Business
Interim Results 2022
Interim Results 2022.
About this update from Wickes Group Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n\n\nWICKES GROUP PLC (WIX)\n\n\n\nWICKES GROUP PLC: Interim Results 202215-Sep-2022 / 07:00 GMT/BSTDissemination of a Regulatory Announcement, transmitted by EQS Group.The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.\n\nWickes Group plc - Interim Results 2022for the 26 weeks period to 2 July 2022Record first half sales with further market share gains in a challenging macro backdropFinancial Highlights\nRevenue growth of 1.3% to £822.3m (H1 2021 £812.0m) against strong prior year comparatives\n Further market share gains in Core[1], and a strong recovery in delivered DIFM sales\n Like for Like (‘LFL’)[2] sales up 0.8%, and 23.4% on a three-year basis\n Adjusted profit before tax £45.6m (H1 2021 £46.5m)\n Reported profit before tax of £33.5m reflecting primarily IT separation costs (H1 2021 £35.7m)\n Net cash position of £166.5m (H1 2021 £204.2m), improved from the year end position of £123.4m reflecting the normal working capital cycle in the business\n Net debt £558.5m (H1 2021 £564.8m)\n Interim dividend declared of 3.6p (H1 2021 2.1p), reflecting our intention to maintain the same full year cash dividend as FY 2021\nOperational Highlights\n\nAcceleration in membership growth of our TradePro loyalty scheme, with around 10,000 new customers signing up each month and a current base of over 700k\n Overall Core LFL -5.5% against buoyant prior year sales; profit contribution declined although market share was up reflecting the strength of our leading value proposition\n Recovery in DIFM delivered sales, up 29.7% LFL, with strongly improved profitability as we work through the order book which at £136m remains significantly ahead of the prior year\n Acceleration of store refit programme with 11 planned for the full year; returns and sales uplifts against heritage stores remain over 25%\n First new store set to open in Q4 in Bolton, as we look to open 20 new stores over five years\n Launched 30 minute click & collect and increased home delivery capacity by 10%\n Submitting Science-Based Targets for carbon emissions reduction by the end of September \nCurrent Trading & OutlookAs guided in our 26 July trading update, we have seen a recent softening of the DIY market from the very high levels of demand experienced during the pandemic. While the macroeconomic environment remains uncertain, we are confide...