14th May 2018 09:51
LONDON (Alliance News) - Angling Direct PLC said Monday annual profit fell as stock-market listing costs bit, despite revenue rising sharply, as acquisitions and new store openings contributed to what the retailer called a "transformational" year.
For the year ended January, pretax profit dropped to GBP159,000 from GBP663,000 the year prior. This was despite revenue rising to GBP30.2 million from GBP21.0 million the year before.
Cost of sales, distribution and administrative expenses rose to GBP29.3 million from GBP20.3 million the year prior but largely grew in line with revenue. The largest drag on profit performance, however, was the GBP730,000 in initial public offering costs.
In January 2017, Angling Direct listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange at 64 pence per share which valued it at GBP27.4 million. Shares in Angling Direct were 1.0% lower on the day Monday at 103.00 pence.
Angling Direct decided against paying a dividend in order to preserve cash for re-investment in the business. It does not expect to pay a dividend in the "short term" but will keep its dividend policy under review.
"It has been a transformational year for Angling Direct, with the company's admission to AIM and the completion of a number of acquisitions and new store openings, which has cemented Angling Direct's position as the UK's number one fishing tackle retailer, online and in-store," Angling Direct Executive Chairman Martyn Page said.
In October 2017, Angling Direct acquired Fosters Fishing Ltd - which owns Fosters Of Birmingham - for GBP3.0 million. In November, it acquired two fishing stores in the north-west of England for GBP450,000.
During the period it opened three new stores, in Swindon, Slough and Stoke. In total, Angling Direct now has 21 stores.
"The business achieved record revenues and profits, following strong sales growth across the store network and online as a result of our ongoing investment in marketing campaigns and customer experience in-store and online," Page added. "The company is executing its strategy of consolidating a highly fragmented market and we will continue to build on this in the year ahead, with exciting new store openings planned, and continued targeted online growth."
"Despite the adverse weather conditions for fishing," Page continued, "the company has had a good start to the year with momentum building in recent weeks, and our plans for the summer season are well set. The board is confident that the company is on track to meet its full-year targets."
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