DFS Furniture has raised its profit outlook for the year after a stronger-than-expected first half, driven by higher margins, disciplined cost control and solid order growth across its DFS and Sofology brands.
In a trading update for the 26 weeks to 28 December 2025, the sofa retailer said underlying pre-tax profit (PBTu(A)) is expected at £30–31 million, up £13–14 million year on year. Group order intake rose 2.3% despite what the company called a “broadly flat market”. Gross sales on delivered orders are expected to rise 8.7%, helped by converting its previously elevated order bank.
The company also reported a marked improvement in its balance sheet. Strong cash generation cut net bank debt from £107 million at the end of full-year 2025 to about £60–61 million at the end of December. This brought leverage down to 0.8x reported, or 1.0x adjusting for working-capital phasing, within DFS’s 0.5x–1.0x target range.
With the key Winter sale period performing in line with expectations, DFS now expects full-year underlying profit before tax and brand amortisation to be between £43 million and £50 million, above the current market consensus of £41 million.
Strategy paying off
Chief executive Tim Stacey said the company’s strategy is paying off. “Our three key enablers of scale and vertical integration, utilising data and harnessing our unique culture are strengthening our market-leading proposition and driving order intake across both DFS and Sofology in a broadly flat market. We have continued to make good progress growing our gross margins and managing our cost base effectively. As a result, I am pleased to report an upgrade to our full year profit expectations following a strong first half performance.”
He added: “I am confident that the business is well positioned to continue delivering against our strategy and we remain committed to achieving our medium-term targets of £1.4bn revenue and 8% PBT margin and delivering attractive returns for our shareholders as the market recovers.”
Alongside the trading update, DFS announced the appointment of Dominique Highfield as its new permanent CFO. Highfield, currently CFO at Bloom & Wild and formerly of Purplebricks, Pentland and Amazon, will join in May 2026. The retailer also thanked outgoing interim CFO Marie Wall for her “incredible support, contribution and impact”.
The group will publish detailed interim results on 19 March 2026.
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