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Strong December retail sales fail to offset weak Q4

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Ann Summers has seen its turnover rise by 7.4% to £100.1m in the year ended 25 June 2022, with plans to open more stores following the strong full-year results. 

In its latest Companies House filings, the group also reported that sales were up by 7.6% against the prior year, and by 5.4% against pre-pandemic levels in 2018/19. 

While the company noted that turnover and sales grew year-on-year, operating profits fell to £1.2m, against the £3.5m reported the prior year. 

The group noted that several challenges over the year hindered its profitability, including the Ukraine/Russia conflict and the reinstatement of business rates in April.

CEO Maria Hollins said: “We started the year strongly and optimistic that after the disruption the pandemic had caused in recent years, this would be the year that we saw a return to normality. With stores open and footfall gradually returning to normality, we thought that would be the case. 

“However, the rise of the Omicron variant disrupted the key Christmas trading period in our retail stores as customers sought to protect their family Christmas plans. Then, in the latter part of the financial year, profitability was hindered by numerous challenges across our supply chain and significant unexpected price rises in freight.” 

Despite this, the group said it plans to open four to five stores in 2024. It currently operates from 88 stores across the UK. 

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