Procook Grp Regulatory News (PROC)

10 June 2022

ProCook Group plc

Trading Update

ProCook Group plc ("ProCook" or "the Group"), the UK's leading direct-to-consumer specialist kitchenware brand, today updates on trading in the financial year to date ("FY23") and its outlook for the full year.

Trading update

Since the Group updated on its performance for the fourth quarter ended 3 April 2022, trading has been impacted by increasingly challenging market conditions, with customers affected by the well-documented exceptional pressures on discretionary spend.

In the current quarter we are trading against exceptionally strong comparatives from the prior year, when we benefited from pent-up demand following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and the reopening of retail stores, and our like-for-like sales have weakened across all channels, in line with the wider kitchenware market1. Our revenues remain significantly higher than the comparative pre-Covid period in 2019.

We continue to attract an encouraging number of new customers to the ProCook brand (89,000 in the first 8 weeks of the year), reflecting the strength of our value-for-money, quality kitchenware offer, however, we are seeing an impact on average spend, conversion and repeat rates in light of the difficult consumer backdrop.

Outlook

Considering the more recent trading conditions and the ongoing pressures on discretionary consumer spend, we now assume the kitchenware market will remain highly challenging for the remainder of FY23. As such, we now anticipate that revenue for FY23 will be broadly in line with that achieved in FY22 (FY22 revenue: £69.2m).

Our expectations are that gross margins will remain broadly consistent year on year, and we will continue to manage our costs carefully to ensure we operate an efficient business model.

In light of the above, the Board now expects the Group to deliver Adjusted PBT of between £4-6m for FY23.

The Group will continue to pursue the multiple long term growth opportunities available, but we will sharpen our short term focus on the core organic UK opportunity, creating a stronger platform for future growth.

Daniel O'Neill, CEO & Founder, commented:

"There are clear and numerous pressures on consumers at present which are impacting discretionary spend across retail as a whole and kitchenware is no exception. Whilst we are still seeing lots of new customers discovering the ProCook brand and buying our products, it is clear that many are tightening their belts. This creates a difficult short-term trading environment, but does not distract us from our strategic priorities, as we work towards our mission of becoming the first choice for kitchenware."

1UK Kitchenware market growth (excluding ProCook) calculated using weekly GfK data and management estimates

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Next scheduled event:

ProCook expects to release its FY22 preliminary results in late June 2022.

Notes to editors

ProCook is the UK's leading direct-to-consumer specialist kitchenware brand. ProCook offers a direct-to-consumer proposition, designing, developing, and retailing a high-quality range of cookware, kitchenware and tableware which provides customers with significant value for money.

The brand sells directly through its website, www.procook.co.uk, and through 55 own-brand retail stores, located across the UK. ProCook products are also available in Germany and France with delivery options extending to Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Poland.

Founded over 25 years ago as a family business, selling cookware sets by direct mail in the UK, ProCook has grown into a market leading, multi-channel specialist kitchenware company, employing approximately 700 colleagues, and operating from its Head Office in Gloucester. 

ProCook has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since November 2021 (PROC.L) and has a current market capitalisation of approximately £85m.

Further information about the ProCook Group can be found at www.procookgroup.co.uk.

Information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.