LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Homeware retailer Dunelm said on Thursday that full-year profit was set to be in line with consensus expectations as it hailed a "good" fourth-quarter performance.
In the 13 weeks to 28 June, sales rose 4% to £415m. Dunelm said the period included its summer sale, during which both full-priced and discounted products performed well.

In terms of categories, furniture continued to perform particularly strongly, the retailer said. Outdoor furniture and decorative outdoor accessories sold very well, especially in the warmer periods at the start and end of the quarter.

Full-year sales rose 3.8% to £1.77bn, with digital sales accounting for 40% of the total, up three percentage points on the year.

"Whilst we are yet to see sustained recovery in consumer confidence, our customers continue to respond to the relevance of our product offer and our fast and convenient channels," Dunelm said.

The group said full-year pre-tax profit is expected to be in line with consensus expectations of £210m.

Chief executive Nick Wilkinson said: "We've had a good final quarter with continued growth and further strategic progress. Customers responded well to offers across our categories in our summer sale, and we saw strong demand for our summer Living ranges, particularly as customers focused on their outdoor spaces during the warmer weather.

"Amidst muted consumer confidence, we are not standing still waiting for a recovery. We are instead focused on delivering relevance to our customers, to help build greater trust in the quality, value and breadth of our offer, harnessing our unique strengths as a multi-category specialist. As we progress our ambitions to gain further market share, we remain confident in our ability to unlock our full potential as the Home of Homes."

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