David Jones is on track to post its first annual sales growth in four years after lifting its sales by 4.1 per cent in the March quarter.

The department store business sold $407.2 million worth of goods during the three months to April 26, which is up from $391.1 million for the same period a year ago.

On a like-for like basis, which excludes the impact of the opening of a new store at Malvern, in Melbourne’s southeast, sales were up 2.4 per cent for the quarter to $400.5 million, from $391.1 million in the 2013 third quarter.

The stronger than expected result was boosted by the tripling of online sales over the period.

The positive result is a far cry from the one per cent drop in sales suffered by rival Myer over the same period.

Myer blamed its result on refurbishment work at three of its largest stores.

David Jones said the retailer recorded growth across key categories including womenswear, menswear, beauty, shoes, accessories and homewares during the quarter.

“We are pleased to report that we continued to see sales growth momentum in 3Q14,” David Jones boss Paul Zahra said in a statement.

“We experienced our third consecutive quarter of total sales growth and our second consecutive quarter of LFL (like-for-like) sales growth this financial year.”

David Jones is currently the subject of a $2.1 billion takeover bid by South African retailer Woolworths Holdings.