LONDON (Alliance News) - John Lewis of Hungerford PLC Thursday reported a higher pretax profit and revenues for the first-half of the year, boosted by growth in both its products and installations.
The kitchen and furniture designer and manufacturer said that in the six months to February 28, its pretax profit increased to GBP50,000, up from GBP18,000 a year earlier.
Revenue for the first-half increased to GBP3.7 million, up from GBP3.1 million the prior year, which it said was generated from a broadly consistent sales mix, and boosted by a strong contributions from across the business.
The firm said that its flagship showroom in Hungerford performed strongly during the period, following its refurbishment last year, while its newly refurbished Fulham showroom traded ahead of budget.
"This reinforces our strategy of balancing new openings with investment in the refurbishment of existing showrooms," the company said in a statement.
The firm also said that its artisan installation service continues to trade strongly.
John Lewis of Hungerford said that it held GBP720,000 in cash at the bank and in hand at the end of the period, and the refurbishment of its new showroom at Chiswick, due to open in May, will be funded through additional facilities provided by Barclays.
The company also said that it will now close its last remaining concession, located within the Hoopers department store in Wilmslow, Cheshire, after making a loss in the first-half of the year, and minimal sales.
At the end of the first-half, the company said that the total of its dispatched sales and the forward order book stood at GBP4.3 million, an increase of 18% over the comparable period last year.
The company gave a cautious but confident outlook for the year ahead, citing an improving UK economy.
"We face the future with increasing confidence as we continue with our strategy to become a GBP10 million turnover business by 2016," said Chairman Malcolm Hepworth in a statement.
Shares in John Lewis of Hungerford were down 0.9% at 2.65 pence per share Wednesday morning.
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; rowenaharrisdoughty@alliancenews.com; @rharrisdoughty
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