Eve Sleep sales spike in maiden full-year results

The pureplay saw total sales rise 132% in the 52 weeks to December 31, 2017, to £27.7m, driven by a 109% spike in UK sales. 

Eve, which went public in May 2017, said pre-tax losses widened 67% to £19m, following a period of aggressive expansion. 

EBITDA losses also increased to £15.1m during the period. 

It put this down to investment in “building the Eve brand”, expansion into multiple international territories and one-off costs associated with its IPO, as well as increased marketing and staff costs.  

Meanwhile, sales rocketed in key markets like France, Poland and Germany, which made up 76% of international revenues for the period.

Overseas revenues grew 174% in total. 

In the UK, where Eve is also stocked in Next, Debenhams and Fenwick, sales spiked 109% to £16.1m, driven by 122% growth in site traffic. 

Gross profit margins also grew 910 bps to 57.7%.

Outlook

The etailer said it started the current year on a strong footing, with 94% year-on-year sales growth in the first six weeks.

It also unveiled a new concession partnership with French beds retailer BUT and will be stocked in 20 of its stores. 

Chief executive Jas Bagniewski restated the business’ objective to achieve UK profitability by the end of 2018 and group profitability by the end of 2019.

He said: “We are building a sizeable business across Europe that we believe will continue to win market share from traditional operators as the £26bn sleep market continues to transition online. 

”Our results to date demonstrate that we have a winnable customer proposition in both the UK and continental Europe, and we have a management team that can execute.”