Wickes lifts profit forecast to £83m beating analyst expectations
Wickes Group has announced it expects full year profits to beat the upper range of analyst forecasts.
The home improvement retailer said it expects profit before tax for 2021 to reach £83m up from predictions within the range of £67-£75m which were published with the company’s half year results in June.
Wickes put the raised guidance down to its agile business model and strong supplier relationships which have resulted in a better than expected margin performance and allowed the company to mitigate supply pressures including rising inflation and freight costs.
David Wood, the chief executive of Wickes commented: “This has been a period of further progress for Wickes, where our focus on value, stock availability and exceptional service have underpinned our customer offer.
“Clearly, this remains a time of uncertainty, however our differentiated business model leaves us well-placed to continue to outperform within a large and growing home improvement market,” Wood added, noting that Wickes has so far successfully navigated inflationary pressures and raw material constraints.
Wickes has benefitted from increased demand for home improvement supplies during the pandemic. In the third quarter of the year like for like sales were 16.3 per cent ahead of pre-pandemic levels, but dipped by 1.6 per cent compared to 2020.
Read more: Wickes reports lacklustre sales as DIY projects fall from pandemic highs