Shares in Dunelm Group PLC (LSE:DNLM) rose 4% to 851.5p after it said full-year profit will be in line with expectations after sales growth of 2.9% in its final quarter, as new chief executive Clo Moriarty promised to reveal plans for a bigger, better and bolder business in September.
The homewares retailer said sales rose to £428 million in the 13 weeks to 27 June despite two separate weeks of exceptionally warm weather that dented store footfall.
One of those hot spells coincided with the opening week of its usual Summer Sale, which disproportionately hit trading.
Full-year sales climbed 3.1% to £1,825 million, with pre-tax profit expected to match consensus forecasts of £210 million.
Moriarty, who took charge last year, said there was much more the company must do to build on its core strengths and realise its untapped potential.
She said Dunelm's best growth opportunities were still in front of it as market leader in a large and highly fragmented sector, adding that she was excited by what comes next.
A strategic update will be delivered alongside full-year results on 8 September.
The retailer's Summer Living category traded particularly strongly in the quarter, both at full price and on promotion.
Digital sales accounted for 45% of the total in the fourth quarter, up 3 percentage points year-on-year, helped by the launch of the company's app.
Shortly after the year-end, Dunelm launched a trial of an AI-powered shopping assistant within the app, using conversational commerce to help customers discover products.
Gross margin for the year edged up 10 basis points to 52.5%, as currency tailwinds were partly offset by customers increasingly shopping in promotional events.
Dunelm opened a 34,000 sq ft superstore in Kingston-upon-Thames in the final week of the year and expects openings in the new financial year to be towards the upper end of its guidance of five to ten new superstores annually.
Cash generation remained strong, with around 70% of operating profit converted to free cash and a small net cash inflow after dividend payments of £141 million.
Broker Peel Hunt, which rates the stock 'buy' up to 1,225p, said: "New CEO Clo Moriarty is set to deliver a strategy update in September (the final results will be dealt with by recorded video, followed by an in-person strategy event).
"With a lot going on under the hood, we expect Dunelm’s medium-term performance to far outstrip current three-year forecasts, including our own."
On a price-to-earnings multiple of 10 times, the shares remain cheap, Peel said, offering a 9% free cash flow yield, "and have the potential to respond well to September’s direction".
Panmure Liberum repeated its 'sell' advice and 830p price target.
---ADDS SHARE PRICE AND BROKER COMMENT---
