Matalan makes ‘strong recovery’
Matalan has reported a strong sales uplift in the year to 26 February despite six weeks of store closures at the beginning of the period.
While EBITDA rose to £197.8 million from £80.5 million year-on-year, revenue increased to over £1 billion from a previous £744.1 million.
Meanwhile, pre-tax losses narrowed to £7.7 million from £131.5 million a year earlier.
Matalan said its online sales continued to perform well with growth seen in the previous year retained, despite the ending of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.
Steve Johnson, chairman of Matalan, said: “The results published today for the year to February 2022 represent a strong recovery during what remained a period of ongoing challenges, including mandated store closures and the continuation of worldwide supply chain disruption as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Despite these obstacles, and assisted by the support packages provided by the government, we significantly improved our level of performance and profitability in what remain demanding circumstances for both our sector and consumers more broadly.”
Matalan is now implementing its recently refreshed business strategy which focuses on driving its core business performance, developing omnichannel capabilities, and unlocking and delivering new growth opportunities. The retailer is also repositioning its brand to establish deeper connections with customers and further develop its brand personality and fashion credentials.
Giving an update on more current trading, the retailer said total revenue in the 13 weeks to 28 May 2022 rose to £286.5 million from £221.8 million at the same time in the prior year.
Johnson added: “In parallel to navigating the near term market conditions, we continue to progress our digital transformation programme, building on last year’s first phase of supply chain automation and further developing the
planning for the migration of the website onto the THG Ingenuity platform in spring 2023. These developments will drive and underpin further growth in our omnichannel proposition as we move the business forwards.”
