Peppa Pig helps brings home the bacon for The Works
The Works has reported trading “well ahead” of pre-Covid levels, it announced this morning (May 20).
The Birmingham retailer posted a two-year sales increase of 10.4% for its full year to May 1, with an EBITDA of £15m forecast.
The Works says branded toys and games have also continued to perform strongly, through reinforcements to its ranges of the likes of Peppa Pig, Paw Patrol and Cocomelon.
Despite this, The Works warned that the rate of growth during the final months of its financial year had slowed on the back of the cost of living squeeze. However, the company said that operational improvements made throughout the year have helped offset these headwinds.
Gavin Peck, chief executive officer of The Works, said: “We are pleased to report strong trading in FY22, consistently delivering sales well ahead of pre-COVID levels and another record Christmas. This performance, and the resilience that our business has shown against a challenging external backdrop, demonstrates the positive effect of our “better, not just bigger” strategy, which still has a lot more upside to deliver. We are delighted that our improved trading performance will enable us to recommend reinstating the dividend and remain optimistic that we can deliver further sales growth in the year ahead.”
“As we move into our new financial year, general trading conditions remain challenging. We will continue to focus on the factors within our control and ensure that, as customers face increasing cost-of-living pressures, they can continue to rely on The Works as a destination for great value products to inspire reading, learning, creativity and play. None of this would be possible without the passion, commitment and patience of our brilliant colleagues, who have gone above and beyond to deliver for customers.”
