Sosandar swings to first ever profit
Sosandar swings to first-ever profit as fashion group’s average order value jumps to nearly £100 a pop
- The average order value at Sosandar increased by 8% to £97.27, the group said
- Fashion retailer said its ties to M&S and Next were very popular
Fashion group Sosandar achieved its first full year of profitability in 2022 after a series of deals with major high street retailers.
Group turnover was up 44 per cent year-on-year to £42.5m in the 12 months to 31 March, compared to £29.5m last year, while average order value rose 8 per cent to £97.27.
Sosandar expects to confirm annual pre-tax profits of at least £1.6 million, up from a loss of £600,000 last year.
Upbeat: Sosandar reached its first full year of profitability in 2022, according to a trading update
Expected earnings are below consensus forecasts of £1.9m, a miss Sosandar pinned on future recruitment plans.
Orders increased 22 percent to 620,977 in the period, of which 148,382 were from new customers and 472,595 from existing customers. The average order frequency increased by 3 percent to 2.34 times per year.
The group, which maintained a gross profit margin of 56.1 percent, said trading with its outside partners, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Next, The Very Group and JD Williams, had been “extremely strong.”
Trading in January and February at sales and gross margin levels was “in line with management’s expectations,” and March sales were 32 percent higher than a year ago.
Net cash flow was £10.5m as of March 31, up from £4.2m as of September 30, 2022, “following the successful £5.5m share raise in February net proceeds,” Sosandar added.
Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, co-chief executives of Sosandar, said: ‘Just six years ago, Sosandar has grown from a true start-up into a multi-million pound, profitable brand.’
The bosses added: “While the macroeconomic environment remains challenging and we remain very vigilant, we continue to demonstrate that our differentiated model is capable of delivering sustainable profitable growth.
“We remain confident in the long-term opportunities for Sosandar as reflected in Q4 FY23 in the acceleration of our investment into the next phase of our development.
“We see a number of opportunities for further growth, both on our own site and through our third-party partners in the coming months and beyond, as we continue our goal of making Sosandar one of the largest women’s apparel brands in the world.”
Sosandar Shares fell today and fell 1.81 percent or 0.43p this morning to 23.32p, after falling 18 percent over the past 12 months.