The group reduced its FY EBITDA to £82m-£87m, significantly lower than last year's £94.4m
Companies: DFS Furniture PLC
Shares in furniture retailer DFS fell 20% on Thursday after the firm warned investors that its trading environment has weakened beyond expectations with a "significant" decline in store footfall
The company had previously warned investors that it was expecting a softer market environment in the second half of the year, but apparently, that has worsened due to political and macroeconomic uncertainty:
"We believe these demand effects are market-wide, in line with industry indicators, and are linked to customer uncertainty regarding the general election and the uncertain macroeconomic environment."
However, it added that the upholstery market does also see short-term demand fluctuations within overall historical long-term growth trends.
As a result of the fall, the company has reduced its EBITDA forecasts for the full-year to be in the range of £82m-£87m, significantly lower than the record £94.4m reached last year.
The company said it was confident that it would outperform the market in the long term thanks to its business model, scale, and growth levers, adding that it still believed next year's expectations to be realistic based on consumer confidence, being broadly in line with current levels:
"We expect continued strong cash generation that has allowed the recent announcement of a £20m special dividend in addition to our ordinary dividend."
