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The Works has announced that it has lowered its full-year guidance to an adjusted EBITDA of approximately £6.0m due to uncertainty in the second half of the year.
The company stated that it anticipates trading conditions during H2 FY24 tol remain challenging and consumer spend to be subdued.
However, the company stated that any forecast prepared at this stage includes a high degree of uncertainty.
It revealed trading in the six weeks between now and Christmas will have a “significant bearing” on the full-year outlook and last year consumers left Christmas shopping until very late in the season.
Despite this, The Works posted In the first half of FY24 total sales growth of 3.4% and a total LFL sales increase of 1.6% for the half year ended 29 October 2023.
Alongside this store LFLs increased by 3.5% but the company’s online sales declined by 12.2%.
The challenging economic environment and unseasonable weather softened like-for-like growth but the company still performed well.
Gavin Peck, CEO, said: “The first half of the year has been challenging for the retail sector as cost-of-living pressures continued to weigh on households. We have focused on delivering excellent value for our customers, adapting as best we can to the tough trading conditions, and I am proud of the way our colleagues have rallied together and responded.
“Consumer sentiment softened towards the end of the period, which resulted in early discounting across the sector and increased uncertainty as we head into the Christmas period. Recognising the competitiveness of the market we have responded with more promotional activity, which we expect to continue as we approach Christmas. Families will want to celebrate Christmas affordably and our value proposition makes us an ideal choice for them.”
He added: “Market conditions remain challenging and given the level of uncertainty in trading and forecasting we believe it is now prudent to moderate our expectations for FY24. Despite this short-term volatility, we believe that our ‘better, not just bigger’ strategy has the potential to deliver profitable growth in the medium and long-term.”
