Business
Interim Results 2023
Interim Results 2023.
About this update from Wickes Group Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\nWickes Group plc - Interim Results 2023\nfor the 26 week period to 1 July 2023\n \nStrategy continues to deliver, with positive first half LFL sales; full year expectations maintained\n \n \nFinancial Highlights\n● Revenue growth of 0.7% to £827.7m (H1 2022 £822.3m) driven by the sales uplift in DIFM1\no Core LFL -0.8%2 with growth in the second quarter as weather patterns normalised;\no DIFM delivered LFL sales up 5.8%2 as we continue to work through the elevated order book and with ongoing growth in ordered sales\n● £34.8m adjusted profit before tax and SaaS IT investment costs3 (H1 2022 re-presented £41.3m4), with cost inflation exceeding revenue growth\n● Adjusted PBT £31.1m after £3.7m of SaaS IT investment costs3 expensed as required by IAS38\n● Reported profit before tax of £21.1m primarily reflecting IT separation costs (H1 2022 £33.5m)\n● Cash position of £190.0m (H1 2022 £166.5m), improved from the year end position of £99.5m reflecting the seasonal working capital cycle in the business\n● Interim dividend declared of 3.6p (H1 2022 3.6p), reflecting our intention to maintain the same full year cash dividend as FY 2022\n● £25m share buyback programme under way\n \nOperational and Strategic Highlights\n● Our strategy continues to deliver with growth levers all supporting further market share gains5\n● Continued strong growth in our TradePro loyalty scheme, with 65,000 new customers signing up in the first half, and a period end base of 811,000\n● Launch of Wickes Lifestyle Kitchens, with a free design service, to capture a larger share of the mass market\n● Improved click & collect capacity and service levels drive meaningful channel shift back to stores, reducing distribution costs\n● Six refits in the first half, with 11 in total planned for the full year; ROIC in line with plan at >25%\n● Three store openings in the second half, including Chelmsford in July, as the opening programme accelerates and we look to open around 20 new stores over five years\n●  ...