Date:
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13 January 2025
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On behalf of:
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Sosandar plc ('Sosandar' or 'the
Company')
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Embargoed until:
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0700hrs
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Sosandar plc
Trading Update & New Store Agreements
Continued uplift in margin in key trading
period
Sosandar plc (AIM: SOS), the women's
fashion brand, creating quality, trend-led products for women of
all ages, is pleased to provide the following trading update
covering the three-month Period ended 31 December 2024 (Q3 FY25).
Highlights:
·
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Revenue of £12.2m (Q3 FY24: £14.3m)
with the Group continuing its transition away from price
promotional activity
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o
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Also represents an increase of
approximately 50% against each of the prior quarters (Q1 & Q2
FY25), a significant step up in comparison to the prior year when
Q3 FY24 revenues increased against each of Q1 & Q2 FY24 by 25%
and 31% respectively
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·
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Gross margin of 64.7% increased
significantly from 58.3% in the prior year reflecting margin
enhancement prioritisation
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·
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Continued positive swing in PBT
trajectory as a result of continued prioritisation of margin
enhancement and profitability ahead of revenue growth, in line with
our strategic focus
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·
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Net cash of £8.2m as at 31 December
2024 (£7.0m as at 22 November 2024), allowing the Group to
self-fund the planned store roll out, amongst other
items
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Further to the announcement on 26
November 2024, trading in Q3 further validated our growing
omni-channel presence, with further margin growth delivered
and improved customer metrics and
engagement KPIs. Pleasingly, the Group saw
further quarter-on-quarter revenue growth with a substantial
improvement in the period. In the lead up to Christmas the Company
saw strong sales of partywear as well as particularly strong sales
in its core categories of knitwear and denim. Trading with the
Company's well-established third-party partners continued to be
strong, with the success of the Sosandar product resulting in
Sosandar being one of the top selling brands across all third-party
partners including NEXT and M&S.
The material improvement in gross
margin year on year and versus H1 FY25 (62.2%) once again reflects
the planned reduction in price promotional activity and focus on
driving margin and profitability, as the Company continued its
transition to becoming a true multi-channel retailer. The uplift in
margin is now being delivered on a sustained basis and provides the
foundation from which to drive sustainable and profitable
cash-generative growth over the long-term towards our strategic
objective of £10m PBT.
The Company's four active stores all
performed well over the period, and we continue to see sales
tracking in line with our expectations, with strong footfall and
conversion and a demonstrable uplift in traffic to Sosandar.com in
the geographical areas where the stores have opened.
Progress on the Company's licensing
agreement with NEXT for a Sosandar homeware range remains on track
and is expected to launch in Autumn 2025.
Overall trading remains in line with
market expectations* for the current financial year, with January
starting well and pleasing levels of full price sales, despite the
well-publicised challenging macro-environment.
New
store agreements
The Company is also pleased to
announce that it has signed two new lease agreements for its own
stores, in Bath and Harrogate. Both locations meet Sosandar's
strict criteria of top tier, thriving locations, where Sosandar
customers over-index.
Harrogate is one of the largest
commercial centres in North Yorkshire and home to 76,800 people.
The store is in a prime trading position on James Street,
surrounded by other established retailers such as Oliver Bonas,
White Company and Mint Velvet.
In Bath, the store is located in
SouthGate, the main shopping area in the heart of the city. It is
close to the thoroughfare of Bath Spa train station with convenient
underground parking. The store is in a prime position, adjacent to
retailers such as Reiss and Oliver Bonas.
*
Sosandar believes that market expectations for the year ending 31
March 2025 are currently revenues of £40.5 million and PBT of
£1.0 million.
Enquiries
Sosandar plc
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www.sosandar.com
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Julie Lavington / Ali Hall, Joint
CEOs
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c/o Alma PR
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Steve Dilks, CFO
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Singer Capital Markets
Peter Steel / Tom Salvesen / Jalini
Kalaravy
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+44 (0) 20 7496 3000
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Alma Strategic Communications
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+44 (0) 20 3405 0205
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Sam Modlin / Rebecca Sanders-Hewett
/ Kinvara Verdon
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sosandar@almastrategic.com
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About Sosandar plc
Sosandar is a women's fashion brand
in the UK targeting style conscious women who have graduated from
lower quality, price-led alternatives. The Company offers this
underserved audience fashion-forward, affordable, quality clothing
to make them feel sexy, feminine, and chic. The business sells
predominantly own-label exclusive product designed and tested
in-house.
Sosandar's product range is diverse,
providing its customers with an array of choice for all occasions
across all women's fashion categories. The company sells through
Sosandar.com and its own stores, and has a number of high value
brand partnerships including with NEXT and Marks &
Spencer.
Sosandar's success has been built on
an exceptional product range, seamless customer experience and
impactful, lifestyle marketing, all of which is underpinned by
combining innovation with data analysis. Our growth strategy is
focused on continuing to grow brand awareness and expand our
addressable market and routes to market, reaching customers
wherever they wish to shop. This is achieved both through direct to
consumer channels and through chosen third-party
partners.
Sosandar was founded in 2016 and
listed on AIM in 2017. More information is available at
www.sosandar-ir.com