Musical instruments seller Gear4Music has reported growth in pre-tax profits having battled high inflation that dampened consumer confidence.
New results to the end of March 2024 for the York-based business show revenue fell 5% to £144.4m while it returned to pre-tax profit of £600,000, up from a £400,000 loss in 2023. The online retailer has been focussed on driving down costs and improving margins – two aims that chief executive Andrew Wass said it had achieved.
Shares in the firm, listed on the London Stock Exchange, rose on the news which included signals that 2025 would bring profitable growth. Bosses now expect to meet full year 2025 expectations which include revenue of £154.8m and pre-tax profit of £2.8m.
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Mr Wass pointed to a reduction in the group’s net debt to £7.3m – almost halve what it was at the end of March 2023. He said action taken to mitigate last year’s period of poor customer demand – including some redundancies – had been the right thing to do.
He said: “Having delivered the key objectives we set ourselves at the beginning of FY24, the group is well positioned to relaunch its profitable growth strategy for FY25. This will focus on expanding sales verticals and channels to market whilst further enhancing and leveraging our unique bespoke e-commerce platform and product offering. International revenue growth faced some localised challenges in FY24; however, the board is confident that, through our ongoing actions and new initiatives, such as our second-hand proposition, European sales are set to start recovering in FY25.
“The cost reductions implemented through FY24 are now delivering full-year benefits as we commence FY25. Alongside this, based on trading performance since our last update in April, the board remains confident in delivering further improvements in financial performance during FY25 in line with market expectations.”
Original artice – https://business-live.co.uk/all-about/yorkshire-humber