DFS reports strong order performance in first half

Large-format furniture retailer DFS reported a “strong order intake performance” across its first half in a trading update on Wednesday, with the important post-Christmas period starting well.

The London-listed company, known for its persistent promotion of sales and discounts, said gross sales were up 10% on the 2019 pre-pandemic comparator for the 26 weeks ended 26 December, with delivery throughput accelerating across the half-year.

It said that, based on “reasonable delivery assumptions” in the second half, its scenarios for full-year profit before tax and amortisation remained unchanged.

The company’s order bank was described as strong going into the second half, and was still about £200m higher than pre-pandemic levels on a revenue basis.

It said its order bank, combined with its current trading momentum, was expected to generate incremental profits in the 2023 financial year.

DFS described its financial position as “robust”, with closing net bank debt excluding capitalised leases at the half-year expected to be between £65m and £70m, following some working capital normalisation.

“While the market remains hard to predict, we believe our scale, brand strength and integrated retail strategy will allow us to drive market share gains ahead of the competition,” said group chief executive officer Tim Stacey.

“Looking ahead we will continue to invest in our digital platforms and our showrooms, our delivery network, our UK manufacturing capacity, and with expansion into other home categories, we are well positioned to succeed.”

DFS said given its financial position and positive outlook, it would share its future investment and special capital return plans at its interims and investor event on 15 March.

At 1024 GMT, shares in DFS Furniture were up 5.37% at 255p.