DFS can put its feet up after sales boost

NEWLY-listed furniture retailer DFS has seen a sales boost in their half year results after less than a month on the stock exchange.

Group sales for the first half to January 31 rose to £431.2m from £390.1m, a 10.5% increase.

However the firm also made a pretax loss of £14.4m for their results to January 31, only slightly down from last year.

Doncaster-based DFS employs 3,500 people and has been opening new stores in a period of expansion, with their first store in the Netherlands as well as a new York branch.

They also saw a jump in web sales, which represent 10.9% of group revenue compared to 9.7% in the same period last year.

DFS chairman Richard Baker said: “I am delighted to see a strong performance in our first set of results as a new public company.

“Our dedication to creating and making quality sofas that every home loves and can afford, combined with maintaining the culture of a family business, continues to be at the heart of our success.”

DFS chief executive officer Ian Filby said:”Our recent IPO strengthened our financial position and provides an excellent platform from which to fulfil our vision of taking DFS from being a great British business to a world class business.

“Our continued momentum in the first half of the current financial year has built on the strong performance of the second half last year to deliver a record last twelve months’ result for the Group.

“Although our performance will be measured against stronger comparatives in the second half, we are confident that DFS will deliver in line with market expectations for the current year and enjoys excellent prospects for long term profitable growth as one of the UK’s best-known brands, a major British manufacturer and the country’s leading retailer of upholstered furniture.”