The Works lifts full-year profit outlook, shares spark

(Sharecast News) - Shares in The Works surged on Thursday after the retailer said full-year profit was set to be ahead of market expectations and reported a rise in revenue, outperforming the broader non-food UK retail market. In an update for the year to 3 May, the company - which sells books, arts and crafts, and stationery, among other things - said total revenue ticked up 3.2% from the previous year to £260m, with growth across all four key product ranges.

Like for like sales rose 3.3%, versus a decline of 0.1% for the UK non-food retail market, as reported by the British Retail Consortium.

Reflecting the revenue growth, improvements in product margin and cost reduction programme, The Works now expects pre-IFRS 16 adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be around £14m, up 47% on 2025 and above current market expectations of £13.5m.

Chief executive Gavin Peck said: "We delivered very strong strategic and financial progress during FY26. This was driven by sales growth across all four of our key product categories reflecting the diverse and increasing year-round appeal of the group's product proposition.

"Our outperformance against the broader high-street supports our strong conviction that The Works' brand and product proposition, which is aligned to families' growing demand for affordable screen-free activities, is increasingly relevant and underpins our plans for further growth.

"While we remain mindful of the challenging macroeconomic environment, the board is confident that The Works is well placed to achieve further strategic progress and profitable growth in FY27."

At 1000 BST, the shares were up 7.3% at 57.93p.

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