Matalan has reported a 7.4% dip in EBITDA in its full year results, which the value retailer said reflected the impact of the snow in its fourth quarter.
For the year to February 26, EBITDA was £153.6m. Sales were broadly level with last year at £1.1bn.
In the year, online sales “delivered strong growth” and the website is now its biggest store. It also opened seven shops in the year.
During the year chief executive Alistair McGeorge stepped down and post the year end Darren Blackhurst joined as chief executive, who was previously at Asda.
Matalan said the year was challenging, and the heavy snow impacted its peak Christmas trading period. It said kidswear performed strongly in the year, strengthened by the launch of new clothing brands.
It said it ended the year with over £80m in cash and a clean terminal stock balance. It said this is a “strong position in which to enter what will undoubtedly be another challenging year”.
Matalan said while the outlook remains uncertain it will keep value as a priority, and “therefore as a family retailer we will focus on minimising price increases”.
Matalan chairman John Mills said: “This was a respectable performance achieved in a challenging market. We continued to develop our store network and product offering, as well as growing the online offering and investing in a successful high profile advertising campaign.
“The coming year will present consumers with further challenges to their disposable income, however we are committed to continuing to provide our customers with a wide choice of high quality products for the whole family at highly competitive prices, and I am excited about the opportunities that exist for the business.”
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