TheWorks.co.uk PLC (LON:WRKS) said the performance since the reopening of stores in June has been “well ahead” of expectations.
Like-for-like sales rose by 0.7% in the ten weeks to August 23, driven by online demand as store sales have been down around 9%.
READ: TheWorks to reopen all stores in England and Ireland next week
In the 17 weeks to August 23, sales slid 26% due to store closures.
The stationery retailer also extended its £25mln revolving credit facility to September 2022 to have enough liquidity through the crisis.
In the year to April 26, revenue rose 3% to £225mln, but the gifts chain swung to an £18mln loss before tax from last year’s £2mln profit due to £19.5mln non-cash impairment charges resulting from COVID-19, relating to goodwill and store assets.
The board did not propose a final dividend.
Analysts at house broker Peel Hunt upgraded the underlying earnings (EBITDA) forecast to £10mln from £4mln.
Shares dipped 2% to 23.25p on Thursday morning.