Home shopping specialist N Brown has posted a 19.9 per cent increase in full-year profits to £78 million. Revenues advanced 16.6 per cent to £610.9 million in the year to March 1.

The retailer benefited from a 50 per cent surge in online sales, which rose to£168 million.

N Brown chief executive Alan White said the strength of the group’s brands has been vital to its success. “We are continuously looking to improve the quality of our catalogues and web sites and increase our product ranges to make our brand offering even more attractive. The strategy we have in place, together with our strong management and operational team, means we are well-positioned to deliver another good performance this year.”

Current trading remained solid. Sales for the eight weeks to April 26 climbed 12.1 per cent on the previous year.

Last week, pressure was put on N Brown’s share price, as market concern over bad debt rose. The retailer said that customer debt had increased 13 per cent to£389 million. However, it emphasized that it was monitoring its portfolio closely “for any signs of degradation”.

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