Furniture and accessories retailer OKA has reported a growth in turnover as sales climbed towards £40m.

According to its latest filed accounts for the year ended 1 January 2022, total sales rose 26.5% to £37.7m from £29.8m year-on-year.

Gross profit increased from £20.4m to £27.8m, while pre-tax losses resulted at £1.8m, narrowing from a loss of £8.9m recorded in the previous year.

Stated within its report, OKA said Adjusted EBITDA was £9m, up from £3.6m, which delivered a margin of 23.7%, improving from 12.1%, while cash reserves resulted at £2.1m, down from £8.7m, due to investment in technology and software and increased inventory levels.

OKA added that significant investment has been made to develop OKA USA, with marketing investments implemented to build the OKA US brand presence and the appointment of key marketing and commercial personnel.

“Whilst the initial impact on revenues from the pandemic was severe, the website and digital channels soon picked up a significant proportion of the lost sales from showrooms, and underlying trends such as consumers investing in their homes during lockdown, combined with a buoyant housing market, meant that the overall impact on sales was limited,” the company said.

“OKA’s customers are navigating between channels more than ever before, combing offline and online interactions within single purchases through a seamless customer journey. Significant IT investments have allowed the company to take advantage of the latest technology to interact with customers.”