ScS back in the black as furniture sales rebound
The Sunderland-based company reported a pre-tax profit of £22.7 million for the year to July 31.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.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.”