Sosandar confirms its first year with profit as the fashion retailer’s sales momentum is boosted by the warm weather
- Online retailer posts a pre-tax profit of £1.6m after a loss of £0.6m last year
- Strong start to the new year thanks to an increasing demand for summer clothing
- But Sosandar shares are falling as investors worry about risk
Sosandar has confirmed its first annual profit, with a pre-tax profit of £2.2m last year after a loss of £600,000 in the previous 12 months.
The online womenswear retailer’s sales momentum continues into the new year, with sales up 10 per cent on the previous year to £11.4 million in the three months to June 30.
Sosandar attributed the strong start to the financial year to increased demand for their summer range and holiday wear.
The update follows new data from the British Retail Consortium, which revealed last month that unusually warm weather led to retail sales growth of 5 percent year on year, led by summer essentials.
Fashion group Sosandar has announced that their turnover has increased by 10 percent to £11.4 million
Paul Martin, head of retail for KPMG in the UK, said: ‘The sun was shining for retailers in June, with the warm weather bringing consumers back to the high street and comparable store sales up almost 5% year-on-year.
“Sales of sunscreen, food and clothing were all boosted as consumers took full advantage of record temperatures in June.”
Sosandar reached 44 per cent year-on-year revenue growth to £42.5m in the 12 months to 31 March, up from £29.5m last year, while average order value rose 8 per cent to £97.27.
Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, co-chief executives of Sosandar, told investors Tuesday it had been a “transformation year” for the company.
They added, “Despite the challenging macroeconomic backdrop, we have seen increasing demand for our products across all categories with strong trading both on Sosandar.com and through our third party partners.
“As Sosandar continues to grow, we remain committed to investing in our product range to provide our customers with an ever-expanding variety of trendy, affordable, sustainable, lifestyle-appropriate apparel.”
However, Sosandar Shares fell 5.5 percent to 23.9 pence in early trading, dragging 12-month gains to 27.4 percent.
Davy Research analyst David Reynolds said the drop may indicate investor skepticism that the company can maintain its sales momentum in the difficult economic context.
Reynolds added, “While [last year] felt great with the transition to profitability and a series of diverse growth initiatives, [this year] somehow feels bigger [the group] goes international, launches a mobile app, further expands the partner portfolio, including a first physical presence, and further expands the management layer.
Most of these initiatives will go live in some way during the second half of the fiscal year. The opportunity is material, but the risk associated with it is equally material.’
Bosses Hall and Lavington added: “We are pleased to report that demand for our fast-paced product range continues to grow, with knitwear, formal tailoring, jackets, partywear, summer occasionwear and swim and beachwear performing particularly well throughout the year. year. .
“The momentum built throughout FY23 has continued into FY24 with current trading in line with expectations.
“We are very excited about the opportunity available to us in FY24 and beyond, as we use the funds raised from our over-subscribed equity raise in January 2023 to support our growth both in the UK and internationally.”