Eve Sleep saw sales across its business fall during the first half of the year, but it did manage to roughly halve its EBITDA losses.

In the six-month period ending June 30, 2019, the mattress-in-a-box company saw total sales in the UK and Ireland and France fall by 8%, down to £12.9m. The retailer also saw its gross profits slip 13%, down to £6.7m.

The retailer reported underlying EBITDA losses of £5.9m in the first half of this year, up from £11.9m in the commensurate period in 2018. Statutory losses before tax were also up to £6.7m, from £12m.

Eve Sleep said that sales of non-mattress products contributed 24% of revenue in the first half of the year.

It also said that post the end of the period it had expanded its retail partnership with Next Home by 104 stores in August, and had struck three new retail partnerships with Argos, Dunelm and Homebase.

The retailer reiterated the profit warning it issued last week, when news broke of the collapse of its mooted merger with rival Simba.

It blamed the revised profit target on “worsening macro-economic conditions” and the “near permanent heavy discounting by competitors”.

However, Eve Sleep was bullish about achieving a “substantial year-on-year reduction” in losses for the second half of the year and the full year.

Eve Sleep boss James Sturrock said: “We are making good progress with our strategic focus to build a sleep wellness brand, as a key differentiator to peers and to secure the foundations for a profitable and sustainable future for Eve.

“There has been a step-up in the depth and breadth of product ranges, a 50% increase in brand awareness and improvements to our technology and systems to ensure the best experience for customers, all of which have driven a meaningful improvement in the customer repeat rate. In tandem, costs and cash are better managed, which is evident in the H1 reduction in losses and the cash outflow.

“While the headwinds have increased, we have a flexible and adaptable business model, alongside a strategy that will clearly differentiate Eve in the longer term from peers. We will continue to focus on the rebuild strategy through a combination of organic improvements and inorganic opportunities as and when they arise.”

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