Ideal Shopping Direct posts profits rise as sale decision nears

The retailer, which is undertaking a strategic review which could result in a sale, reported total sales rose by 13.5% to £117.3m and like-for-likes climbed 10.9% to £111.7. Sales through its internet operations rose by 69.8% to £15.8m.

Ideal said it expects to announce the outcome of the review shortly.

Plant and garden business Lead TheGood Life, which Ideal Shopping Direct acquired during the year, made a pre-tax profit of £1.2m. Ideal’s craft business, which began taking international orders on a wholesale basis during the year, achieved sales of £27.6m - up 18.2%.

Sales in the first 13 weeks of 2011 have been in-line with expectations, the retailer reported.

Ideal Shopping Direct chairman Paul Wright said: “This is a good set of results that has been delivered in a difficult economic environment. It demonstrates the value of our strategy of moving Ideal Shopping Direct forward to being a multichannel retailer with strong positions in niche product categories.”