LONDON (Reuters) -British homewares retailer Dunelm said on Wednesday its full-year profit was expected to be “materially ahead” of market expectations after a record performance in the 13 weeks to Christmas.
The company reported sales of 407 million pounds ($555 million) for its second quarter, 13% higher than a year ago and 26% higher than two years ago, which it said reflected “particularly encouraging growth from its stores”.
Dunelm, which has 176 stores and an online operation, said higher full-price sales of seasonal ranges helped boost margins by 160 points in the quarter.
Chief Executive Nick Wilkinson said: “Whilst there are several macro uncertainties to be navigated, we feel well placed to continue to deliver profitable growth across all channels and grow market share.”
The company said that as long as there was no significant new COVID-19 related disruption it expected its full-year pretax profit to be materially ahead of market expectations.
Analysts expect its pretax profit on average to come in at 181 million pounds, according to a company-compiled consensus.
($1 = 0.7335 pounds)
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Kate Holton)
