Furniture retailer Furniture Village has reported sales of over £350m with order intake up double-digit on a like-for-like basis.

According to its latest company accounts for the 52 weeks ended 2 July 2023, total sales reached £358.7m, down from £474.9m, although this was against an extended 66-week period.

Pre-tax profit resulted at £7.5m, down when compared to longer trading period profit of £13.6m.

The business decided to extend the accounting reference date due to “operational effectiveness considerations”. The previous date fell at the end of March, which meant the business was subject to the “volatile influences of both Chinese New Year and Easter on supply chains”.

Stated within its report, the company said: “It is worth noting that the previous period reflects a post Covid period during which we, like many others in the home furnishing sector, experienced extraordinary pent-up demand.

“In addition, the accounting reference date was changed in 2022, resulting in a 66-week reporting period. The year to 2 July 2023 saw a return to reduced levels of consumer demand, more in line with pre-pandemic times.

“At the same time, the macro-economic effects of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, global inflationary pressures, and the move towards higher interest rates, all placed pressure on the disposable incomes of UK consumers, creating uncertainty for retailers, customers and suppliers alike.

“During the year, order intake therefore naturally dropped against the exceptional 66-week period last year. However, very pleasingly we saw double-digit growth on a like-for-like basis in order intake compared to pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

“Given the market headwinds, we are very pleased with that performance, undoubtedly reflecting the continued strength of appeal of our offer and real growth in our share of the available market.”

Charlie Harrison, Managing Director at Furniture Village, stated: “Having generated a very healthy Operating Profit before our Family Partnership payment of just over £9m, it is with immense pride that we were able to make a healthy payout of £1.27m to approximately a thousand loyal, dedicated and hardworking employees under this newly formed profit share scheme.”

Furniture Village added that order intake over the first 34 weeks of the new period has shown a like-for-like 3% increase and is “substantially up” against pre-Covid 2019 levels.