GEAR4MUSIC (HOLDINGS) PLC

Earnings Release • Apr 23, 2020

National Storage Mechanism | Additional information

RNS Number : 5675K

Gear4music (Holdings) PLC

23 April 2020

23 April 2020

Gear4music (Holdings) plc

Year-End Trading Update

Gear4music (Holdings) plc ("Gear4music" or "the Group"), the largest UK based online retailer of musical instruments and music equipment, today announces a year-end trading update covering the 12 months to 31 March 2020.

£m	12 months to 31 March 2020	12 months to 28 February 2019	% change
UK sales	61.8	58.9	5%
Europe and Rest of the World sales	58.5	51.0	15%
Total sales	120.3	109.9	9%

FY20 Highlights*

·    Total sales increased by 9% to £120.3m (FY19: £109.9m)

·    Gross margin improved by 310bps to 25.9% (FY19: 22.8%)

·    EBITDA not less than £7.0m (FY19: £2.3m)

·    On-hand cash not less than £7.0m at 31 March 2020 (31 March 2019: £5.3m)

*Subject to audit. Final results to be announced on 23 June 2020. FY20 profit figures stated on an IFRS16 basis. FY19 sales are for the period 1 March 2018 to 28 February 2019 as previously disclosed, following the change in accounting reference date to 31 March. FY19 gross margin and EBITDA are for the 13 months ended 31 March 2019, also as previously disclosed.  

Gear4music's Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Wass, said:

"I am very pleased to report that we have achieved our primary FY20 objectives of improving our operational strength and driving efficiencies in order to restore gross margins, resulting in record profits for the Group.

FY21 has begun with operational challenges relating to COVID-19, and our focus has been on protecting the health and safety of our employees, whilst ensuring service levels are maintained for our customers.

I am extremely grateful for the extraordinary hard work and commitment our teams have demonstrated, which has allowed us to successfully satisfy the high demand we have encountered since late March, as an increasing number of people recognise the benefits that playing musical instruments can bring during these difficult times.

We remain confident that our business is appropriately configured to achieve long term profitable growth, and that we are in a strong position to build upon the excellent progress we have made during FY20."

- Ends -

Enquiries:

Gear4music Andrew Wass, Chief Executive Officer Chris Scott, Chief Financial Officer	+44 (0)20 3865 9668
N+1 Singer - Nominated Adviser and Broker Peter Steel/Justin McKeegan, Corporate Finance Tom Salvesen, Corporate Broking	+44 (0)20 7496 3000
Alma - Financial PR Rebecca Sanders-Hewett Helena Bogle	+44 (0)20 3405 0205 gear4music@almapr.co.uk

About Gear4music.com

Operating from a Head Office in York, and Distribution Centres and showrooms in York, Sweden and Germany, the Group sells own-brand musical instruments and music equipment alongside premium third-party brands including Fender, Yamaha and Roland, to customers ranging from beginners to musical enthusiasts and professionals, in the UK, Europe and, more recently, into the Rest of the World.

Having developed its own e-commerce platform, with multilingual, multicurrency websites delivering to over 190 countries, the Group has rapidly expanded its database and continues to build its overseas presence.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014.

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