Trading Statement

RNS Number : 0157X

DFS Furniture PLC

25 August 2020

 

25 August 2020

THIS STATEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION

DFS Furniture plc

Trading Update

DFS Furniture plc ("DFS" or "the Group"), the UK's leading retailer of living room furniture, provides the following update on recent trading since our previous statement on 14 July 2020.

We have continued to trade strongly both online and in our showrooms, with year-on-year order intake growth over the last six weeks that is equivalent to c. £70m of revenues.  This trading is significantly ahead of our initial expectations and is in addition to our previously announced strong opening order book that will generate a further in year revenue benefit of c.£100m.

We believe that this trading performance reflects a combination of consumers currently spending more on their homes relative to other sectors, latent demand caused by the nationwide lockdown and also a strengthening advantage from our hybrid digital and physical retail offering, which is particularly relevant in this consumer environment. 

The financial year has started strongly, however we do note that significant uncertainty related to COVID-19 on UK consumer confidence and the potential impact of Brexit exists and it is exceptionally difficult to assess the outlook beyond the short term.  While positive trading momentum currently remains we do note that some consumers may be bringing forward spending decisions and this may impact trading later in the financial year. 

Notwithstanding these risks, recent trading and our current momentum does increase our earnings resilience and it has significantly strengthened our financial headroom. Furthermore, the Board continues to have confidence that the business is well-positioned to capitalise on opportunities as its markets recover.

We will provide a further update as part of our full-year results announcement on 24 September 2020.

Enquiries:

DFS (enquiries via Tulchan)

Tim Stacey (Group CEO)

Mike Schmidt (Group CFO)

Phil Hutchinson (Investor Relations)

Tulchan

James Macey-White

Jessica Reid

Amber Ahluwalia

[phone]

[e-mail]

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014. The person responsible for this announcement is Mike Schmidt, Group CFO.

About DFS Furniture plc

The Group is the clear market leading retailer of living room furniture in the United Kingdom. We design, manufacture, sell and deliver to our customers an extensive range of furniture products. The business operates an omnichannel retail network of living room furniture showrooms and web sites in the United Kingdom and other European countries, trading through four leading brands. The Group has been established and developed gradually over 50 years of operating history. We attract customers through our substantial and continued investment in nationwide marketing activities and our reputation for high quality products and service, breadth of product ranges and price points and favourable consumer financing options.

 

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