Sosandar lowers profit guidance after M&S cyber-attack
Sosandar has warned that the cyber-attack at M&S will impact its own profit for the current financial year.
The women’s fashion retailer, which operates its own stores and website and also sells through partner retailers, said it has received no sales through M&S since mid-April. As as result, it is anticipating lower revenue through the retailer for the rest of FY26.
Sosandar now expects its own full year revenue to rise by 18% to £43.6 million with pre-tax profit of £0.4 million. This compares to a previous guidance of £46.2 million in revenue and adjusted pre-tax profit of £1.5 million.
Reporting its results for the year to 31 March 2025, the retailer said revenue declined to £37.1 million from £46.3 million a year earlier due to a deliberate transition away from price promotional activity to improve gross margin.
Meanwhile, adjusted pre-tax profit came in at £0.2 million compared to a loss of £0.3 million in the previous year.
Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, co chief executives of Sosandar, said: “During the last year we’ve strengthened the foundations of the business, which will enable us to deliver our growth and profit ambitions going forwards.
“Taking the decision to reduce price promotions has resulted in an expected reduction in revenue but significantly improved margins and cash generation which, in turn, has allowed the Group to maintain a robust balance sheet and self-fund its growth plan.
“The opening of our first stores was a milestone for Sosandar, and we are pleased with how we have brought our brand to life in the physical retail environment.
“We have taken clear learnings from the trajectory of our stores in market towns versus shopping centres and are focused on getting our existing portfolio to profitability before opening any further stores.
“This decision, alongside the continuing impact from the Marks & Spencer cyber incident on our third-party sales, means we are moderating our expectations for revenue and profit growth in the current year.”
