Dunelm reports strong sales but gross margin down

9th Jul 2015 07:29

Homeware retailer Dunelm Group reported strong sales in its yearly result due to a good summer performance.The FTSE 250 listed firm said total sales for the 52 weeks to 27 June to were up by 12.7% to £822.7m.The company said in-store like for like sales grew by 3.5% benefiting from a strong summer sale performance, and continued growth in particular of its sales of curtains and blinds.The company noted gross margin was down by about 70bps on the period, which means margins are expected to be 20bps below the year before.Pre-tax profit for the year to 27 June was forecast at between £119 -123m.Dunelm Group Chief executive Will Adderley added the company had good like for like growth in the final quarter of the financial year. "With a newly strengthened senior team, a recently upgraded website, a sound pipeline of new stores and an ongoing programme of capital and revenue investments in place, I am confident that we will continue to deliver further growth across all our channels going forward," he said in a statement. The company has hired Go-Ahead Group chief financial officer Keith Down to succeed David Stead as CFO early next year.