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The Works has said it is on track to deliver profit in line with forecasts for the current financial year, despite ongoing cost pressures.
In a trading update ahead of its annual general meeting on 8 September, the retailer said the board remained confident of meeting market expectations for pre-IFRS 16 adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of £11m.
The company reported that like-for-like sales in the year to date were ahead of the wider market. It said performance reflected progress under its ‘Elevating The Works’ strategy.
It also highlighted recent projects aimed at strengthening operations ahead of the Christmas trading period. These included the completion of a mezzanine floor at its distribution centre to increase capacity and the final stages of a move to a new third-party online fulfilment provider.
The Works added that cost-saving initiatives and sustained margin growth were helping offset what it called “significant cost headwinds”.
The news comes after The Works previously revealed that its profit-before-tax rose 20.3% to £8.3m for the year ended 4 May 2025, up from £6.9m in the previous year.
Alongside this, the company delivered total revenues of £277m, a decrease of 2% from the prior year, which benefitted from an additional trading week.
The company’s total like-for-like sales were ahead of the wider non-food retail market, increasing by 0.8%.
Store sales, which represent over 90% of total sales, continued to be the primary driver of growth, increasing 2.3% on a LFL basis, driven by more customer-focussed events, new products across all categories, improved store standards and product availability.
Online sales declined by 12.1%, impacted by temporary capacity constraints at its third-party provider during peak and a focus on improving the profitability of this channel. The Works also delivered a strong performance post-Christmas, with Q4 total LFL sales up 6.4%.
