Media
Q3 YTD results 2021
May 27, 2021
The Directors present their interim results statement of The Very Group Limited and its subsidiaries (“the Group”) for the nine month period ended 31 March 2021.
Review of the business
Whilst continuing to operate through the Covid-19 pandemic, our business has continued to prove its adaptability and resilience, as demonstrated by our Q3 FY21 YTD1 results. Pre-exceptional EBITDA2 increased 17.7% to £211.0m (Q3 FY20 YTD: £179.2m). The profit before tax for the period increased to £43.8m (Q3 FY20 YTD: profit of £38.0m) after recognising exceptional items of £38.7m (Q3 FY20 YTD: £17.0m).
Group sales
Group sales3 increased by 16.7% to £1,788.0m (Q3 FY20 YTD: £1,532.5m). Very.co.uk revenue grew 22.1% to £1,443.6m (Q3 FY20 YTD: £1,182.6m), benefitting from its combination of famous brands, mobile-first customer experience and options to spread the cost of purchases using credit. Littlewoods revenue was down 1.6% to £344.4m (Q3 FY20 YTD: £349.9m) as we successfully controlled the decline of the Littlewoods brand.
Retail sales
Retail sales4 increased by 22.6% with our flagship brand Very.co.uk growing retail sales by 30.1% and which included a record level of quarterly sales growth seen during Q3 FY21 of 53.8% vs. Q3 FY20. Our robust business model which offers a multi-category range has continued to provide resilience against adverse movements in individual product categories. In line with trends seen since Q4 FY20, following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK, consumers continue to buy into product categories to support home living and working. Electrical revenue grew by 41.3% in Q3 FY21 YTD. driven by double digit growth across all categories, with the strongest performances seen in gaming, computing, vision and smart tech. Home grew by 33.8% in Q3 FY21 YTD, driven by customers continuing the trend of purchasing from our home accessories, home furnishings and garden tools and DIY ranges. Other categories (which represents 11% of the retail sales mix, includes toys, gifts, beauty and leisure) grew by 7.1% in Q3 FY21 YTD, resulting from solid performances across sports equipment and fitness categories. Fashion & Sports sales increased by 1.7% in Q3 FY21 YTD, with the third quarter of the year reporting year-on-year growth of 15.9%, following a year-on-year decline of 2.5% in the first half of the year. This was driven by strong performances in nightwear and celebrity designer categories, as well as childrenswear and school wear. Sportswear has continued to perform strongly in the period, reporting growth of 14.8% in Q3 FY21 YTD, reflecting a trend towards customers purchasing casualwear.
Notes:
1. Q3 FY21 YTD is the 9 months ended 31 March 2021. Q3 FY20 YTD is the 9 months ended 31 March 2020.
2. Pre-exceptional EBITDA is defined on page 5 of the Financial Statements.
3. Group sales defined as net despatches excluding VAT and inclusive of Financial Services revenues and IFRS adjustments for discounts and vouchers.
4. Retail sales is on a management accounts basis excluding statutory adjustments, therefore differs to revenue from the sale of goods presented in the condensed consolidated income statement.
