MATAS A/S Company announcement no. 07 2020/21 – INSIDE INFORMATION
Allerød,
Interim report – H1 2020/21
(1 April –
Best summer quarter ever: Record sales and strong earnings growth – Guidance lifted
Matas generated revenue of
Earnings (EBITDA before special items) amounted to
Online sales continued to grow at a strong rate in Q2. Sales on matas.dk were ahead by 115% year on year with 40,000 new customers shopping at matas.dk for the first time. Physical store sales grew by 3.8% year on year.
All categories recorded higher sales. Boosting sales by 16.9%, Health & Wellbeing recorded the strongest sales growth, while High-End Beauty grew sales by an also solid 15.6%.
Based on the strong Q2 performance, guidance for full-year 2020/21 is adjusted upward. The Group now forecasts growth in both overall revenue and underlying revenue of about 8%, compared with its previous guidance of about 6%. EBITDA margin guidance has been lifted from about 18% to above 18%.
“The summer quarter was doubly good for Matas. Growth was at a record high with the physical stores recovering strongly, while the buoyant online sales momentum continued. Earnings also improved markedly, despite the additional costs incurred to ensure a safe shopping environment amid the coronavirus pandemic”, says
“The staycation trend gave Matas significant momentum over the summer, but sales have remained exceptionally strong in all categories also after the school holidays. Against this background, we are lifting our full-year guidance for both sales and earnings, but we must also emphasise that developments during the remainder of the Christmas season quarter are subject to considerable uncertainty due to the growing number of COVID-19 infections and the new retail sector restrictions.
Based on the strong sales momentum – in physical stores and online – we’re working full speed to hire additional staff to ensure next-day delivery of Christmas purchases at matas.dk and a safe Christmas shopping environment at our stores”,
Q2 2020/21 highlights
- Revenue grew by 13.4% year on year, while underlying like-for-like sales, i.e. sales in stores operated by the Group in both Q2 2020/21 and Q2 2019/20, were up by 13.6% in Q2 2020/21. All categories recorded higher sales. Boosting sales by 16.9%, Health & Wellbeing recorded the strongest sales growth, while High-End Beauty grew sales by an also solid 15.6%. The number of trading days was unchanged compared with Q2 2019/20.
- Online sales via matas.dk were up by 115% year on year with 40,000 new customers shopping at matas.dk for the first time. Overall online sales, including revenue generated by Firtal, grew by 90% to make up 20.1% of Q2 2020/21 revenue against 12.0% in Q2 2019/20.
- Underlying like-for-like sales in the Group’s physical stores were up by 3.8% year on year, driven mainly by an increasing basket size.
- The gross margin was 43.1% compared with 43.5% in Q2 2019/20. The lower gross margin was attributable mainly to a higher proportion of online sales and low-margin sales of personal protective equipment.
- Overall costs accounted for 24.1% of revenue against 26.6% in the same quarter of last year. Overall costs were up by
DKK 5.9 million as a consequence of higher activity and acquisitions. Underlying costs continued to decline thanks to rationalisation measures. - EBITDA before special items came to
DKK 179.6 million , up fromDKK 153.6 million in the year-earlier period. Growth was driven by higher revenue combined with a lower cost to revenue ratio attributable in part to greater economies of scale in the online business. The EBITDA margin before special items was 19.3% against 18.7% in Q2 2019/20. - Cash generated from operations was an inflow of
DKK 119.2 million in Q2 2020/21 against an inflow ofDKK 109.0 million in Q2 2019/20. - Full-year guidance is adjusted up: The Group now forecasts growth in both overall revenue and underlying revenue of about 8%, compared with its previous guidance of about 6%. EBITDA margin guidance has been lifted from about 18% to above 18%.
H1 2020/21 highlights
- Revenue grew by 10.7% year on year, while underlying like-for-like sales, i.e. sales in stores operated by the Group in both H1 2020/21 and H1 2019/20, were up by 10.9%. Boosting sales by 16.4%, Health & Wellbeing recorded the strongest H1 sales growth. The number of trading days was unchanged compared with H1 2019/20.
- Online sales via matas.dk were ahead by 165% year on year, while overall online sales, including revenue generated by Firtal, surged by 120% to make up 22.8% of H1 2020/21 revenue against 11.5% in H1 2019/20.
- Underlying sales in the Group’s physical stores were down by 2.9% year on year as footfall was adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially at the beginning of the first half of the financial year. In the latter half of the H1 reporting period, footfall was in line with the year-earlier level.
- The gross margin was 43.8% compared with 44.3% in H1 2019/20. The lower gross margin was attributable to a higher percentage of online sales.
- Up by
DKK 21.3 million as a consequence of higher activity and acquisitions, overall costs accounted for 25.2% of revenue against 26.6% in H1 2019/20. Underlying costs fell as a result of ongoing rationalisation measures. - EBITDA before special items came to
DKK 352.4 million againstDKK 316.9 million in the year-earlier period, for an EBITDA margin before special items of 18.7%, in line with the H1 2019/20 level. - Cash generated from operations was an inflow of
DKK 420.2 million in H1 2020/21 against an inflow ofDKK 191.8 million in H1 2019/20. TheDKK 228.4 million increase was attributable to favourable working capital and earnings developments. In the first half of the financial year, Matas benefited from the postponed payment of A tax and VAT under the government's COVID-19 relief packages.
| 2020/21 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2019/20 | ||||||
| (DKKm) | Q2 | Q2 | H1 | H1 | |||||
| Revenue | 932.6 | 822.5 | 1,879.4 | 1,698.1 | |||||
| Gross profit | 402.4 | 357.5 | 822.6 | 751.5 | |||||
| EBITDA before special items | 179.6 | 153.6 | 352.4 | 316.9 | |||||
| EBIT | 77.2 | 45.7 | 149.3 | 116.5 | |||||
| Adjusted profit after tax | 72.5 | 56.1 | 139.9 | 122.1 | |||||
| Free cash flow | 89.8 | 64.5 | 326.6 | (16.5) | |||||
| Revenue growth | 13.4% | 5.8% | 10.7% | 4.8% | |||||
| Underlying like-for-like revenue growth | 13.6% | 0.3% | 10.9% | (0.5)% | |||||
| Gross margin | 43.1% | 43.5% | 43.8% | 44.3% | |||||
| EBITDA margin before special items | 19.3% | 18.7% | 18.7% | 18.7% | |||||
| Net interest-bearing debt/EBITDA before special items | 2.9 | n.a.* |
* The number cannot be calculated at
Financial targets
The health, financial and structural consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have been and continue to be severe, and the pandemic could potentially affect consumer behaviour and society at large for a long time to come. As a result, the current uncertainty pertaining to the retail industry in particular and economic developments in general has increased.
Based on the current uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,
- Overall revenue growth of about 6% relative to financial year 2019/20
- Underlying (like-for-like) revenue growth of about 6%
- EBITDA margin before special items of about 18% (after IFRS 16 effects)
- CAPEX between
DKK 120 million andDKK 140 million
Based on the strong revenue performance in the second quarter and the first month of the third quarter and the increase in earnings in the second quarter, management has decided to adjust the Group’s financial guidance for financial year 2020/21 as a whole as follows:
- Overall revenue growth of about 8% relative to financial year 2019/20
- Underlying (like-for-like) revenue growth of about 8%
- EBITDA margin before special items above 18% (after IFRS 16 effects)
- CAPEX between
DKK 120 million andDKK 140 million (unchanged)
It should be noted that the assumptions are subject to higher-than-usual uncertainty. The above targets do not factor in the effects of a potential aggravation of the current second wave of COVID-19 or a dramatic change in consumer behaviour in the wake of, for example, a recession in the second half of the financial year.
Financial targets and ambitions | Realised Q2 2020/21 | Realised H1 2020/21 | Targets for 2020/21 | Ambitions for 2022/23 |
| Ongoing | ||||
| Customer engagement (M-NPS) | 62.8 (index 98) | 62.8 (index 98) | improvement | 70 (index 110) |
| Revenue growth*/Revenue (DKK) | 13.4% | 10.7% | About 8% | Approx. |
| Underlying (like-for-like) revenue growth | 13.6% | 10.9% | About 8% | Positive |
| EBITDA margin before special items | 19.3% | 18.7% | Above18% | Above 18% |
| CAPEX (DKK) | 29 million | 69 million | 120-140 million | Below 90 million |
| Gearing | 2.9 | 2.5-3 | 2.5-3 |
* Includes revenue from Firtal and Kosmolet A/S.
Video conference
Matas will host a video conference for investors and analysts on Thursday,
Video conference access numbers for investors and analysts:
DK: +45 78 72 32 51
US: +1 8332498406
Link to webcast: https://streams.eventcdn.net/matas/2020h1
Contacts
Gregers Wedell-Wedellsborg
CEO, tel +45 48 16 55 55
CFO, tel +45 48 16 55 55
Klaus Fridorf
Head of Communication, tel +45 61 20 19 97
Forward-looking statements
This interim report contains statements relating to the future, including statements regarding
Attachment
UK Matas 6M 2020_21
© OMX, source
