Victoria celebrates the end of lockdown with improved trading

Victoria, which has a manufacturing site in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, said despite widespread government lockdowns in the first quarter, overall first half revenues were broadly in line with last year.

Revenue fell 2 per cent to £305.5m in the six months to October 3 and underlying earnings were down 10 per cent to £52.4m.

Victoria said its resilience was due to a record post-lockdown performance, with absolute growth of 23 per cent and like-for-like sales growth of 9 per cent.

The group reported a post-lockdown like-for-like margin improvement of an unprecedented 300bps, due to a combination of strong revenue performance and, more significantly, sustainable productivity gains from operational reorganisation and synergy projects completed last year.

The firm said that although erratic government actions make it difficult to provide formal guidance, the board expects the full year outcome to be well ahead of current market expectations.

Geoff Wilding, executive chairman of Victoria, said: “The underlying resilience of Victoria was proven during the challenging conditions of this year.

"The strength of the group’s operational management, the skill and flexibility of our workforce, our robust customer loyalty, and the strength of our balance sheet, came together under the most difficult trading conditions in living memory to deliver an outstanding result for its shareholders.

"The strong demand we are currently experiencing for our products is expected to continue due to consumers prioritising spending on their home environment, supported by some of the highest household savings rates on record. As a result, meaningful organic growth is expected to continue into the New Year."