Dunelm FY profit, sales rise despite 'softer' market

(Sharecast News) - Homeware retailer Dunelm reported a rise in full-year profit and sales on Wednesday despite a "softer" market. In the 52 weeks to 29 June, pre-tax profit increased 6.6% to £205.4m, while sales rose 4.1% to £1.7bn.

Dunelm pointed to growth across both stores and online, with digital sales now comprising 37% of total sales, up from 36% a year earlier.

The retailer said customers responded well to its "relevance, value and choice" with sales growth driven by a 6.2% rise in volumes.

Despite the growth, Dunelm said it continues to see "a challenging consumer environment" and the timing of a sector recovery remains uncertain. It said sales growth in FY25 is expected to be driven by volume and further market share gains.

Chief executive Nick Wilkinson said: "This strong set of results is testament to the hard work of our adaptable and committed colleagues. In a period when consumers faced inflationary pressures and competing demands for their disposable income, we have continued to raise the bar on the relevance and value we offer at Dunelm.

"The continued delivery of volume-driven sales growth and further share gains in this softer market underlines this, and the strength and resilience of our business model."

Wilkson said that while the company is gradually seeing improvements to economic indicators, it is yet to see a "meaningful change" in consumer spending habits in its markets.

"Against this backdrop, and compared to a strong first quarter last year, we have made a solid start to FY25. Our plans give us a clear pathway to reaching our next milestone of 10% market share in the medium term, and we remain very confident in our ability to deliver long-term sustainable growth as a result," he said.