(Reuters) -Home improvement retailer Wickes reported a 2.1% growth in group revenue on Tuesday as customers caught up on outdoor projects that were pushed by the wet weather during spring and early summer in Britain.
Wickes said its expectations for 2024 adjusted pretax profit remains unchanged as it foresees pent-up demand to subside in the final quarter.
The company said business at its design and installation unit was stabilising with like-for-like (LFL) decline slowing to 13.3% in the 13-weeks ended September 28.
The retailer had reported weakness in the unit in the previous quarter as consumers avoided big ticket purchases amid a cost-of-living crisis, with unit posting a 18.9% decline in LFL sales in the period.
The firm designs and installs kitchens, bathrooms and home offices, sells branded and own-label do-it-yourself products and also runs a local network through which customers can hire tradesmen.
It’s bigger peer Kingfisher said last month that demand for ‘big-ticket’ home improvements like kitchens and bathrooms remained weak, but sales of outdoor furniture, barbecues, fencing and decking was picking up.
(Reporting by Shanima A in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
