(Reuters) -Wickes Group on Friday said it expected annual profit to be at the upper end of market expectations, as the home improvement retailer kept a tight lid on costs and saw strong demand in categories such as flooring and decorating.
Analysts expect adjusted pretax profit in the range of 44.9 million-48.3 million pounds ($57-$61.3 million) for the full year ended Dec. 30, according to the company.
Shares in Wickes climbed as much as 4.9% to 151.9 pence in early trading.
The firm designs and installs kitchens, bathrooms and home offices, sells branded and own-label do-it-yourself products and runs a local network through which customers can hire tradesmen.
However, sales were staggered in the 'Do-It-Yourself' and 'Do-It-For-Me' (DIFM) categories, Wickes said, due to subdued demand for large projects amid a cost-of-living crunch.
In the first quarter of 2024, the company said it expected like-for-like sales in the DIFM category to decline as the COVID-related boom in demand cools off.
($1 = 0.7880 pounds)