Weather aids results for homewares firm Dunelm

Homewares retailer Dunelm has thanked favourable weather for helping drive more customers into its stores and contributing to a near 25 per cent jump in revenue in the first quarter.

The company’s results showed that like-for-like sales grew 9.3 per cent to £214.3 million in the 13 weeks to 30 September, contributing to a 24.8 per cent rise in total group revenue to £247.9m.

Like-for-like store revenues, which accounted for the bulk of the group’s sales, rose 6.5 per cent to £194.4m.

Chairman Andy Harrison said: “We have maintained the good momentum from the final quarter of the last financial year.

“Our like-for-like sales were boosted by favourable weather comparatives and, pleasingly, we continue to outperform the homewares market, with strong growth across the business, especially online.”

Dunelm.com saw a 46.2 per cent rise in online sales to £19.9m. Shares in the group closed up 44p or 6.3 per cent at 745p.