Wickes Group PLC on Thursday said it remains on track to meet market expectations after sales growth accelerated in the second half of the financial year.
The Watford, England-based home improvement retailer said sales rose 6.3% on-year to £788 million in the six months to December 27, picking up speed from 5.6% growth in the financial first half.
On a like-for-like basis sales growth also ticked higher to 5.3% in the second half on-year from 4.5% in the first half.
For the financial year as whole, revenue rose 5.9% to £1.64 billion from the year prior, or by 4.9% LFL.
As a result, Wickes expects adjusted pretax profit for the financial year to December 27 to be within the consensus forecast range of £46.8 million to £50.7 million.
This would be as much as 16% higher than £43.6 million adjusted pretax profit that Wickes reported in the 52 weeks to December 28, 2024.
Shares in Wickes rose 3.8% to 233.50 pence each in London on Thursday.
By division, Retail sales rose 6.2% in the second half to £574 million from the year prior, or by 5.1% LFL, taking full-year revenue to £1.21 billion, up 6.5%.
This was driven by a ‘continued increase in volumes, in a mildly deflationary pricing environment’.
TradePro ‘continued to outperform’, with second half sales up 8% year-on-year, Wickes noted.
Design & Installation revenue grew 6.9% in the second half to £214 million, compared to the prior year, taking full-year sales to £427 million, up 4.4%.
Wickes said its balance sheet remains strong, with net cash at the year end of £92 million, supported by a healthy order book in Design & Installation, as well as the phasing of some capital investment projects.
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