SCS.L Regulatory News (SCS)

ScS Group plc

("ScS", or the "Group")

Full Year Trading Update

Full year profit in line with market expectations

ScS, one of the UK's largest retailers of upholstered furniture and floorings, today issues a trading update for the 52 weeks ended 29 July 2023.

The Group expects to report full year profit in line with market expectations, driven by effective cost management and improved trading in the second half of the year.

The Group's financial position remains robust, with cash at 29 July 2023 of £69.5m and no debt.

ScS order intake

ScS's updated brand and strategy are beginning to resonate with customers, resulting in strong like-for-like order growth of 6.0% from weeks 34 to 52 building on the 5.7% previously announced for weeks 27 to 33. As a result of this growth, following a more challenging first quarter, order intake for the full year was in line with FY22.

Continuing the trend of the past two years, the ScS business continues to gain market share, cementing its position as the UK's second largest upholstered furniture retailer.

Snug

Following the acquisition of Snug in January 2023, we have re-established operations from an effective standing start. This included rebuilding supplier relationships, restoring stock levels, improving brand awareness, and ultimately building order momentum. Order growth was initially slower than we had hoped but we are pleased that current run rates are now in line with our expectations.

Outlook

We are cognisant of the economic conditions facing our customers including higher interest rates and low consumer confidence, which are forecast to continue throughout FY24. However, we remain confident that the Group's strategy and strong balance sheet will enable ongoing trading resilience and we continue to expect to grow our market share while selectively investing in store and other strategic growth opportunities.

Notice of results

The Group will publish its preliminary results for the 52 weeks ended 29 July 2023 on 10 October 2023.

An analyst briefing will be held at 9.30am on the morning of the results. Please contact Buchanan via scs@buchanan.uk.com for further details.

Enquiries:

Notes to Editors

ScS is one of the UK's largest retailers of sofas, flooring and furniture. We trade as two separate brands- the core ScS brand and the newly acquired Snug brand.

The ScS brand seeks to offer value and choice through a wide range of sofas, flooring and furniture products. The product range is designed to appeal to a broad customer base with a mid-market priced offering and is currently traded from 99 stores. The brand specialises primarily in fabric and leather sofas and chairs, selling a range of branded products which are not sold under registered trademarks and a range of branded products which are sold under registered trademarks owned by ScS (such as Endurance, Inspire and SiSi Italia). It also offers a range of third party brands (which include La-Z-Boy, Ideal Home and G Plan). The flooring business includes carpets, rugs, wood, laminate and luxury vinyl tiling.

Snug is an innovative digital-first sofa and sofa-bed business specialising in modular and re-configurable sofas, with quick delivery and excellent quality and customer service. Although predominantly online, Snug also operates from two stores in Leeds and Bristol, and 16 concessions throughout the UK.