Matalan full year sales drop but losses narrow

For the full year, Matalan reported revenues of 1,082 million pounds, down 6 percent on a like-for-like basis, while EBITDA jumped 92 percent year-on-year to 53 million pounds as a result of gross margin improvements, tightly controlled costs and delivery of operational improvements.

Gross margin for the year improved 8 percent to 495 million pounds and the company’s loss before tax was reduced 44 percent to 60 million pounds versus the previous year.

Commenting on the full year trading, Jo Whitfield, chief executive officer of Matalan, said: “In the last year we have kick started the transformation of Matalan against a very challenging backdrop, resetting the foundations of the business. We delivered a significant increase in underlying profit as a result of our clear focus on growing full price sales and tight cost control.”

The company said in a release that the revenue development was impacted by strategic decisions and challenging trading and market conditions.
Matalan improved full price sales mix to 70 percent, up 4pp on last year through tighter stock and markdown control.

The company added that early operational progress in transformation of Matalan was achieved and a new executive team was appointed to the year under review.

“With a new leadership team in place, we have put the customer back at the heart of Matalan to make sure we become top of their list of go-to value retailers,” added Whitfield.

While actions were taken to improve and strengthen online sales performance, the company also opened two new stores in Portsmouth and Crewe. Matalan also introduced 35 new third-party brands and extended size ranges online to offer more choice and style.