Living room and upholstered furniture retailer DFS has reported a growth in first half sales and profit.
According to its interim results for the 26 weeks ended 28 December 2025, total gross sales rose 8.7% to £734.5m from £675.6m in against the comparative period.
Revenues rose 8.6% to £547.7m from £504.5m, with gross margin up to 57.8% from 56.7%. Underlying pre-tax profit resulted at £30.9m, up from £17m – a growth of £13.9m.
DFS brand sales represented £573.1m of revenues, a growth of 9.6%, with Sofology sales up 5.7% to £161.2m.
During the period, the group saw a 2.3% YoY order intake growth – achieved in a subdued market and against a strong comparator of +10.1%, while high profile exclusive brand partnerships reached record sales levels and are now being utilised in its growing Home (non-upholstery) proposition.
DFS achieved order intake growth of 2.0%, while Sofology delivered 3.4% year-on-year order intake growth, with the latter supported by the opening of one new showroom in Carlisle and the refurbishment of its Bolton showroom, which has seen a significant uplift in performance.
Furthermore, DFS said that cost of goods optimisation is driving gross margins up and its logistics platform is now being leveraged to deliver for third parties.
The DFS Home (non-upholstery) category performed strongly in the period, up 14% year on year, benefitting from recent marketing investment to grow awareness and the roll out of some of its exclusive upholstery brand partnerships to its Home product ranges.
“We have introduced more technology into our products to further differentiate our customer proposition, accelerating the success of our exclusive brand ranges,” Tim Stacey, Group Chief Executive Officer, said. “Our Cinesound and Soundwave by Shaquille O’Neal Home are particularly popular, bringing bluetooth connectivity, wireless charging, 4D vibration and immersive sound to our customers’ homes.
“We are also excited to announce our most recent collaboration with Amanda Holden which brings statement sofas and Amanda’s style and vivacious personality to our customers’ homes.
“In Sofology we launched its new ‘So Fussy’ marketing campaign, this includes a collaboration with Craig Revel Horwood which has landed exceptionally well with customers. In addition, we launched two new La-Z-Boy ranges in February 2026; the Atlanta which focuses on technology, and the Colorado which features a comfortable sofa bed.
“These new ranges were selected for their appeal to the Sofology customer and to complement the existing product range. We also launched our first ever Sofology sale post-Christmas which has proven to be successful in driving order intake and incremental profit.
“The Sofa Delivery Company, our logistics operation, is the largest two person sofa delivery company in the UK. It supports both of our retail brands through a shared infrastructure and provides a seven day a week installation and delivery service with a strong focus on customer experience, including the removal and recycling of all packaging waste.
“Our consistently high post-delivery NPS scores have earned us a reputation for delivering a market leading service, and I am pleased to announce that we have signed our first contracts with two third party retailers. These opportunities will generate additional revenue by utilising spare capacity within our existing infrastructure, supporting our broader growth strategy of leveraging our platforms to create new profit streams for the Group.”
Since the half year, DFS added it has seen some softening in footfall linked to adverse weather conditions over the period and consumer confidence remains “delicately balanced”.
“We remain focused on executing our strategy and in combination with our disciplined approach to gross margin and cost management we are comfortable reiterating our guidance of full year PBTu(A) in the range of £43-50m.
“This assumes no material supply chain disruption resulting from current geo-political events impacting the timing of delivery of customer orders. The Board remains confident in achieving our £1.4bn full year revenue and 8% PBT medium term targets.”
Looking ahead, the group sees an opportunity to further expand the Sofology arm to between 65 and 70 showrooms over the medium term. “We know the target locations and there is relatively low cannibalisation when opening near dfs showrooms,” Tim added.
DFS stated that Dominique Highfield, its new Chief Financial Officer, will join in May and succeeds Marie Wall in the role.
Tim concluded: “In summary, the first half performance was reflective of our strengthening business and the dedication of our colleagues across the Group. We delivered robust financial results in a subdued market environment and improved our financial position.
“As we look to the second half of the year and beyond, we remain focused on executing our strategy, driving profitable growth, strengthening our balance sheet and delivering long term value for our shareholders, customers and colleagues.”
