// Group revenue up 8.4% Y-oY
// Strongest growth was digital sales with 34% increase
// Balance sheet remains strong with net cash of £12.3m as of January 5
Quiz has revealed an uptick in sales over the crucial Christmas trading period, but conceded it was still below expectations.
For the six week period leading up to January 5, the fashion retailer saw group revenue increase 8.4 per cent year-on-year, which was driven by 34.1 per cent sales increase from online.
Quiz experienced the strongest growth through its own websites, where revenue increased by 50.8 per cent year-on-year.
Meanwhile, Quiz’s UK standalone stores and concessions revenue increased by 1.6 per cent during the period.
It also opened three new standalone stores and relocated two stores into larger refurbished units in the financial year.
The fashion retailer admitted that November was a challenging month and the overall Christmas trading period did not meet sales expectations.
The retailer had previously indicated that its financial results for the year to March 31 would be dependent on trading during Christmas.
Nonetheless, its balance sheet remained strong with net cash of £12.3 million as of January 5, and it insisted that sales patterns improved as the Christmas trading period progressed.
The board currently anticipates that revenues for the 2019 financial will be lower than current market expectations at approximately £133.0 million compared to £116.4 million the prior year.
Over the past year, the retailer invested in additional resources and personnel to promote its growth.
Consequently, there has been a significant increase in employee numbers, marketing and depreciation costs.
Due to the results, the board now anticipates expects Quiz’s EBITDA will be in the region of £8.2 million.
“Against the backdrop of challenging trading conditions over recent months, Quiz has delivered further revenue growth over the Christmas period driven by the performance of our own websites,” chief executive Tarak Ramzan said.
“However, the growth and the margin achieved have been below our initial expectations and, consequently, the board considers it appropriate to revise its sales and profit expectations for the current year.”
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