LONDON (Dow Jones)--U.K. home shopping channel retailer Ideal Shopping Direct PLC (IDS.LN) Tuesday said it expects to reintroduce a dividend this year as it anticipates a swing to a "substantial" first-half profit, boosted by continued strong sales growth. The firm didn't pay a 2009 dividend but said its board feels comfortable that they can reintroduce a sustainable dividend policy when the firm's first-half results are announced in September. The companylast paid an interim dividend in 2008. Ideal Shopping Direct didn't specify what level of profit it expects to make in the first half of the current year but said trading continues to be extremely encouraging. It made a GBP900,000 trading loss in the first half of 2009. The group's total sales rose 18% in the 21 weeks to May 30. Stripping out its January acquisition of Lead The Good Life, group sales rose 11% on the year in the period. While Ideal Shopping Direct said it remains cautious about consumer spending patterns in the second half, it is nonetheless confident of a continued robust performance in the half. -By Hannah Benjamin, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9298; hannah.benjamin@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 15, 2010 03:56 ET (07:56 GMT)