ScS has published its financial summary for the HY ended 23rd January 2016, which reveals double-digit LFL growth in sales as well as plans to open a further three stores this year.
CEO David Knight comments: "We are delighted to be reporting significant growth across all areas of the group in the first half of the current financial year. These results demonstrate the progress that has been made in developing ScS into a strong national brand with three very clear retail offers - upholstered furniture, flooring and our House of Fraser concessions, all supported by an improving online platform. Our sales order intake is the highest ever achieved in this period and is up 9.1% on a LFL basis, a strong performance against tough prior year LFL comparatives (up 7.8%)."
Total sales order intake was up 9.1% on LFL basis, gross sales up 10.2% to £145.4m, and gross profit up 13% to £64.8m. EBITDA improved by £2m to -£1m, while ScS' HY operating loss was £3.4m.
One new store opened in Bromborough, on the Wirral, on Boxing Day 2015, taking the total number of ScS stores to 97. Two further stores in Aberdeen and Plymouth are targeted to open in late summer, followed by Thanet on Boxing Day.
House of Fraser concession gross sales were up 18.1%, attributed to greater consumer awareness and development of the bespoke website. Further development of the ScS e-commerce platform saw online gross sales up 17.3% to £4.3m. The website achieved an "Excellent" rating achieved on customer review site Trustpilot.
Successful implementation of route planning and central arranging initiatives is reportedly producing improved efficiencies in distribution.
"Current trading, supported by enhanced marketing spend, remains strong with like-for-like sales orders up 12.0% for the first 37 weeks of FY16, including the key Easter sales period," continues David. "This gives us good visibility for the second half and although the key May Bank Holiday day trading period is still to come, the board currently expects results for this financial year to be modestly ahead of market expectations following the trading update on 16 January 2016.
"Looking to the future, we are excited about our growth prospects, including the continued growth from our concession agreement with House of Fraser, our flooring offering and online proposition. We continue to identify new store opportunities for further growth within our target areas. The group's cash flow dynamics and committed bank facilities underpin the strong financial position which will support our ambitions for future growth and deliver value for our shareholders."
