Wickes Group PLC (LSE:WIX) shares were up 6% in early trading after the DIY and kitchen retailer reassured investors that business is on track and full-year expectations remain intact.
The company reported a solid start to 2025, with retail sales continuing to grow and improvements in its struggling kitchen and bathroom installation business.
For 2024, revenue dipped 1% to £1.54 billion as demand for big-ticket items remained weak.
However, trade sales were a bright spot, rising 14% and helping boost market share, particularly in decorative and garden ranges. Adjusted profit before tax came in at £43.6 million, at the upper end of forecasts, despite cost pressures.
Wickes also announced a fresh £20 million share buyback, following £41.1 million already returned to investors through dividends and repurchases.
The company remains confident in its strategy for 2025 but acknowledges ongoing challenges in consumer spending. A spring trading update is expected in May.
Peel Hunt said the stock's current valuation, up 9.6p at 181.2p, looks undemanding as it raised its price target 30p to 210p per share and repeated its 'buy' advice.
Panmure Liberum is also a 'buyer' up to 200p. It said: "We continue to argue that Wickes’ profit base is increasingly supported by high-quality, recurring revenues from TradePro, where momentum remains strong, and we see potential upside here through new member acquisition and increased membership spending.
"Meanwhile, we believe the D&I business is turning around such that consensus expectations could be too low here, with pent-up demand potentially driving [around] 40% upside to [current] forecasts."