(Alliance News) - Joules Group PLC on Tuesday said it recorded sales growth ahead of pre-pandemic levels in the first half of its financial year, but saw its shares drop due to an underwhelming Black Friday performance.
Shares in the Leicestershire, England-based company were down 22% at 151.36 pence each on Tuesday morning in London.
The lifestyle company said revenue in the 26-weeks to November 28 amounted to GBP128 million, up 35% compared to a year ago and up 15% compared to pre-pandemic levels two years ago.
Joules attributed this to growth in active customers to 1.9 million. Furthermore, the company said it was benefitting from the increased diversification of its offering through its online marketplace Friends of Joules and the acquisition of Garden Trading.
Its E-commerce division, specifically, benefitted from the acquisition and the performance of its third-party e-commerce partners, Joules said.
E-commerce sales only grew 14% year-on-year due to boosted demand in last year's half, reflecting Covid-19-related social restrictions and the enforced closure of stores.
However, on a two-year like-for-like basis e-commerce sales increased 54%.
Joules added that its Stores division, in particular, delivered a strong performance with revenue of GBP35 million and 80% sales growth in the period compared to a year prior. Based on a two-year comparison revenue grew 3%.
Nonetheless, the lifestyle company noted higher costs and stock delays due to supply chain issues. Labour shortages also resulted in extended product delivery times, it said.
Both factors alongside weaker online traffic compared to a year prior were "particularly acute" in November, including the Black Friday period, which lead to performance "below expectations" in this month.
"Joules has achieved good revenue growth against the prior two comparative periods reflecting the strength of the group's flexible model and despite a challenging external trading environment," Chief Executive Nick Jones commented.
He added: "While we have not been immune to certain industry-wide pressures including supply chain disruption and cost inflation, we remain focused on delivering the goup's long-term growth strategy. We have continued to invest in the business to support our plans and, despite the high levels of near-term consumer uncertainty, we remain very confident in achieving the group's exciting future potential."
By Abby Amoakuh; abbyamoakuh@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
