Electrical retailers see better-than-expected Christmas results
Electrical retailers AO and Marks Electrical have reported greater-than-expected results, bolstered by solid trading in the Christmas period.
In its financial report for the three months to December 31, AO said that despite a fall in year-on-year revenue of 17.2%, actions taken to reduce costs and improve margins have led to an improved revision in the business’ profit guidance.
AO said it now expects its earnings to be in the region of £30-£40m for the full year, ahead of previous expectations of £20m-£30m.
The group said: “We remain cautiously optimistic and yet mindful of the continuing macroeconomic uncertainty and tough consumer environment, whilst also taking into account both the extent to which these and inflationary pressures can impact our contract assets.”
Meanwhile online electrical wholesale retailer Marks Electrical also reported a strong period of trading, with revenue growth of 33.4% to £29.8m in the period of October to December 2022 (Q3 2023).
The wholesaler also saw a year-to-date revenue growth of 22% to £72.9m, compared to £59.8m the previous year.
Marks Electrical said it was on track to meet its full year targets.
Mark Smithson, chief executive officer of Marks Electrical, said: “To continue our focus on growing brand awareness, we further invested in highly targeted television, radio and out-of-home campaigns over the Black Friday and Christmas sales peaks. This led to increased website traffic and broad-based revenue growth across the UK, but with particularly strong improvements year-on-year in London, South East England and the East Midlands.”