Dunelm Group plc (LON: DNLM) expressed confidence on Thursday that it will conclude the year modestly ahead of what analysts had anticipated. Experts now forecast up to £125 million of pre-tax profit for the company this year.
Dunelm shares jumped about 2% in premarket trading on Thursday and gained another 1% on market open. Including the price action, the stock is now exchanging hands at £13.80 per share. In comparison, it had started the year 2021 at a lower £12.45 per share.
Dunelm to reopen stores in England and Wales on Monday
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Dunelm is scheduled to reopen its 156 sites located in England and Wales on Monday. The other 13 in Scotland resumed trading earlier this week. The home furnishing retailer expects strong demand once the stores reopen.
The British company said its sales in the thirteen weeks that concluded on 27th March came in at £236 million that represents a 17% annualised decline. Digital sales, Dunelm added, accounted for 92% of the total sales versus 22% only in the same period last year.
On a year over year basis, click and collect orders, as per the Syston-based company, made up close to 35% of the total in-shop sales. In the second quarter, Dunlem had posted an 11.8% growth in sales.
Dunelm further highlighted on Thursday that it had £40 million of net cash as of 27th March, compared to the year-ago figure of £36 million in debt, and approved banking facilities worth £175 million.
In separate news from the United Kingdom, lender OSB Group said on Thursday that its earnings fell on fraud-related provisions.
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Chief Executive Nick Wilkinson’s comments on Thursday
CEO Nick Wilkinson commented on the financial update on Thursday and said:
“In a quarter when we were largely unable to open our stores, it has been very encouraging to see the strength of our digital channels which have enabled us to cover over 83 per cent of sales from the same period last year. We are now looking forward to reopening, with colleagues ready to welcome back customers through our doors. We have worked hard to rebuild inventory levels, and our stores are well-stocked across our extensive product range.”
Dunelm performed slightly upbeat in the stock market last year with an annual gain of roughly 7%. At the time of writing, it is valued at £2.79 billion and has a price to earnings ratio of 25.56.
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