ScS back in the black as furniture sales rebound

Furniture specialist ScS has hailed a “strong year of recovery” as it bounced back to profitability.

The Sunderland-based company reported a pre-tax profit of £22.7 million for the year to July 31, after tumbling to a £3.1 million loss in the previous year.

Steve Carson, chief executive of ScS, also hailed a “strong” start to trading in the new financial year but cautioned that it is tackling supply chain challenges.

He said: “We are delighted with the strong orders performance since the start of the new financial year.

“However, we are cognisant of the ongoing challenges we, and many other businesses, are facing with regards to the supply chain, including driver shortages, raw material increases and shipping costs and delays.”

The firm told shareholders that trading so far this year has been in line with its expectations.

ScS said its latest like-for-like orders for the nine weeks to October 2 are up 11.9% against the same period two years earlier.

However, it said orders have fallen 21% against the same period last year after it had seen a “significant bounce” from pent-up demand.

It came after the company reported a 21% rise in gross sales to £324.5 million for the year, compared with a year earlier.

Online sales increased 146% to £46.9m, driven by both the temporary closure of stores and further investment in the group’s online capabilities.

Mr Carson added: “We have demonstrated throughout the pandemic that we have a flexible and resilient business model which is able to adapt to changes in the macro-environment whilst still delivering for our customers.”