Go fish: Angling Direct denies investors a dividend as it doubles down on expansion plans
Angling Direct boosted sales by 40 per cent in its latest financial year but denied investors a dividend as it doubled down on expansion plans both online and on the UK high street.
Read more: Angling Direct shares rise as it reels in record sales
The figures
Group sales rose 39 per cent to £42m in the year to the end of January compared to the previous financial year.
However, the fishing equipment retailer made an operating loss before tax of £300,000, down from a £200,000 profit in 2018, as it invested in growing its online and offline markets.
Gross profit rose 40 per cent year on year to £13.8m with a gross margin of 32.9 per cent while net cash stood at £13.5m compared to just £800,000 in 2018 after a successful £20m share placing in October.
Angling Direct said it would not pay a dividend as it reinvests cash into growing the business, and investors must put up with a 0.55p loss per share, compared to a 0.10p profit per share last year.
What Angling Direct said
Executive chairman Martyn Page said:
It has been a transformational year for Angling Direct, achieving record sales across the store network and online. The successful £20m placing in October 2018, has enabled us to accelerate our expansion strategy with three stores opened in the period, cementing Angling Direct's position as the UK's number one fishing tackle retailer.
As the UK market consolidates, we are seeing a corresponding increase on our margins as the level of discounting from competitors decreases. Coupled with this are encouraging customer habits with increasing numbers of returning customers both in-store and online as Angling Direct becomes the retailer of choice.
We are excited by the sales growth outside the UK through our native language websites, which will be a key focus for the group in 2019. The European market is highly fragmented with limited competition online. We expect to increase our market share through targeted marketing campaigns, unrivalled customer experience and carefully considered M&A opportunities.
The company has made an excellent start to the fiscal year and, in the first two months like-for-like sales were up by 28.5 per cent and overall sales were up by 50.7 per cent compared to the previous year. We will continue to build on this momentum in the year ahead, with exciting new store openings planned and continued targeted online growth. Our plans for the summer season are progressing very well and the Board is confident that the company is on track to meet its full year targets.
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