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Homewares retailer Dunelm booked a 45% rise in annual profit, declared a special dividend and upgraded its guidance as sales held up throughout the pandemic.
Pre-tax profit for the year through 26 June increased to £157.8 million, up from £109.1 million year-on-year, as sales climbed 26% to £1.34 billion.
Dunelm reinstated declared annual dividends of 35p per share, compared to zero year-on-year, and also declared a special dividend of 65p.
The company said sales growth in the first 10 weeks of the new financial year had been 'encouraging', including a positive response from customers to its summer sale in July.
For the current financial year, pre-tax profit was expected to be 'modestly' ahead of the top of the range of analysts' expectations, even though some uncertainty remained over Covid-19 impacts.
'We delivered an excellent performance ... despite our stores being closed for more than a third of the year, demonstrating the strength and resilience of our business model and the adaptability and commitment of our colleagues and suppliers,' chief executive Nick Wilkinson said.
'The digital investments we had made enabled us to rapidly adapt to the changing environment and deliver strong growth and an improved customer experience.'
'We are emerging from the pandemic as a stronger and better business, having transitioned from being a physical retailer with digital aspirations to being a proven, digital first, multichannel retailer.'