The parent company of Homebase and Argos has said it is on track to report pre-tax profits of £90 million for the last year.
Home Retail Group said total sales at the high street toy and general goods retailer were £3.93 billion in the 12 months to March 2, 2.1% ahead of last year on a like-for-like basis.
Argos closed 11 stores during the year, reducing its overall portfolio to 737, but its digital business continued to grow strongly during the year and now makes up 43% of total sales.
The company’s mobile platform was particularly successful, with a 117% rise in transactions compared to the previous year.
Homebase fared less well than its stablemate, with sales on a like-for-like basis declining by 4.9% last year to £1.43bn. The company closed five stores, taking the overall number of outlets to 336.
HRG chief executive Terry Duddy said: “This has been a good outcome to a challenging year, with group benchmark profit before tax now expected to be around £90m and our net cash position increasing by approximately £200m to around £395m.”