Nisa reports strong fourth quarter trading
Wholesaler and convenience retailer Nisa has reported a strong fourth quarter performance with sales up 2.2% on a like-for-like basis year-on-year.
With total sales of £299 million, the group benefited from like-for-like tobacco sales increasing by 4.9% in the 13 weeks to 2 April which is in contrast to the falling tobacco market.
Nisa said its performance was helped by an improved offer which included more investment in price and promotions, consumer leaflet development and its own label range.
Sales were also driven by strong growth in member numbers with 225 new stores in the quarter, compared to 113 last year.
The group expects full year EBITDA to be £8.5 million compared to £7.3 million in the previous year.
In the year to 2 April 2017 the total number of retail sites served by Nisa reached 3,466.
Nick Read, chief executive of Nisa Retail,s aid: “I am very happy to see sales and recruitment on an upward trajectory, giving us real momentum coming out of Q4. I am pleased to report further progress against our three-year strategic plan to focus on Heritage, range optimisation and lowering our cost to serve, while targeting greater scale.”