4th Jun 2019 12:06
LONDON (Alliance News) - AO World PLC on Tuesday reported a widened loss in its most recent financial year, but said it "can do better" as it looks ahead with confidence.
Separately, the company said that Senior Independent Director Brian McBride will step down from the role he held since 2014 at the company's annual general meeting to be held on July 17.
The retailer said it will not replace McBride with a new director, but instead, Non-Executive Director Marisa Cassoni will be appointed as the senior independent director.
For the year ended March 31, the online electrical retailer posted a pretax loss of GBP18.9 million, compared with GBP13.5 million loss a year ago.
This was due to administrative costs rising to GBP169.0 million from GBP159.8 million and finance costs up to GBP6.2 million from GBP2.1 million.
Revenue, however, jumped 13% to GBP902.5 million from GBP796.8 million, with the retailer experiencing growth in both Europe and UK despite challenging market backdrops.
In the UK, revenue was up 10% to GBP749.3 million, with a 5.7% increase on a like-for-like basis, while in Europe sales spiked 32% to GBP153.2 million.
Founder & Chief Executive Officer John Roberts said: "We've delivered double digit revenue growth in the UK and achieved over 30% in Europe and adjusted earnings in the UK has improved by over 20%."
"The UK result was achieved against an ongoing tough trading environment and includes three months contribution from Mobile Phones Direct which we acquired in December 2018 and its integration continues to go to plan."
On an operational point of view, AO World said it experienced growth in its customer base to nearly 6.5 million in the UK and 800,000 in Europe.
The retailer said its ambition remains to be "run-rate profitable" in Europe during financial 2021.
Roberts added: "Overall, the AO team deserve praise for their efforts in financial 2019 but we can do better and I'm pleased with the progress that we are now making in the first few months of this financial year."
"I'm proud to be back at the helm of the business I founded almost two decades ago and I'm more excited than ever about the future for AO."
AO World shares were trading down 7.5% at 101.80 pence each on Tuesday around midday.
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