QUIZ : Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 March 2021

29 September 2021

QUIZ plc

("QUIZ" or the "Group")

Preliminary Results for the year ended 31 March 2021

QUIZ, the omni-channel fashion brand, announces its unaudited results for the year ended 31 March 2021 ("FY 2021").

Copies of the Audited Annual Report and Accounts for FY 2021 ("Annual Report") will shortly be available on the Company's website at: www.quizgroup.co.uk or by request on the below details. The Company will notify of the posting of the Annual Report and Notice of Annual General Meeting by mid-October 2021.

Financial highlights:

The income statement set out below is included to show the underlying performance of the Group:

Year ended 31 March 2021 Year ended 31 March 2020

	Year ended 31 March 2021				Year ended 31 March 2020
£m	Underlying	Adjusting items	Reported		Underlying	Adjusting items	Reported
Revenue	39.7	-	39.7		118.0	-	118.0
Gross profit	21.2	-	21.2		71.1	-	71.1
Non-recurring costs	-	-	-		-	(26.3)	(26.3)
Government grants	8.2	-	8.2		-	-	-
Other operating expenses (net)	(38.8)	-	(38.8)		(73.4)	-	(73.4)
Operating (loss)/profit	(9.4)	-	(9.4)		(2.3)	(26.3)	(28.6)
Gain arising on disposal of subsidiary	-	10.4	10.4		-	-	-
Gain on bargain purchase arising on acquisition	-	5.2	5.2		-	-	-
(Loss)/profit before financing and taxation	(9.4)	15.6	6.2		(2.3)	(26.3)	(28.6)
Finance costs (net)	(0.2)	-	(0.2)		(0.8)	-	(0.8)
(Loss)/profit before tax	(9.6)	15.6	6.0		(3.1)	(26.3)	(29.4)
EBITDA	(4.9)	15.6	10.7		8.2	(2.6)	(5.6)

Adjusting items in FY21 includes the non-recurring £10.4m gain arising on the disposal of a subsidiary undertaking when it was placed into Administration and £5.2 million gain on bargain purchase arising on an acquisition and in FY20 includes the impact of impairments of Right to Use assets, store assets and goodwill and the write-off of bad debts arising from customers entering administration.

• Group revenue decreased 66% period on period in large part due to the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on trading conditions, including the enforced closure of stores and concessions.
• Gross margin decreasedto 53.4% from 60.3% reflecting an increased level of discounting inpart as a result ofthe enforced stores and concessions closures
• Underlying operating costs reduced by 47% reflecting management's decisive actions in response to the impact of the pandemic
• Underlying operating costs, net of the receipt of £8.2 millionof Government support. reduced by 58%
• Non-recurring non-cash gain of £10.4 million arising on the disposal of a subsidiary undertaken in the year, further to it entering intoadministration.
• Non-recurring non-cash gain of £5.2 million further to the gain on bargain purchase arising on the acquisition of the trade and certain assets of subsidiary which entered intoadministration.
• Operating cash outflows of £2.5 million (FY 2020: inflow £10.2 million)
• Total liquidity headroom at the period end of £2.4 million, being cash net of bank borrowings of £1.5 million and £0.9 millionof undrawn bank facilities (31 March 2020: £6.9 million of cash and £3.5 millionof undrawn bank facilities)

Operational highlights:

• Decisive action to secure substantial cost reductions in response to significant impact of COVID-19 pandemic on sales
• Store portfolio restructuring now complete, resulting in a smaller store footprint focused on more attractive locations, a significantly lower rental cost base, linked to revenues generated, and more flexible leases
• Group's store estate comprised 61 stores in the United Kingdom and four in the Republic of Ireland at the end of the year (31 March 2020: 75 in the UK and 7 in the ROI), with one further opening in the Republic of Ireland subsequently

Post yearendand Outlook:

• Gradual improvement in sales since the removal of restrictions on large scale social events with performance approaching pre pandemic levels on a like for like basis
• As a result, the Board is pleased that the Group has achieved sales of £30.6 million since the Period end (the five months to 31 August 2021), representing a £17.4 million increase on the revenues generated in the period from 1 April to 31 August 2021.
• The Group has agreed an extension of its existing £3.5m banking facilities until 30 September 2022.
• Total liquidity headroom at28 September 2021 of £6.2 million, being cash net of bank borrowings of £3.8 million and undrawn banking facilities of £2.4 million.
• With the recovery in revenues experienced to date the Group anticipates generating a positive cash flow from operating activities in the year ended 31 March 2022.
• Going forward, a higher proportion of revenues will be generated from the Group's own stores and websites which have traditionally generated higher returns than other revenue streams.

Tarak Ramzan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"Against a backdrop of highly challenging trading conditions during the year, including the enforced closures of stores and concessions for substantial periods and the cancellation of social events that are a key driver for demand of QUIZ's trademark occasion wear, we have taken decisive actions to position the business to return to long-term profitable growth, including reducing the size of our store estate, decreasing costs, and maintaining very tight cash management.

"We have continued to invest in our own e-commerce channels as we optimise our omni-channel model. We remain confident in the strength and appeal of QUIZ as an occasion wear led brand, as has been evidenced by the increase in demand and positive trends across our operational KPIs as social events returned during the summer. This continues to underpin the Board's confidence in our ability to continue to improve performance and achieve profitable growth as more normal trading patterns return."