REG - Angling Direct PLC - Full Year Trading Update and Notice of Results

Angling DirectAnnouncement

26/02/2025 07:15

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RNS Number : 4412Y  Angling Direct PLC  26 February 2025

26 February 2025

 

Angling Direct plc

("Angling Direct" or the "Company" or the "Group")

 

Full Year Trading Update and Notice of Results

 

Revenue and adjusted EBITDA slightly ahead of market expectations

 

Angling Direct plc (AIM: ANG), the leading omni-channel specialist fishing
tackle and equipment retailer, is pleased to provide the following unaudited
trading update in relation to the financial year ended 31 January 2025
("FY25"), ahead of announcing its Final Results on 13 May 2025. The Board
expects to report FY25 revenue and adjusted EBITDA slightly ahead of market
expectations(1).

 

Financial Highlights

 

 £m                                             FY 2025  FY 2024  Change

 Revenue                                        91.3     81.7     11.9%

 UK Retail store sales                          50.7     44.4     14.2%

 UK Online sales                                35.7     32.9     8.4%

 Total UK sales                                 86.4     77.4     11.7%

 Total European sales                           4.9      4.3      14.1%

 Net cash & cash equivalents at period end      12.1     15.8     -23.5%

 

The Group delivered a strong trading performance for the second half of FY25
despite the ongoing challenges in the broader consumer landscape, delivering
total revenue growth of 11.9% to £91.3m (FY24: £81.7m).

 

Revenue growth in the UK business (stores and online) accelerated to 11.7%
(FY24: 9.0%) and was 7.1% higher on a like-for-like basis(2) (H1 2.2% and H2
12.6%) This performance reflected the success of various self-help
initiatives, including improved third party ranging and availability, an
increasingly compelling own brand offer and the growth of the MyAD
omni-channel customer loyalty club to over 409k subscribers, an 86% increase
vs 31 January 2024 (220k).

 

UK like-for-like store sales grew 6.0%(3), benefitting from increased footfall
and higher transaction volumes. The Company accelerated its new store opening
programme through the year, utilising its strong balance sheet to open three
new stores in Cannock (February), Newark (June) and Derby (January) with the
acquisition of a further three businesses in Crewe (March), Walsall (May), and
Shrewsbury (July). These new stores, alongside those opened in FY24,
contributed an additional £4.0m of sales in the year and the Company now
operates 53 stores across England and Wales.

 

UK Online sales increased by 8.4%, driven by higher unique customers and the
ongoing success of the MyAD loyalty and repeat purchase membership model.

 

Outside of the UK, the Group's European online sales increased 7.1% to £4.6m
(FY24: £4.3m) with a continued focus on its key markets of Germany and the
Netherlands. The period saw the opening of the Group's first European store in
Utrecht, the Netherlands (May). Further progress was made in reducing European
operating losses, with the ambition remaining to build a sustainable European
business and increase our addressable market.

 

Aligned with its medium-term objectives, management remains focused on gross
margin development through a number of initiatives, including improved
ranging, buying and own brand deployment, alongside driving cost efficiency
through both innovation and operational leverage as the UK and European
businesses scale.

 

The strong trading performance has enabled the Group to apply its capital
allocation policy by investing in growth through its accelerated new store
roll out and own brand ranging, alongside returning capital to shareholders as
part of its ongoing share buyback programme. Net cash reduced to £12.1m at 31
January 2025 (31 January 2024: £15.8m). Since the Group began its share
buyback programme in December 2024, approximately £732k has been returned to
shareholders as at the date of this announcement, reducing the Company's
shares in issue by approximately 2.5%.

 

Steve Crowe, CEO of Angling Direct, commented:

 

"FY25 marks another year of significant progress against our medium-term
objectives with growth delivered both in stores and online. The continued
expansion of our UK footprint combined with the growing momentum of our MyAD
customer loyalty club, provides a clear line of sight to achieving our
medium-term revenue and adjusted EBITDA targets of £100m and £6m,
respectively.

 

We are proud to have delivered this strong performance against a highly
challenging market backdrop and our sustained growth, despite persistent macro
headwinds, demonstrates the resilient nature of our business model and demand
for our products from a steadily growing customer base.

 

This strong performance is testament to the hard work of our dedicated team
and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for all of their
efforts. The angling sector remains highly active and our loyal customer base
continues to shop with Angling Direct to take advantage of our colleagues'
extensive knowledge and our deep range of own brand and third party products.

 

Looking ahead, our success to date serves to demonstrate that we are
well-positioned to withstand the continuing challenges in the wider economy
and we have plans in place to mitigate the unforeseen impact of national
insurance alongside the continued national living wage increases. As a result,
I am excited by the opportunity before us to continue to take share in both
the UK and in Europe. FY26 is a pivotal year in our European journey as we
annualise the opening of the Utrecht store ahead of the peak fishing season.
We remain focused on delivering against our medium-term objectives and
associated capital allocation policy and I look forward to updating
shareholders on progress in May."

 

 1  Angling Direct believes that current consensus market expectations for the
    year ended 31 January 2025 are for revenues of £88.4 million and Adj. EBITDA
    (pre-IFRS 16 and pre-IFRS 2) of £3.15 million

 2  The UK business like-for-like performance includes the total of the UK digital
    business and the like-for-like UK stores excluding Reading
 3  Excluding the Reading store which hasn't materially traded in the comparative
    period after it suffered a fire in the first week of February 2023. Total like
    for like UK stores sales grew 7.6% including Reading

 

 

 

 

For further information please contact:

 

 Angling Direct plc                         via FTI Consulting
 Steven Crowe, Chief Executive Officer

 Sam Copeman, Chief Financial Officer

 Singer Capital Markets - NOMAD and Broker  +44 (0) 20 7496 3000
 Peter Steel

 Alex Bond

 Tom Salvesen

 James Todd

 FTI Consulting - Financial PR              +44 (0) 20 3727 1000
 Alex Beagley                               anglingdirect@fticonsulting.com (mailto:anglingdirect@fticonsulting.com)

 Matthew Young

 Hannah Butler

 

 

About Angling Direct

 

Angling Direct is the leading omni-channel specialist fishing tackle retailer
in the UK, with an established and growing presence in Europe. Headquartered
in Norfolk UK, the Company sells fishing tackle products and related equipment
through its network of approximately 50 UK retail stores, as well as through
its leading digital platform (www.anglingdirect.co.uk
(https://eu-west-1.protection.sophos.com?d=anglingdirect.co.uk&u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbmdsaW5nZGlyZWN0LmNvLnVrLw==&i=NWZmMzFiMDlmNTYxZTYwZGYyODQyMzUz&t=K2FWYTRxeDV6cWRxd2I5dVpOODk5dnFObVU2U2p5WElLNndSM01SaStUcz0=&h=704002e0ebe140b99f9f3842770cb87e&s=AVNPUEhUT0NFTkNSWVBUSVapg934Yb5nAolTQ9o0CeldsCYWuT9YetF_pLFbutVHOzk4kq9BEj_vGoYOcSbmh2Q)
) and the MyAD Fishing Club app. The Company has three further native language
websites in its key European territories (www.anglingdirect.de,
(https://eu-west-1.protection.sophos.com?d=anglingdirect.de&u=d3d3LmFuZ2xpbmdkaXJlY3QuZGU=&i=NWZmMzFiMDlmNTYxZTYwZGYyODQyMzUz&t=VVRndGRoM1kvaFpNWnRpMzZ0M3NsT2I1NFdGTEp6ZllkYnFBaFFZb2FNWT0=&h=704002e0ebe140b99f9f3842770cb87e&s=AVNPUEhUT0NFTkNSWVBUSVapg934Yb5nAolTQ9o0CeldsCYWuT9YetF_pLFbutVHOzk4kq9BEj_vGoYOcSbmh2Q)
.fr, .nl), with orders fulfilled by its international distribution centre in
The Netherlands.

 

Angling Direct's purpose is to inspire everyone to get out and enjoy an
exceptional fishing experience, regardless of background or ability, in the
great outdoors. Angling Direct's active digital channels and its c500
colleagues contribute to the Company's ethos of care for the wider community
and the environment (www.anglingdirect.co.uk/sustainability
(https://eu-west-1.protection.sophos.com?d=anglingdirect.co.uk&u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbmdsaW5nZGlyZWN0LmNvLnVrL3N1c3RhaW5hYmlsaXR5&i=NWZmMzFiMDlmNTYxZTYwZGYyODQyMzUz&t=a25La0pYblhuR0diWS9OWVhUTEJtSjRiNmhCdktRWnNiUG9ibXlUMjNuTT0=&h=704002e0ebe140b99f9f3842770cb87e&s=AVNPUEhUT0NFTkNSWVBUSVapg934Yb5nAolTQ9o0CeldsCYWuT9YetF_pLFbutVHOzk4kq9BEj_vGoYOcSbmh2Q)
). Angling Direct currently sells over 25,000 fishing tackle products from
industry leading brands alongside its own brands 'Advanta', and entry level
offering 'Discover'.

 

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