(Alliance News) - Gym Group PLC on Thursday said it expects to report revenue growth of almost a third for 2021, as the low-cost gym chain has shaken off an initial hit from the emergence of the Omicron variant.
In addition, the company said it has kicked off a search for a new chief financial officer, as incumbent Mark George has agreed to join DIY retailer Wickes Group PLC in July.
Gym Group said it ended 2021 trading "in line with the board's expectations". Revenue is expected to amount to GBP106.0 million, up 32% from GBP80.5 million in 2020.
"Performance so far in the important January trading period has been encouraging," the company added.
When the Omicron variant of Covid-19 first emerged, gym visits were hit in December and early January. Since then, however, gym visits have returned to pre-virus levels.
Total membership as of Tuesday was 776,000, up 8% from 718,000 at the end of 2021.
"January is the month when many people set new health and fitness goals and has always been an important trading period for The Gym Group. We have been encouraged to see good levels of gym usage and new member acquisition so far this year. We continue to be driven by our purpose to break down barriers to fitness for all and look forward to providing our growing membership with many millions of gym visits in 2022," Chief Executive Richard Darwin said.
CFO George will leave to join Wickes by no later than July 20. It has begun a formal process to identify a replacement.
Darwin added: "We have announced today that our CFO Mark George, will be leaving later this year. Since joining in 2018, Mark has evolved and strengthened the company's finance function and successfully secured new bank and equity financing, ensuring that the business is well-placed to deliver its accelerated growth strategy. I would like to thank Mark for his significant contribution and wish him every success in his future career."
Gym Group shares were 2.9% higher at 267.50 pence each in London on Thursday morning.
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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Gym Grp (GYM)
Wickes Group P. (WIX)