Furnishings buoy sales at Laura Ashley
SHARES in fashion and homewares retailer Laura Ashley rose 20 per cent yesterday as it said strong Christmas sales would result in “significantly higher” than expected profits.
It is the second upgrade in a month from the company which has benefited from surging demand for cushions, throws and sofas as customers turn to new furniture and accessories to smarten up their homes rather than making more expensive improvements.
It said since its previous forecast hike in mid-December it had “performed better than anticipated” with strong same-store sales defying the winter weather over Christmas and early January. Its shares rose 4p to 23¼p.
Broker Numis Securities raised its full-year profit forecast from £15.8million to £18million. Analyst Andrew Wade said: “The shares are too cheap given the clear momentum across the business.”
The company traces its origins back to 1953, when Laura and Bernard Ashley started printing fabrics on their kitchen table in London. It now has 221 stores in the UK and Ireland and 223 franchise stores overseas.