By Christian Moess Laursen
The Victorian Plumbing Group said on Tuesday that pre-tax profit more than doubled in the first half of fiscal 2023 on strong demand across all segments.
The British online retailer of bathroom products said its pre-tax profit rose to £5.6 million ($7 million) for the period ended March 31, compared with £2.7 million.
Revenue rose 10% to £146.8m, driven by both a 6% increase in total orders and a 3% increase in average order value in the consumer and retail segments, which were up 7% and 20% respectively, according to the company.
Consumer demand remained robust in April and May, with growth being driven by order volume, the company said. The gross margin continues to improve due to the tailwind from shipping and the development of exchange rates, it said.
“We remain aware that our clients still face a number of inflationary headwinds. However, thanks to our robust trading and market-leading supply, we remain confident of delivering on expectations for the full year,” said Victorian Plumbing.
Based on an analyst survey by FactSet, the company is expected to post a pre-tax profit of £16.5m and revenue of £355.8m in FY2023.
Victorian Plumbing said its board had declared an interim dividend of 0.45p per share, up from zero a year earlier.
Write to Christian Moess Laursen at christian.moess@wsj.com
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