REG - Boohoo Group Plc - Q1 FY27 Trading Update

BoohooAnnouncement

Today 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20260603:nRSC7329Ga&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 7329G  Boohoo Group Plc  03 June 2026

3 June 2026

boohoo group plc

("Debenhams Group", the "Group" or the "Company")

 

Trading update for the 1(st) quarter to May 2026

Debenhams Group Back to Growth

Q1 FY27 Trading Update

Momentum in the Debenhams Group multi-year turnaround accelerated in the
Group's first quarter ended 31 May 2026 ("Q1"). The Board is pleased to report
that the Company has returned to growth, with Group GMV up 0.5% year on year.
May trading was particularly strong with GMV growth of approximately 8%.
Performance was most notable across the Debenhams brand and PrettyLittleThing,
with improvements also achieved in Boohoo, BoohooMan and Karen Millen.

The return to growth has been supported by materially improved profitability
and significantly improved cashflows.

Gross margin expanded to 53.5% in the period from 52.1% in the prior year, and
the Group's returns rate declined by c.5% in the quarter.

Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded materially year on year, delivering a
substantial increase in Adjusted EBITDA in the period.

Exceptional costs reduced sharply by 72% in Q1, while capital expenditure fell
by 54% year on year, keeping the Group firmly on track towards free cash flow
generation.

Outlook

Whilst early in the current financial year, the strong momentum achieved in Q1
underpins the Board's confidence in delivering double-digit percentage growth
in full year Adjusted EBITDA from the £53m guided for FY26 in March.

Similarly, the reduction of net debt to adjusted EBITDA to below 1x in the
current year is on track. This will be delivered through trading cashflow and
disposals, including the Burnley property and the US warehouse, both of which
are planned to be disposed of in the current year.

Significant cost has been removed from the business and fixed costs are on
track to reduce to £100m through 2027. This a c.£200m cumulative reduction
delivered by the new management team since their appointment.

The transition to an asset light model is progressing well. All brands have
now transitioned to the marketplace model and c.25k brands / partners have now
joined the Group ecosystem.

Capex will be 50% lower year on year in the current year. It has been reduced
from £27.5m FY25 to £16m FY26 and is expected to fall to £8m in the current
year.

Lease costs in the current year will reduce to £13m and will reduce further
to £6m when the US vacant property lease has been exited.

The £6m ongoing lease costs will include the fully automated Sheffield
warehouse, the Manchester head office, as well as a small London footprint.

Interest costs and exceptional items are also expected to fall materially in
the current year.

The Board is confident it will deliver double digit Adjusted EBITDA growth and
free cash flow in FY27.

Full year results for the period ended 28 February 2026 will be released
within the next two weeks.

Dan Finley, Group CEO, commented:

"Debenhams Group has returned to growth, and Q1 marks the inflection point we
have been working towards. Group GMV grew 0.5% year on year - with May trading
particularly strong at around 8%, led by the Debenhams brand and
PrettyLittleThing.

"This is the result of the heavy lifting of our multi-year turnaround: the
move to an asset light marketplace model, the warehouse consolidation, the
cost reset, and the rebuild of every brand on a single proprietary platform.
That work is now translating into materially improved profitability, with
Adjusted EBITDA margin expanding and a substantial increase in Adjusted EBITDA
in the period, alongside significantly improved cashflows.

"With the cost out ahead of plan and strong momentum carried into the year,
the Board's confidence has grown and we are reiterating our guidance of
double-digit Adjusted EBITDA growth in FY27."

 

 Enquiries
 Debenhams Group
 Phil Ellis, Chief Financial Officer                         Tel: +44 (0)161 233 2050

 Zeus - Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker
 Dan Bate / James Edis / Emma Burn                           Tel: +44 (0)161 831 1512
 Nick Searle / Dominic King                                  Tel: +44 (0)20 3829 5000

 Panmure Liberum - Joint Broker
 Mark Dickenson / James Sinclair-Ford / Ailsa MacMaster      Tel: +44 (0)20 3100 2000

 Sodali & Co - Financial PR Adviser
 Ben Foster / Louisa Henry                                                  Tel: +44 (0)20 3984 0114

 

About Debenhams Group

 

Debenhams Group is an online platform, for fashion, home, and beauty, serving
millions of customers across five shopping destinations: Debenhams, Karen
Millen, boohoo, MAN and PLT. Debenhams Group dates back to 1778 when William
Clark, a retail pioneer of the time, opened the UK's first department store.
Today, the Group is home to Debenhams, Britain's online department store and
leading fashion-led marketplaces, boohoo, PLT, MAN, and Karen Millen.

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  TSTUPUCPQUPQGBP



            Copyright 2019 Regulatory News Service, all rights reserved