Dunelm Group PLC (LSE:DNLM) will be releasing first quarter results on Thursday, and if its preliminary full-year numbers were anything to go by, it could be tough reading.
Management was confident at the time that the FTSE 250 group would meet expectations for the new year, which at the time were for profit before tax of £178mln – some way below the £209mln seen in the past 12 months.
So how they have started the current financial year will be keenly looked out for, with sales in the latest quarter to 25 June down 6% year-on-year.
Russ Mould, an investment director at AJ Bell said it “seems likely sales will eventually suffer as people wait a bit longer to replace that duvet set or pair of curtains,” as the cost-of-living crisis bites.
Broker Peel Hunt said additional headwinds would be that the summer sale was in the first quarter last year but not this year and the 2022 summer heatwave expected to have hit footfall, particularly in August.
As a consequence, analyst John Stevenson expect first-quarter momentum to be down against the previous quarter, with sales falling 10%.
"That said, we expect a better September and exit rate, noting a strong response to ‘winter warmer’ ranges, including higher tog duvets and throws."
Shares in the homeware retailer are down 42% in the year to date, changing hands at 797.5p.