Studio posts uplift in sales and profit
Studio Retail has posted an uplift in both sales and profit in the year to 27 March.
Total group revenue edged up 2.2% to£514.8 million while adjusted pre-tax profit climbed by 8.6% to £31.2 million.
The company’s Studio retail business performed well with sales rising by 3.1% to £434.9 million.
Meanwhile, financial services revenue increased by 4.9% to £123.2 million.
Phil Maudsley, Studio group chief executive, said the company had reached a digital sweet spot due to changing shopping habits during the coronavirus crisis. He added: “The year FY20 seems a world away now, but it was a year in which we made operational progress as a group, ensuring we were ready to face Covid-19 from a position of strength.
“Over the past five months I would like to thank each and every one of my colleagues for their commitment and hard work. It is down to them, our improved infrastructure, and our strengthened online customer offer that we have been able to meet the significant increase in customer demand.”
Studio said trading in the first 20 weeks of the new financial year had been “exceptional”, with product sales up 42% year-on-year and financial services revenue up 6.4%. In addition, the company passed the milestone of having over two million active customers in June.
Looking ahead, it added: “Our overall strategy to grow the Studio customer base and increase our customers’ spend with us, supported by our flexible credit offer, is essentially unchanged by the pandemic. Whilst it is too early to restore detailed guidance for FY21, we continue to believe that Studio’s recent performance provides the basis for sustainable medium-term profit growth.”
