Today’s news in brief-25/10/23

Asos has pushed back the release of its FY23 results to 1 November 2023, citing the need for its auditor, PwC, to complete planned testing. PwC has assured that the outstanding procedures are of limited scope. Asos confirmed its performance up to 3 September 2023 aligns with the post-close trading update, reporting an adjusted group revenue of £3.5bn and a H2 adjusted EBIT of over £38m, resulting in a full-year adjusted EBIT loss of no more than £31m. The analyst presentation for these results will be held at 9:30 am on 1 November at Asos HQ.

Virgin Wines faced a decline in revenues, dropping to £59m in FY23 from £69.2m. Economic challenges and the launch of a new Warehouse Management System contributed to this. Profit before tax fell to £0.6m from £6.2m, and adjusted EBITDA decreased to £1.8m from £6.2m. However, the company gained 91.5k new customers with a disciplined approach to acquisition. New partnerships with WH Smith Travel, Saga, Go Outdoors, and OnTheMarket contributed 11.6% of total FY23 sales. In Q1 FY24, sales saw a 12% YoY increase.

Poundland has revealed plans to open or relocate 75 stores by the end of December, including former Wilko stores. New stores have already opened in Telford and Stafford this month. Additional openings and relocations are scheduled for various locations in November and December. Poundland will also convert 19 more former Wilko stores to its brand. All new Poundland stores, both Wilko and non-Wilko units, will offer extensive grocery, household, and general merchandise ranges.

ScS disclosed that its sales for the 52 weeks ending 29th July were only 0.4% lower than the previous year, ending FY23 with a cash balance of £69.5m. Gross margins decreased by 1% due to increased costs for customer credit offset by price increases. The acquisition of Snug resulted in a loss before tax of £2.8m, with an underlying loss before tax of £1.9m. Despite this, ScS reported an underlying profit before tax of £7.2m.

Frasers Group, led by Mike Ashley, has raised its stake in online retailer Boohoo to 16.5%, up from 15.1%. The company now holds a total of 209,319,058 voting rights. Frasers initially acquired a 5% stake in Boohoo in June and has since increased its holding in the company. This move follows Frasers’ recent increase in its stake in Asos to 23%. The group has been actively investing in various UK fashion retailers this year.