DFS first half earnings rise, dividend lifted

DFS Furniture reported a 12.3% rise in first half core earnings as sales grew and the retailer hiked its dividend.

In the 26 weeks to the end of January, underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose to £31m from £27.6m in the same period the year before as group sales increased 7% to £461.3m.

Free cash flow was up 7.1% to £37.7m and the furniture retailer lifted its interim dividend by 12.9% to 3.5p.

Chief executive officer Ian Filby said: “I am pleased to report continued good sales growth through the first half of our financial year, reflecting the success of our growth initiatives and the current health of the furniture market environment.

Given broadly stable general macro-economic trends in the UK, we have confidence that our strong competitive position and strategic initiatives mean that the group is well placed to sustain its record of sales growth, market share capture and cash generation over the year as a whole."

The group said its growth strategy was on track, with two new DFS stores opened in the UK and Republic of Ireland in the period, Sofa Workshop and Dwell performing well and a second store opened in the Netherlands.