boohoo.com plc Trading Update (0827H)

TIDMBOO

RNS Number : 0827H

boohoo.com plc

11 March 2015

 
 For immediate release   11 March 2015 
 

boohoo.com plc - trading update for the two months and highlights for the year to 28(th) February 2015

"The Global Fashion Leader for a Social Generation"

 
 GBP'000       Two months to 28(th) February         Year to 28(th) February 2015 
                            2015 
             FY15      FY14     Increase    CER    FY15      FY14     Increase   CER 
---------  --------  --------  ----------  ----  --------  --------  ---------  ---- 
 Sales       21,861    17,870         22%   24%   139,851   109,791        27%   31% 
   UK        14,558    12,845         13%   13%    94,342    70,992        33%   33% 
   ROE        2,903     2,202         32%   46%    18,086    13,058        39%   47% 
   ROW        4,400     2,823         56%   59%    27,423    25,741         7%   16% 
---------  --------  --------  ----------  ----  --------  --------  ---------  ---- 
 

Highlights for the two months to 28(th) February 2015

   --     Revenue up 22% (24% CER) 
   --     Strong performance in the Rest of the World 
   --     Gross margin approximately 58%, reflecting the January sale 
   --     3m active customers, up 29% on prior year 

-- Focus on conversion and profit margin during the period ahead of accelerating marketing spend into the Spring Summer 2015 season

Highlights for the year to 28(th) February 2015

   --     Revenue up 27% (31% CER) 
   --     Gross margin approximately 61% 
   --     EBITDA margin for the year expected to be approximately 10% 

-- Continued investment in warehouse infrastructure with the WMS successfully implemented and construction of the warehouse extension scheduled for completion in April

-- New fully responsive website delivering improved mobile experience with handheld now accounting for almost 50% of visits

-- Product range continues to be extended with the successful launch of boohoo Petite and boohoo FIT during the period

   --     GBP54m cash on balance sheet at year end 

Commentary

Following a challenging third quarter to our financial year in the UK, we have focussed on driving customer conversion and margin during the two months to February 2015. January is a promotional month and February a transitional month into the Spring season so we have held marketing spend at c.10% of sales ahead of increasing that towards levels seen in the first quarter last year. Early indications suggest our Spring #WeAreUs campaign is being positively received and was trending at the number one position on Twitter on launch day.

We have continued to gain market share in the UK, achieving a 2.17% share of traffic in February 2015 according to Hitwise, a 12% improvement on the prior year.

The Rest of Europe continued to perform strongly for boohoo.com during the period, with 46% constant currency growth, a reflection of our focus on fewer key markets. In the Rest of World, investment in our proposition continued to produce encouraging results with continued acceleration of growth in the last two months of the year.

Group EBITDA margins are expected to be in line with previous guidance of approximately 10% for the year.

Our investment in infrastructure and IT continues and we expect the construction of the extension to the warehouse to be completed during April which will provide significant capacity for future growth.

Mobile now represents almost half of all sessions and daily unique visitors. The new responsive website launched in September has seen mobile conversion improve by over 40% in the last quarter.

The Board has considered the levels of cash in the business and will be seeking authorisation to buy back up to 10% of issued share capital to be approved at the next AGM. Any share buy back would also be conditional on independent shareholders approving a whitewash resolution pursuant to Rule 9 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers.

Joint Chief Executives Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane commented:

"We continue to build our business for the long term, as we stated at our IPO last year, and our clear objective is to deliver sustainable growth. We remain absolutely focussed on execution and are increasing our marketing spend in FY16 to drive momentum in the business."

Analyst/Investor conference call:

boohoo.com will host a conference call for analysts and investors at 9.30am (UK time) today. Please call/email Buchanan for dial-in details. The results for the full year are expected to be announced on 6(th) May 2015.

Enquiries

 
 boohoo.com plc                            c/o Buchanan Tel: [phone] 
  Mahmud Kamani, Joint Chief Executive      [e-mail] 
  Carol Kane, Joint Chief Executive         Tel: [phone] 
  Neil Catto, Chief Financial Officer 
  Benjamin Robertson, Investor Relations 
 Buchanan - Financial PR adviser           Tel: [phone] 
  Richard Oldworth                          [e-mail] 
  Helen Chan 
  Gabriella Clinkard 
 Zeus Capital - Nominated adviser and       Tel: [phone] 
  joint broker                               Tel: [phone] 
  Nick Cowles 
  Andrew Jones 
  John Goold 
 Jefferies Hoare Govett - joint broker      Tel: [phone] 
  Nick Adams 
  Max Jones 
  Ben Bailey 
 

About boohoo.com

"24/7 Global Fashion"

Keeping one step ahead of the trends or making a subtle style change is easy with boohoo.com and with up to 100 pieces hitting the site every day and a new collection each week, boohoo.com never stops - it's 24/7 fashion at its best.

From the UK's best kept fashion secret to one of the fastest growing own brand, international e-tailers, boohoo.com has quickly evolved into a global fashion leader of its generation. Combining cutting-edge, aspirational design with an affordable price tag, boohoo.com has been pushing boundaries since 2006 to bring its customers all the latest looks for less.

 
 www.boohoo.com          www.boohoo.com/newz      fr.boohoo.com 
 www.boohoo.com/europe   www.boohoo.com/sweden    de.boohoo.com 
 www.boohoo.com/usa      www.boohoo.com/denmark   it.boohoo.com 
 www.boohoo.com/canada   www.boohoo.com/norway    nl.boohoo.com 
 www.boohoo.com/aus                               es.boohoo.com 
 

Appendix - prior period revenues

Revenue by period for the year ending 28(th) February 2015

 
 GBP'000s    Q1        yoy    yoy    Q2       yoy   yoy 
                        %       %              %      % 
                               CER                   CER 
----------  -------  ------  -----  -------  ----  ----- 
 Sales       30,659    24%    30%    36,538   37%   41% 
   UK        20,686    44%    44%    24,919   50%   50% 
   ROE        3,891    36%    40%     4,828   50%   61% 
   ROW        6,082   (20)%   (6)%    6,791   0%     8% 
----------  -------  ------  -----  -------  ----  ----- 
 
 
 GBP'000s    4m to    yoy   yoy    2m to    yoy   yoy    FY15      yoy   yoy 
              Dec      %      %     Feb      %      %               %      % 
                             CER                   CER                    CER 
----------  -------  ----  -----  -------  ----  -----  --------  ----  ----- 
 Sales       50,793   25%   27%    21,860   22%   24%    139,851   27%   31% 
   UK        34,179   26%   26%    14,558   13%   13%     94,342   33%   33% 
   ROE        6,464   35%   41%     2,903   32%   46%     18,086   39%   47% 
   ROW       10,150   19%   24%     4,399   56%   59%     27,423   7%    16% 
----------  -------  ----  -----  -------  ----  -----  --------  ----  ----- 
 

Revenue by period for the year ending 28(th) February 2014

 
 GBP'000s    Q1       yoy    yoy    Q2       yoy    yoy 
                        %      %               %      % 
                              CER                    CER 
----------  -------  -----  -----  -------  -----  ----- 
 Sales       24,825   127%   118%   26,607   78%    80% 
   UK        14,354   68%    68%    16,577   80%    80% 
   ROE        2,862   112%   104%    3,219   107%   93% 
   ROW        7,609   626%   597%    6,811   63%    76% 
----------  -------  -----  -----  -------  -----  ----- 
 
 
 GBP'000s    4m to    yoy   yoy    2m to     yoy    yoy    FY14      yoy   yoy 
              Dec      %      %     Feb       %       %               %      % 
                             CER                     CER                    CER 
----------  -------  ----  -----  -------  ------  -----  --------  ----  ----- 
 Sales       40,488   44%   45%    17,870    35%    38%    109,791   63%   63% 
   UK        27,216   50%   50%    12,845    54%    54%     70,992   60%   60% 
   ROE        4,774   63%   52%     2,203    45%    33%     13,058   78%   66% 
   ROW        8,498   21%   28%     2,823   (16)%   (5)%    25,741   65%   72% 
----------  -------  ----  -----  -------  ------  -----  --------  ----  ----- 
 

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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