The retailer saw robust revenue growth of 17.8% to £35.1 million in the third quarter (October to December).
Year to date revenue growth stands at 22% with sales of £88.9 million. In a challenging trading environment, the gross product margin did not increase to the levels Marks Electrical had expected, and despite proactive action on controllable costs, the impact of this in the peak trading period has had a material impact on the full year profit guidance.
As a result, Marks Electrical is now expecting full year revenue to be in the range of £115 – 118 million, with EBITDA in the range of £5-6 million.
Going forward the company expects to see continued revenue growth in line with expectations, but remains cautious on the speed of recovery in consumer buying patterns, which it expects to temporarily impact the recovery of the gross product margin.
Marks Electrical has maintained its Trustpilot score of 4.8, and has now reached over 60,000 reviews with 95% of those being 4 and 5 star.
Mark Smithson, ceo, commented: “I continue to remain proud of the entire team at Marks Electrical for delivering a record peak trading period whilst gaining market share and maintaining our industry leading Trustpilot score of 4.8. This further demonstrates the strength and attractiveness of our market-leading customer offering and as brand awareness improves, we continue to see a strong repeat customer rate.
“Whilst I am personally frustrated about our expected margin progression in the second half, I remain confident about our long-term growth prospects and continue to be impressed by our ability to deliver market share gains profitably, against a fiercely competitive backdrop, whilst maintaining the highest levels of customer service standards in the industry.
“As we work tirelessly as a team to enhance our gross product margin in the remaining months of FY24 and into FY25, I also know from 37 years of trading that margin fluctuations are inevitable, they present us with an opportunity to learn, and will ultimately enable the Group to deliver long-term value creation and position us as the UK’s leading premium electrical retailer.”
