A very challenging period has led to DFS posting a £1.7m pre-tax loss for the 53 weeks to 30 June 2024 as compared with the £29.7m profit for the prior year.
The business cited record low market demand and the impact of the Red Sea shipping disruption causing it to defer sales and profits to future periods. It had also incurred costs of £6.5m from a realignment of its manufacturing operations.
Tim Stacey, group CEO, DFS said: “Despite the challenges that the business has seen, we are optimistic for the future and see signs that market growth could soon return. We expect recent improvements in housing transaction data and strengthening consumer balance sheets to lead to increased upholstery market demand across the FY25 financial year. In addition, thanks to the success we have had growing our gross margin and improving our operational efficiency, we expect to deliver profits in line with market consensus, weighted to the second half.”
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