Sofa retailer DFS has benefited from the lockdown trend for home improvements, with sales and profits jumping in the first half.
The chain said revenue rose 17.3% to £572.6 million in the six months to December, and pretax profits increased by £56.2 million to £72.1 million.
The company added that the order bank is currently over £65 million higher in revenue terms than the prior year equivalent date. Growth has come despite disruption from store closures at various points due to Covid-19 lockdowns.
Chief executive Tim Stacey said: “Our business has proven to be resilient throughout the period despite showroom closures and a significant amount of external disruption in our supply chains.”
The boss added: “The homeware market has performed relatively well during this pandemic compared to other retail and leisure categories.”
He said: “We have observed strong levels of pent-up demand upon re-opening our showrooms after the previous lockdowns, with the vast majority of "lost" sales during enforced showroom closures being re-captured in subsequent weeks and months.”
‘Non essential’ retailers are set to welcome customers back to stores from April 12.
