Dunelm FY profit, revenue hit by store closures

(Sharecast News) - Homewares retailer Dunelm reported a drop in full-year profit and revenue on Thursday as it took a hit from the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent closure of its stores.
In the year to 27 June, pre-tax profit fell 13.3% to £109.1m on revenue of £1.06bn, down 3.9% from the previous year. Dunelm said sales were impacted by the store closure period in the final months of the year.

Before Covid, total revenue for the eight months to February was up 6.8%, with like-for-like stores growing at 2.5%. Online sales performed particularly well, the company said, with growth of 50.5% for the full year, and 32.7% for the eight months to February.

Dunelm said recent trading has been strong, with total year-on-year sales growth of 59% in July and 24% in August, partly thanks to pent-up demand and the timing of its Summer sale and partly due to a resilient homewares market.

The group did not declare a final dividend for the year to maintain cash in the business to mitigate the risk of any further enforced store closures. However, in the absence of any further material impact from the coronavirus, it expects to declare an interim dividend in February 2021.

Chief executive officer Nick Wilkinson said growth in the first two months of the new financial year has been "significantly" ahead of the group's expectations.

"Our customers have adapted quickly to shopping safely in our mainly out-of-town superstores and we continue to see strong growth in our home delivery offer.

"Whilst the year to date performance has been materially ahead of our initial expectations, it is very difficult to provide any meaningful guidance on the future outlook given the uncertainty in the wider economy and the potential impact of further regional or national lockdowns. However, we remain confident in our ability to adapt to the environment and are well positioned to continue to grow market share and help even more customers create a home they love."

At 1000 BST, the shares were down 2.5% at 1,427p.