Marks Electrical posts record full-year sales

The electricals retailer has posted a 16.9% sales rise for the year ending 31 March 2024, increasing revenue from £97.8m the year prior. 

Year-on-year sales for the final three months of the period were more subdued, up 2% to £25.3m, versus £24.8m in the same period last year. 

The retailer’s key profit measure, adjusted EBITDA, reached £5m and gross product margin was maintained in the second half of the year as expected, it said. 

Marks also increased its market share in its main markets: Major Domestic Appliances and Consumer Electronics.

Marks Electricals 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.”

He continued: “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.”

The retailer also announced it was to part from the Euronics buying group in a bid to build relationships with manufacturers as an individual retailer.

Smithson said of the decision: “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.”