Profits rise at online retailer by more than 15%

Online retailer and educational supplies firm Findel saw its operating profit rise by more than 15% last year.

The firm, which is based in Hyde in Greater Manchester, saw group revenues increase by 4.8% to £479m.

According to the year end results adjusted operating profit was up 15.4% to £36.m

The Express Gifts side of the business drove group performance and produced strong growth in customer numbers and sales.

Express Gifts’ active customer base at 1.8 million was up by 200,000 on 2017 and up by a third over last two years.

Clothing sales were particularly strong, up 14.2%, with over half of new customers buying from these ranges during the year.

Bad debt as a percentage of revenue reduced from 7.7% to 7.2% driven by strong collections and recoveries.

The education side of the business is delivering early progress as a result of a turnaround strategy.

However, revenue fell by 6.2% on a like-for-like basis with the rate of decline in core school brands slowing from 10% to 2%.

Cost base reductions were delivered across the business, bringing the overheads/sales ratio down to 31% after absorbing implementation costs.

Chief executive Phil Maudsley said: “This has been a year of good sales growth and improved profitability through our focus on delivering great-value products to our customers across all channels.

“The year has also seen significant progress against our strategic objectives and both businesses continue to transform their digital sales offering.

“I am delighted to report that we have more customers shopping with Studio than ever before, that our Education business has seen a transformational shift in the last year towards online ordering, and that our improved results for FY18 were delivered without adjustment for individually significant items.

“We are encouraged by the start to the new financial year from both businesses, and remain confident in the opportunities for future profitable growth.”