Full Year Results

Continued strong momentum drives substantial revenue growth and a profitable second half

Sosandar PLC (AIM: SOS), one of the fastest growing fashion brands in the UK creating quality, trend-led products for women of all ages, is pleased to announce its financial results for the year ended 31 March 2022 and an update on trading for Q1 of the current financial year.

FY22 was a milestone year for the Group as it delivered an exceptionally strong financial performance, exceeding market expectations that were upgraded in April 2022, with nine consecutive months of profitability now delivered (H2 FY22 & Q1 FY23). Alongside this, significant strategic progress has been made resulting in strong growth both on its own site and through third parties with the increased diversity of product mix resonating with customers.

 

Download The full results are available to download in PDF format

 

FY2022 Financial Highlights

• Revenue growth of 142% to £29.5m (FY2021: £12.2m), which included three consecutive months of record revenue in September, October and November 2021
• EBITDA improved significantly to a £0.2m loss (FY2021: £2.9m loss) with every month in H2 FY2022 being profitable
• Increase in gross margin to 56% (FY2021: 48%) reflecting a return to normal trading conditions following the impact of the covid pandemic on the prior year
• Net cash of £7.0m as at 31 March 2022 (FY2021: £3.9m) reflecting the equity fundraise in May 2021, subsequent investment in stock and the Group’s profitable second half

FY2022 Operational and Strategic Highlights

• The Company continues to deliver increasing levels of customer engagement on Sosandar.com with all KPIs increasing YoY:
  • Total orders increased 84% to 508k
  • Active customers increased 65% to 223k
  • Conversion Rate of 3.87%, up from 3.09% in FY2021, highlighting the effectiveness of the Company’s unique creative process and highly effective lifestyle imagery
  • Average order frequency increased by 10% to 2.28 times per annum, a reflection of how the distinct and diverse product range is attracting and retaining customers
• In-house design process driving continued expansion of the product range across all categories offering broader choice, with rapid sell through across all channels
• Trading with third party partners; M&S, Next and John Lewis, continued to be strong, with Sosandar product resonating very well across all types of product category
• Successful launch with The Very Group on a wholesale arrangement in March 2022 with positive early momentum

Post-period Trading Highlights

• Very strong start to Q1 FY2023 with revenue of £10.4m representing a record quarter and an increase of 81% against Q1 FY2022
• Trading in-line with market expectations* with strong performance on both own site and third-parties
• First three months of the current financial year continued to be profitable, resulting in nine consecutive months of profitability
• Product across all categories selling through rapidly with particularly strong sales of workwear, occasion wear and holiday clothes
• Cash at 30 June 2022 of £6.1m, reflecting further investment in inventory and continued strong trading

* Sosandar believes that market expectations for the year ending 31 March 2023 are currently revenue of £42.5 million, an EBITDA of £2.2 million and PBT of £1.9 million.

FY2022 KPIs (Own Site)

	Year ended 31 March 2022	Year ended 31 March 2021	Change
Web Visits	13,141,632	8,922,789	47%
Conversion rate	3.87%	3.09%	+78bps
Number of orders	508,473	276,008	84%
AOV	£90.39	£82.70	9%
Active customers	223,253	135,381	65%
Average Order Frequency	2.28	2.08	10%

 

Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, Co-CEOs commented:

“We are incredibly proud to be reporting another period of sustained growth for Sosandar. It is thanks to our well-planned approach, together with our entrepreneurial, agile culture that we have delivered a significant increase in revenue, as well as moving into month-on-month profitability. This is an important milestone for us, and having achieved it we are now better positioned than ever for further success.

Notwithstanding the current macro-economic environment, trading in the new financial year has started very well, with a record quarter for sales and three further consecutive months of profitability. With the arrival of spring and summer, we have seen our customers seek out a wide variety of product, in particular smart clothes for work, bright colours for holidays and investment pieces such as leather.

Looking ahead, we are excited for the next stage of our growth.  Our winning formula is evident in our results and over the next year we will focus on expanding our product range and continuing to drive growth through our own site and third parties. Return rates are in line with our expectations across the product range and our costs continue to be carefully managed. We continue to expand and diversify our supplier base to support our growth expectations whilst further mitigating risk. As we have done over the past two years, we will continue to use our agility and detailed planning to manage the business effectively, as we move forward on our journey to becoming one of the largest womenswear brands globally.”

Presentations

Sosandar is hosting a webinar for analysts at 0900 hrs BST today. If you would like to register, please contact [email protected]

The Company is also hosting a webinar for retail investors at 1130 hrs BST today. If you would like to attend, please register here:  https://bit.ly/SOS_FY22_webinar

 

Enquiries

Sosandar plc	www.sosandar.com
Julie Lavington / Ali Hall, Joint CEOs	c/o Alma PR
Steve Dilks, CFO
Singer Capital Markets Peter Steel / Kailey Aliyar / Tom Salvesen	+44 (0) 20 7496 3000
Alma PR Limited (Financial PR)	+44 (0) 20 3405 0205
Sam Modlin / Susie Hudson / Lily Soares-Smith	[email protected]

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the retained UK version of the EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 ("UK MAR").

About Sosandar plc

Sosandar provide a one-stop online shop for style-conscious women who have graduated from price-led alternatives. The Company offers this underserved audience fashion-forward, affordable, quality clothing to make them feel sexy, feminine, and chic. The business sells predominantly own label exclusive product designed in-house.

Sosandar’s offers product across all womenswear categories, ensuring all wardrobe needs can be fulfilled. The Company has brand partnerships in place with Next, John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and The Very Group.

Sosandar’s growth strategy is to build brand awareness and expand its customer base through developing exceptional products, providing a seamless customer experience and using impactful, lifestyle marketing activity. This is underpinned by combining innovation with data analysis, which drives successful product development and new customer targeting.

Sosandar was founded in 2016 and listed on AIM in 2017. More information is available at www.sosandar-ir.com