Mulberry has reported strong results and has returned to pre-pandemic levels.

The group said that first-half revenue soared 34% thanks to strong UK sales and growth in Asia.

Profits at Mulberry were £10.4m, which is compared to the £2.4m loss posted a year earlier. Sales in the UK jumped 36% to £38.0m, which was a £10m increase compared to the year previous.

“I am proud of Mulberry’s performance during the period. Our long-term strategy, namely our innovative and sustainable products made in our carbon neutral Somerset factories, our market-leading omni-channel distribution model, and our expansion into Asia Pacific, has delivered a strong financial performance,” said Thierry Andretta, CEO.

“Product innovation and sustainability are central to our strategy, demonstrated by the recent launch of our “The Lowest Carbon collection”, further supporting the commitments we made in our Made to Last manifesto and our goal to reach zero carbon emissions by 2035.

“The bold decisions we have taken with regards to focussing on our UK production capabilities, means that we are well placed for the festive trading period and beyond. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues for their hard work, commitment and achievement over the period.”

Lidl has plans to have 1,100 stores across the UK by 2025.

The discount supermarket will create an additional 4,000 jobs and has already opened 55 stores in the past year.

In the 12 months to the end of February, revenues increased 12% to £7.7bn. The retailer posted £9.8m in profits, which is compared to the £25m loss posted in the same period a year earlier.

The supermarket is on track to have a total of 1,000 supermarkets by the end of 2023.

“Our new store target today marks a significant investment for the business. We remain committed to our bricks and mortar strategy and maintaining our store opening pace; roughly a store a week for the next four years,” said Christian Härtnagel, Lidl GB CEO.

“We will continue to bring our offer of great quality products at unbeatable value to even more communities across the country. I am also looking forward to welcoming even more colleagues to the Lidl GB team.”

Softcat has announced its latest results, which are in line with expectations.

The IT infrastructure technology and services company has seen strong results thanks to a growth in demand.

 “The team has continued to perform well during the first quarter and we saw good growth from both mid-market and enterprise corporate customers as well as the public sector,” said Graeme Watt, the group’s CEO.

“Customer demand has remained high and the hardware supply situation is stable. We’ve a lot still to do in the next nine months but the team is delivering with confidence and is benefitting from being able to spend more time together in our offices.”

Softcat shares have steadily grown over the year. Share price has surged 36.93% in the year to date.

Pets at Home revenues surged 18% to £677.6m in the six months to the 7th October. Like for like sales increased 28.6%.

“Our business has never been more robust,” said Peter Pritchard, chief executive. “Notwithstanding some near-term, industry-wide challenges, we continue to grow ahead of our plans and, based on trading year to date, we are on track to report a record year of sales and profit growth,”

The number of homes with a pet in the UK increased over lockdown, which has helped to boost the group’s results.

Investors will be receiving a payout of 11.3 pence per share. Last year, the payout was 6.3 pence. Expected profits for the full year are expected to be at the top end of expectations.

The Pets at Home share price has been down over the past week.

“The race to buy pets during the pandemic has pepped up Pets at Home no end. Many people introduced a feline or canine addition to their household during lockdown and now these furry friends need looking after,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“Where Pets at Home deserves credit is in sharpening its proposition to take advantage of this wave of new business.

“Demand not just for goods like food, treats and toys but also for veterinary and grooming services has shot up and Pets at Home has been well placed to take advantage as previous investment in boosting its paw print and adding new expertise has paid off.

AO World has cut its profit forecast for the second time this quarter, amid supply chain issues and rising costs.

Although the company saw a successful year over lockdown, it is showing growing concerns around global shipping and product shortages.

Revenues at the electrical goods retailer could be down 5% this year. Expected profits for the year fell from £35m-£50m that was forecast just eight weeks ago to £10m-20m.

“At the start of our financial year in April, we planned for continued revenue growth and built up our cost base accordingly. However, since then, growth in the UK has been impacted by the nationwide shortage of delivery drivers and the ongoing disruption in the global supply chain, and the German online market has seen significantly increased competition,” said the retailer in a statement.

“As we now look to the second half, we continue to see meaningful supply chain challenges with poor availability in certain categories, particularly in our newer products where we have less scale, experience and leverage. In addition, shipping costs, material input prices and consumer price inflation remain challenging uncertainties.”

“As a result of these factors, the all-important current peak trading period is significantly softer than we anticipated only eight weeks ago.”

In the first half of the year, the group made a pre-tax loss of £10m. This is compared to £18m profit the year previously.