Matalan has reported improved sales despite the retailer admitting it was “feeling the impact” of the ongoing supply chain issues.
For the 13 weeks to August 28, the retailer reported revenues in the second quarter of £265m, up from £258m year on year, with pre-tax profits of £11m up from a loss of £24m for the same period last year.
For its half year, the company has reported a revenue of £487m, up from £333m, while it made a pre-tax profit of £400,000, a rise from a loss of £78m.
Yet, for all the improvements on its balance sheet, Matalan executive chairman Steve Johnson warned that international supply chain pressures were affecting product availability and margins for the business.
“In common with the broader retail market, over the last few months we have been feeling the impact of disruption within the inbound product supply chain, delaying the flow of stock into the UK and adding extra costs into the process.
“We are working closely with suppliers and partners to manage and mitigate the effects of this,” said Johnson.
“The combination of the negative impact of product delays coupled with the very positive reaction of our customers to great new product when it does arrive means that we expect availability to remain somewhat compromised over the coming months.”
Matalan is just the latest UK retail business to flag its struggles with product and margins due to the ongoing supply chain issues, which have been exacerbated by a range of problems including Covid-19, inflated international shipping costs and added Brexit red-tape.
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