Marks Electrical FY sales hit record £114.3m

Online white goods retailer Marks Electrical has reported record full-year revenues of £114.3m for the 12 months ended 31 March 2024. Marks said thanks to the 16.9% increase in sales, it managed to improve market share in the Major Domestic Appliances and Consumer Electronics markets. It also revealed that its gross product margin was maintained in the second half as expected, and the group has achieved an adjusted EBITDA of approximately £5m. Further improvements in working capital and inventory turn during the year helped the group achieve a closing net cash position of £7.8m, taking into account strategic investments in vehicles, equipment, facilities and systems. As Marks Electrical continues to build its national presence and scale, it said it has made the strategic decision during the period to leave the Euronics buying group as at 31 March 2024. It explained this will enable the group to establish closer, direct relationships with its manufacturer partners, which will provide further opportunity to drive growth and margin in the future, and is the next natural step in our growth ambitions. CEO Mark Smithson said: “I am proud of the revenue growth we have achieved of 16.9%, in a flat Major Domestic Appliances and a declining Consumer Electronics market. In addition, the investments we have made in driver training and customer services have resulted in us improving our Trustpilot rating from 4.8 to 4.9, further demonstrating the strength and attractiveness of our market-leading customer offering and the hard-work all of our colleagues throughout FY24. “As we focus on positioning our business to deliver long-term growth and value creation, our decision to exit the Euronics buying group represents the next logical step in that journey, further building on the direct relationships we have with our brand partners. We anticipate that our departure will lead to revenue and margin upside in the medium-term and in addition, once the exit has concluded, our £1.7m balance sheet investment crystallises into cash, expected in June 2024.” He added: “As explained in our January trading update, in the current trading environment consumers remain highly price-conscious, which given our premium focus, continues to have an adverse impact on our average order value, resulting in customer order volumes growing faster than revenue. This impact will limit our ability for margin expansion in the short-term, when taking into account the relatively fixed cost of delivery. “Despite this, we are very pleased with the growth in our order volumes and new customer acquisitions during the period and the strong growth we have seen in early April, giving us confidence that our fundamental strategy of continued profitable market share gains and excellent customer service will help us in delivering further growth.”