortisation of £39.4 million in financial 2026. DFS said it is planning for profit growth in financial 2026, despite ‘our expectation for a subdued market in the near term, driven by our compelling customer proposition, further gross margin progression and continued cost discipline.’ Longer term DFS remains confident in achieving its medium term £1.4 billion full year revenue and 8% pretax profit targets. Shares in the company were up 1.7% at 152.50 pence in London on Thursday morning. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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