DFS shares surged on Tuesday’s opening after the group revealed a 19% increase in gross sales in the 24 weeks ending 15 December 2019.

Despite the Covid-disruptions, the furniture retailer saw impressive growth in the online channel, where sales surged 76% compared to the same period a year ago.

The group said in a statement that as a retailer, they have benefitted from people spending more money at home over the course of the pandemic.

Tim Stacey, the DFS chief executive, said: “I want to thank every colleague in our Group for their resilience, spirit and determination to overcome the many and varied operational challenges that we have faced since reopening our business after the first lockdown.

“We are working all hours focusing on what we can control to look after our people and our customers. I want to thank our customers for their patience given the ongoing disruption to our deliveries due to port congestion and raw material shortages, as well as apologise to those that have experienced delays.

“While the current environment is clearly unpredictable, our business model is resilient and we are well set for medium-term growth,” he added.

Looking forward, the group expects full-year profit to within the upper half of the current market consensus range.

“Although our financial performance will never be immune to the short term market environment, we believe our cash generation across the cycle and our overall growth prospects will drive attractive long-term financial returns for our shareholders,” said the group in a statement.

Over 25% of the retailer’s showrooms are currently closed due to Coronavirus measures and the group has also been coping with issues surrounding suppliers and lack of raw materials.

DFS shares are trading +10.00% at 231.00 (0900GMT). In the year-to-date, shares in DFS have fallen from highs of 302.00.