Dunelm Mill revealed sales grew by nearly 6% for the 13 weeks to April 2, standing at a total of £229m, up 1.1% like-for-like.
The retailer had year on year growth of 2.3%, and explained its results were influenced by the 53rd week included in the last financial year meaning that the 13 weeks in question included six days less of Dunelm's winter sale than last year. The retailer estimated the resultant reduction of LfL equating to around 4.9%, or £10m.

This was partially offset by the earlier Easter which contributed around 1% towards LfL performance, according to Dunelm analysts. Accounting for all this, Dunelm estimated its LfL growth at 5% for the quarter.

The sales performance reflected strong footfall driven by Dunelm's winter sale, higher transaction values and ongoing expansion with the opening of one new store. Home delivery sales saw a 27.6%, meanwhile.

Said Dunelm chief executive John Browett: " We are pleased with the strong underlying sales growth during the last quarter following the unhelpful, mild conditions experienced in Q2. Overall we continue to increase our homewares market share.

"We have enjoyed a good Easter, are looking forward to a successful final quarter and are confident of achieving our expectations for the full year.

"We continue to work hard on delivering our key projects across the business and remain excited about substantially improving the business for our customers, both in store and online, over the medium term, and developing Dunelm into a truly national homewares brand."

Spreadex market analyst Connor Campbell had the following to say: "With a 5.9% jump in third quarter revenue joined by a 1.1% rise in like-for-like sales it was a fantastic morning for home furnishing firm Dunelm, which rose nearly 5.5% as the day got underway. That caused the company to lift away from its recent slump, crossing the £9.50 mark for the first time since the middle of March."