Wickes delivers 'record' H1 sales performance

Home improvement retailer Wickes has delivered a "record" first-half sales performance, with the group making further market share gains against "a challenging macro backdrop".

Wickes said on Thursday that interim revenues were up 1.3% year-on-year at £822.3m against strong prior year comparatives, while like-for-like sales were up 0.8% year-on-year and 23.4% on a three-year basis.

Adjusted pre-tax profits slipped from £46.5m a year ago to £45.6m in the six months ended 2 July, while reported pre-tax profits fell from £35.7m to £33.5m, primarily reflecting IT separation costs.

Wickes, which hiked its interim dividend from 2.1p to 3.6p, did note that it had seen a recent "softening" of the DIY market from the "very high levels of demand" experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, while Wickes said the macroeconomic environment remained "uncertain", it was confident that its model was the right one to continue outperforming the market and reaffirmed guidance for full-year adjusted pre-tax profits of £72.0m-82.0m.

Chief executive David Wood said: "This was a half in which we achieved record sales, as customers continued to be attracted to our market-leading value, choice, and availability.

"Looking ahead, we remain confident that our uniquely balanced business model, coupled with our market-leading value, leaves us well-positioned within a large and growing home improvement market."

As of 0840 BST, Wickes shares were up 5.54% at 122.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com