Dunelm Group PLC (LSE:DNLM) shares fell 1.4% to 957.47p as the retailer announced the impending retirement of chief executive Nick Wilkinson, as well as a small improvement in half-year profits and a repeat of its special dividend.
Wilkinson, who has been in charge of the homeware chain for seven years, said the performance in the first half showed "the quality and resilience of our business model" against a "challenging backdrop for retail".
Sales in the half-year to 28 December came to £893.7 million, up 2.4% compared to the previous year, with market share growing in the period as the wider UK non-food retail sector struggled.
A profit before tax of £123.2 million was reported, compared to £123.0 million last time.
The FTSE 250-listed group announced another special dividend of 35p, as it did a year ago, on top of a 3% increase in the interim dividend to 16.5p.
On the outlook, Dunelm said it is encouraged by early trading in the second half and its PBT expectations for the full year are unchanged, in line with the analyst consensus forecast of £209 million.
Wilkinson said it had been "a real privilege to lead a business I love, and being a part of Dunelm's growth story is as fulfilling now as it was on day one. However, personally, it feels like I'm approaching the right time to step away from full-time executive life."