AO World plc Trading Statement (0644V)
April 04 2019 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMAO.
RNS Number : 0644V
AO World plc
04 April 2019
AO World plc
FY19 TRADING STATEMENT
AO World plc ("the Company" or "AO"), a leading European online
electrical retailer, announces the following trading update for the
twelve months to 31 March 2019 ("FY19").
Summary Group Performance:(1)
-- Full year performance for FY19 is expected to fall within the
range of current market forecasts.(2)
-- Group revenue is expected to be c.GBP900m, which represents
an increase of c.13% year on year (up c.9% excluding Mobile Phones
Direct Limited ("MPD")).
-- Group Adjusted EBITDA (excluding exceptional costs) is
expected to be at the lower end of market expectations
-- UK revenue for FY19 is expected to be c.GBP748m, up 9.8% year
on year (up 5.4% excluding MPD)
-- Integration of MPD is on track and progressing to plan
-- Europe revenue growth is expected to be 32.3% for the year in
local currency at c.EUR174m (32.1% in GBP)
As part of our Brexit contingency planning, during the last
quarter of FY19 we increased our usual core fast moving inventory
levels by c.GBP15m, with a corresponding impact on our cash
position. This will help ensure we can continue to deliver our
market-leading proposition to our customers.
Following the re-appointment of John Roberts as CEO in January
2019 we have restructured our management team and, as a result of
this together with charges for a loss making contract which we are
unable to terminate in Germany, we anticipate incurring exceptional
costs in the region of GBP2.5m in FY19. These costs are in addition
to previously disclosed one-off costs incurred in connection with
the acquisition of Mobile Phones Direct Ltd in December 2018 and
exceptional share-based payment charges. Further details will be
disclosed in our preliminary statement on 4 June 2019.
John Roberts, Founder and CEO commented:
"Over the last eight weeks we have created a mindset shift from
the numbers delivered in FY19; we are setting about realising our
opportunities with pace and energy. I am delighted by the reaction
of AO'ers and their passion for our future. We have already
announced that we are testing a genuinely disruptive rental
proposition. We have also expanded categories further into garden
and DIY ready for the season and we are accelerating AO Mobile to
launch later this year in readiness for peak trading. I am
delighted to once again have the privilege to lead the business and
excited by the scale of value creation that lies ahead of us for
the benefit of all stakeholders. I look forward to updating more
fully in early June on how we are accelerating our plans to grow
while leveraging the infrastructure we have invested in."
All figures reported herein are preliminary and unaudited.
For further information, please contact:
AO World plc Tel: +44(0) 1204 672403
Mark Higgins ir@ao.com
Tulchan Communications Tel: +44(0) 20 7353
Catherine James 4200
Will Smith ao@tulchangroup.com
(1) Unless stated, all figures include Mobile Phones Direct Ltd
("MPD") which became part of the AO group on 17 December 2019
(2) Company compiled revenue consensus of GBP892.6m, with a
range of GBP876.0m to GBP904.2m and EBITDA consensus of GBP0.7m,
with a range of GBP-0.4m to GBP2.0m.
About AO
AO World plc, headquartered in Bolton and listed on the London
Stock Exchange, is an online electrical retailer, with a simple
mission: to have the happiest customers by relentlessly striving
for a better way. We create value by providing electrical products
and related services to our customers, offering a huge range, a
price-match promise and market-leading customer service.
We sell major and small domestic appliances and consumer
electronics in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands and deliver them
via our in-house logistics business and carefully selected third
parties. We also provide ancillary services such as the
installation of new and collection of old products and offer
product protection plans and customer finance.
In the UK, AO operates in four main categories (Major Domestic
Appliances "MDA", Small Domestic Appliances "SDA", Audio Visual
"AV" and computing) and more recently added Gaming, Mobile, Smart
Home and Photographic devices and equipment to its ranges.
Following the acquisition of Mobile Phones Direct Limited in
December 2018, AO has significantly broadened its mobile phone
offering.
AO launched in Germany in October 2014 with MDA and now sells
Floorcare, AV and SDA categories. AO's international expansion
strategy took a step further in February 2016 with the launch of
MDA in the Netherlands, which has also expanded to include SDA and
AV. In 2018, AO acquired Mobile Phones Direct making AO the UK's
largest pureplay mobile phone retailer.
AO also has a majority equity stake in AO Recycling, a WEEE
processing facility, allowing AO to ensure its customers' waste is
dealt with responsibly in the UK.
Cautionary statement
This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements
(including beliefs or opinions) with respect to the operations,
performance and financial condition of the Group. These statements
are made in good faith and are based on current expectations or
beliefs, as well as assumptions about future events. By their
nature, future events and circumstances can cause results and
developments to differ materially from those anticipated. Except as
is required by the Listing Rules, Disclosure Guidance and
Transparency Rules and applicable laws, no undertaking is given to
update the forward-looking statements contained in this document,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Nothing in this document should be construed as a profit forecast
or an invitation to deal in the securities of the Company. This
announcement has been prepared for the Group as a whole and
therefore gives greater emphasis to those matters which are
significant to AO World plc and its subsidiary undertakings when
viewed as a whole.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
TSTEAPLDEDLNEFF
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 04, 2019 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
Ao World (LSE:AO.)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Ao World (LSE:AO.)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024