DFS Furniture Shares Gain As Order Intake Remains Strong

DFS Furniture (LON: DFS) shares are up 1.5% on Friday after the company released a trading update for the twenty-six weeks to December 25, which was in line with expectations.

The furniture retailer's order intake grew 10.6% compared to the pre-pandemic FY19 period but fell -4.8% compared to the previous year's period.

The company said that at the start of the year, demand across the market was low, but trading improved in the second quarter, with order intake growth relative to FY19 increasing to +16.3%.

In addition, it continues to observe further market share gains based on its proprietary Barclaycard data set.

Group gross sales for the period, recognised on delivery of orders to customers, increased 9.6% compared to FY19 but fell -1.1% compared to last year.

“The Group has traded well through the second quarter and the start of the important winter sale trading period,” said DFS Chief Executive Tim Stacey.

“Whilst the macroeconomic environment remains challenging and hard to predict, we reiterate our full-year profit guidance supported by the positive current trading momentum,”
he added.

The company explained that order intake performance remains strong, with the critical winter sale trading period starting well. As a result, its mid-case FY23 guidance remains unchanged at £36 million profit before tax and brand amortisation, with the range narrowing to £30m-£40m.

DFS will announce its interim results for the period ending December 25 on March 16, 2023.