Register to get free articles
Want unlimited access? View Plans
Already have an account? Sign in
The Works is maintaining its full-year guidance as total revenues rose 1.3% to £124.2m in the first half of FY25, despite like-for-like sales declining by 0.8% during the period.
It comes as The Works managed to narrow its pre-IFRS16 adjusted EBITDA loss to £2.8m from a high of £8.5m a year prior due to the retailer’s cost saving action from the past 12 months. Adjusted losses before tax also narrowed from £10.4m to £6.5m.
While the arts and crafts retailer reported a like-for-like fall in sales, it noted that its performance was still ahead of the wider non-food retail sector.
That said, store like-for-like sales grew by 0.9% driven by improved seasonal ranges and fiction books sales.
However, online sales fell by 14.7% due to a planned reduction in promotional activity and reduced capacity, stemming from issues at the retailer’s third-party online fulfillment centre towards the end of the first half.
Looking ahead, The Works has announced its plans to grow annual sales to £375m from £282.6m in the previous year within five years by growing its brand recognition, improving customer convenience and becoming more efficient as a business.
Gavin Peck, CEO of The Works, said: “We started the financial year with a clear focus on reducing our cost base and growing margins in order to offset ongoing cost headwinds. We successfully delivered on these objectives in the first half of FY25 and are pleased to report a significant improvement in profitability year-on-year.
“We faced persistently difficult market conditions this Christmas but did not let this dampen our enthusiasm, instead focusing on the factors within our control. We delivered a resilient store performance and saw strong customer demand for our festive ranges.”
He added: “Looking ahead, we are mindful of the need to navigate fragile consumer confidence and significant cost headwinds but believe there is much to be optimistic about at The Works. We expect that our action to grow revenue, increase margins and reduce costs will deliver improved results in the remainder of this financial year and in FY26.”
