(Alliance News) - eve Sleep PLC on Wednesday said annual revenue was ahead of its pre-pandemic level, but the mattress retailer's share price plunged as it report delivery and customer service issues.
Shares in eve Sleep were down 25% at 2.68 pence each on Wednesday midday in London.
The London-based company said revenue increased by 5.6% to GBP26.6 million in 2021 from GBP25.2 million in 2020, and by 11% from 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
In its UK and Ireland business, revenue increased by 10% to GBP22.5 million in 2021 from GBP20.5 million the year before, and by 22% on two years before.
This performance was on the back of strong demand and the "ongoing strength" of its e-commerce platform, eve Sleep said.
Its premium hybrid mattress also performed well, specifically in the UK and Ireland. "Premium ranges now account for over 40% of revenue," eve Sleep noted.
The company's loss at the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization level narrowed to GBP900,000 in the second half of 2021 from GBP1.1 million a year before. However, for the full-year, eve Sleep's Ebitda loss widened to GBP2.9 million from GBP2.0 million the year prior.
The company explained that this was in line with its plans to invest more in marketing.
Cash outflow in the second half was reduced by 77% to GBP700,000 from GBP3.1 million from in the first half. Closing net cash of the mattress retailer as at December 31 was GBP4.5 million, down 46% from GBP8.3 million the year before.
The retailer said it was able to navigate industry-wide supply chain issues and labour challenges effectively throughout the year.
Nonetheless, it experienced a strain on its delivery network during the Christmas trading period that resulted in customer service challenges.
"We believe these challenges will be short-lived and reflect the current peak of absence due to illness across the delivery network," eve stated.
However, the company expects the challenges to last "for the next few months".
"eve has made great progress in 2021, overcoming the many external challenges we have faced, thanks to the dedication and unswerving commitment of our incredible team. Our UK& Ireland business continues to go from strength to strength, on reduced marketing spend, achieving 22% growth on pre-Covid 2019 comparatives," Chief Executive Cheryl Calverley said.
"Whilst Covid has put temporary challenges at the door of the delivery network and a resulting pressure on our customer service team, eve's unique strength is our supportive culture. This has seen an 'all hands on deck' mentality to addressing these customer issues, with the executive team and colleagues from right around the business leaning in to solve queries. "
By Abby Amoakuh; abbyamoakuh@alliancenews.com
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