Much as expected boohoo group has reported a fall in its full year revenues (to 28 February ’23). Group revenue fell by a not inconsiderable 11 per cent to total £1.77bn and this resulted in a pre-tax loss of £90.7m as against the £7.8m profit recorded for 2022. Adjusted EBITDA was also down by 49 per cent to £63.3m.
As per the rest of the market, boohoo attributed the rising costs of freight and logistics as well as growing employee and energy costs. It had begun to tackle inefficiencies at the brands it had acquired as part of a wider cost-cutting effort but had operated for most of the year with higher overheads.
The business said that it now has 18m active customers and has the potential to reach 500m globally. Its focus will be to return to growth.
John Lyttle, boohoo group CEO said: “Looking ahead, we are investing for the future growth of this business with automation, local fulfilment capacity in the US and building global brand awareness. We will deliver sustainable returns on these investments.
“We will continue to give our customers the latest trends, outstanding value and a great experience. Our confidence in the medium-term prospects for the group remain unchanged, and as we execute on our key priorities we see a clear path to improved profitability and getting back to double digit revenue growth.”
Commenting on these results, Julie Palmer, Partner at Begbies Traynor, said:
“This morning’s results from boohoo reveal yet again the impact the cost-of-living crisis is having on the online fashion retail sector.
“Last year did come with the added pressure of tough comparators given the pandemic boom, where consumers were forced to shop from their sofas rather than in person, so perhaps the performance isn’t quite a bad as it first appears. Boohoo’s sales were 43 per cent higher than in 2020 before Covid sent shockwaves through retail, and internet shopping became the new normal.”
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