Dunelm Group presented its FY26 results on 8 September 2026. Revenue grew 3.1% to £1,825.5 million, while profit before tax held at £211 million, reflecting an 11.6% margin, 30 basis points lower than the prior year. Operating profit rose modestly to £224.9 million and gross margin expanded 10 basis points to 52.5%.
Net operating costs increased 3.9% to £734 million, representing 40.2% of sales. Financing costs rose to £13.9 million from £11.0 million and the effective tax rate edged up to 26.3%. Profit after tax slipped slightly to £155.5 million and diluted EPS remained flat at 76.8 pence.
Free cash flow surged 21.5% (reported as 22%) to £154.8 million, driven by a 69% conversion of operating profit, up from 57% a year earlier. Operating cash flow reached £270.4 million. Capital expenditure fell to £42.7 million from £67.3 million, with £27 million allocated to new stores and estate maintenance. Net debt improved to £94.6 million, keeping the net‑debt‑to‑EBITDA ratio at 0.3x, within the 0.2‑0.6x target range.
The ordinary dividend was raised 2.2% to 45.5 pence per share, with a final dividend of 28.5 pence, giving a total dividend of 70.5 pence and a dividend cover of 1.7x. A special dividend of 25 pence was paid in April, down from 35 pence the previous year.
Market share in the £25 billion UK homewares and furniture market increased by 10 basis points to 7.9%. Store‑enabled like‑for‑like sales rose 0.8%, though store‑only sales fell about 2% when click‑and‑collect and tablet sales were excluded. Digital sales grew 9.1%, lifting digital participation to 42% of total sales, up two points. The mobile app launched in February 2026 delivered a 4.3% conversion rate, 51% higher than other digital channels, and an average order value of £97, 42% above the £69 benchmark.
Customer satisfaction improved, with the overall CSAT score up 2.4 points; store satisfaction rose three points and click‑and‑collect six points, while home‑delivery fell one point. Self‑checkout rollout reached 85% of stores.
Cost pressures added £19 million from volume, £23 million from inflation and £10 million from new‑store investments. Offsets came from £15 million of productivity gains and £10 million of other benefits.
Under its "Being Good & Circular" ESG programme, Dunelm cut Scope 1 emissions intensity by 58% and Scope 3 by 20% versus FY19, and increased responsibly sourced cotton to 78% of own‑brand products, aiming for 100% by FY30. Charitable activity raised £2 million for Age UK, donated 200,000 gifts through the "Delivering Joy" campaign and secured £1 million for the British Heart Foundation. Ethnic‑minority representation among role‑model leaders rose 90 basis points to 7.4%.
