REG - Sosandar PLC - Half Year Results
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RNS Number : 7963I Sosandar PLC 25 November 2025
Date: 25 November 2025
On behalf of: Sosandar plc ('Sosandar' or 'the Company')
Embargoed until: 0700hrs
Sosandar plc
Half Year Results
Return to revenue growth, underpinned by strong own site performance and
resilient margins
Trading in line with Full Year expectations
Sosandar PLC (AIM: SOS), the women's fashion brand, creating quality,
trend-led products for women of all ages, is pleased to announce its financial
results for the six months ended 30 September 2025 ('H1 FY26') and an update
on current trading.
Financial Highlights:
· Growth in revenue of 15% year on year to £18.7m (H1 FY25: £16.2m)
· Own site revenue increased by 28% versus the prior year
· Sustained strong gross margin of 62.2% (H1 FY25: 62.2%), reflecting the
strategic focus on margin enhancement
· Loss before tax of £1.1m (H1 FY25: £0.7m loss), in line with our
expectations and reflecting traditional second half weighting of profitability
alongside the impact of own stores and M&S cyber incident
· Strong net cash of £7.7m (£7.3m as at 31 March 2025)
· Trading is in line with FY26 full year expectations for both revenue and
profit before tax*
* Sosandar believes that current market expectations for the year ending 31
March 2026 (as revised in July 2025) are revenues of £43.6 million and profit
before tax of £0.4 million.
Operational and Strategic Highlights:
· Own site performance driven by a meaningful uplift in site traffic, improved
conversion rates, and increased order volumes from both new and existing
customers
· Sosandar remains one of the top-selling brands across all third-party
partners, including NEXT, delivering robust trading during the period and
entering the key Autumn/Winter season with positive momentum
· Launched our licensed homeware range with NEXT in September, which has
delivered a strong initial performance in line with our expectations
· As expected, stores continue to weigh on profitability until they mature;
Chelmsford and Marlow, which have now been open for just over a year,
delivered encouraging results and are on track to reach breakeven in year two
Post-period Trading Highlights (October and November to date):
· As anticipated, trading during the Autumn period has been strong, in line with
expectations
· Strong year on year growth has also continued on Sosandar.com
· Trading through M&S has resumed following their cyber incident, with
collaborative efforts underway to scale stock intake
· Further step up in gross margin to 67.2% in October and November to date (LY:
64.6%) reflecting improved intake margin on new season product
· Improved cash position of £9.5m as at 22 November 2025, reflecting the
seasonal curve
· Capital reduction approved by the court in October. To date, the Company has
bought back 5,000,000 shares, which are currently held in treasury
Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, Co-CEOs commented:
"We are really pleased with how the business has performed over the past six
months. During this period, we delivered a return to revenue growth, supported
by strong momentum through our own website which remains a key driver of both
sales and customer engagement, alongside a resilient gross margin.
The Autumn/Winter season has delivered another robust trading performance,
with customers continuing to respond positively to our unique collections
across both occasion and everyday dressing.
Looking forward, the foundations have been laid for sustainable, profitable,
cash generative growth."
Presentations
Sosandar is hosting a webinar for retail investors at 09:00 today. If you
would like to attend, please register here:
https://engageinvestor.news/SOS_HY26 (https://engageinvestor.news/SOS_HY26)
Enquiries
Sosandar plc www.sosandar.com (http://www.sosandar.com)
Julie Lavington / Ali Hall, Joint CEOs c/o Alma PR
Steve Dilks, CFO
Singer Capital Markets (Joint Broker and Nominated Advisor) +44 (0) 20 7496 3000
Peter Steel / Tom Salvesen / Sara Hale / Patrick Weaver
Dowgate Capital (Joint Broker) +44 (0) 20 3903 7715
David Poutney / Amber Higgs / Daniel Ingram
Alma Strategic Communications +44 (0) 20 3405 0205
Sam Modlin / Rebecca Sanders-Hewett / Kinvara Verdon sosandar@almastrategic.com (mailto:sosandar@almastrategic.com)
About Sosandar plc
Sosandar is a women's fashion brand in the UK targeting style conscious women
who have graduated from lower quality, 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 and tested in-house.
Sosandar's product range is diverse, providing its customers with an array of
choice for all occasions across all women's fashion categories. The company
sells through Sosandar.com and its own stores, and has a number of high value
brand partnerships including with NEXT and Marks & Spencer.
Sosandar's success has been built on an exceptional product range, seamless
customer experience and impactful, lifestyle marketing, all of which is
underpinned by combining innovation with data analysis. Our growth strategy is
focused on continuing to grow brand awareness and expand our addressable
market and routes to market, reaching customers wherever they wish to shop.
This is achieved both through direct to consumer channels and through chosen
third-party partners.
Sosandar was founded in 2016 and listed on AIM in 2017. More information is
available at www.sosandar-ir.com (http://www.sosandar-ir.com)
Co-CEO's statement
The first half of the financial year has been a period of great progress as we
have moved forward with our key priorities. As anticipated, we have returned
to revenue growth, whilst maintaining strong margins, and continued to build
the foundations for a more profitable, cash-generative business.
Financial performance
Group revenue for the six months to 30 September was £18.7m, a 15% increase
on the same period last year, notwithstanding that the period included five
months of no material revenue from M&S. Our own website performed
particularly well, with sales up 28%, marking a clear return to growth.
Gross margin held firm at 62.2%, being 7 percentage points ahead of two years
ago. The strong margin reflects the continued strategy of minimal price
promotions on our own website.
We reported a pre-tax loss of £1.1m, compared with a £0.7m pre-tax loss last
year, which is in line with our expectations given the traditional second half
weighting of profitability. Profitability year on year was impacted by the
performance of our own stores and the M&S cyber incident, as previously
outlined, albeit compensated for by the strength of trading through our own
website.
Overall, trading is in line with market expectations reflecting the usual
weighting to the second half where revenue is stronger and margins are higher.
Importantly, we finished the half with net cash of £7.7m, up from £7.3m at
31 March 2025.
Our unique product range delivering what women want
Sosandar designs and produces every single womenswear product category; from
knitwear, dresses, separates and denim to shoes, accessories, leather, PU,
occasion wear, beach and swim. Our customers shop at Sosandar because they
know they can find everything they need, whatever the moment calls for.
Our success lies in our ability to predict trends and truly connect with our
customer. The Sosandar DNA is unmistakable - sexy, chic and feminine, with
universal appeal across ages and sizes. It's this distinct handwriting that
makes us stand out with our third-party partners and keeps our customers
coming back season after season.
Routes to market
Own site
Sosandar's own site is our largest single route to market and the cornerstone
of our brand, serving as the digital hub for engaging with Sosandar. The
platform provides customers with access to our full product offering, while
also showcasing the essence of the Sosandar lifestyle through our unique
imagery.
Importantly, our site returned to revenue growth in the period with a 28%
increase versus the prior year and sequential growth in both Q1 and Q2. This
has been delivered through a meaningful uplift in site traffic, improved
conversion rates and increased order volumes from both new and existing
customers.
Third-party partners
Our partnerships remain a key strength for Sosandar. We continue to be one of
the top selling brands across all third-party partners. This resulted in a
robust trading performance in the period and good momentum entering the key
Autumn/Winter trading period.
As previously announced, the M&S cyber incident impacted revenue
throughout the first half. Sales have now resumed with M&S, and we are
working together with them to continue to increase stock levels.
We are leveraging our strong brand equity and proven partnership model to
pursue strategic licensing deals with third-party partners. These
opportunities provide an attractive route to further growth, with minimal risk
and no capital expenditure for Sosandar. In September, we successfully
launched a licensed homeware range with NEXT, illustrating the natural appeal
of the Sosandar brand and its ability to extend into new areas where our
design and aesthetic resonate with customers.
Own stores
In the last year, we have opened six standalone retail stores across the UK.
To date, stores represent 5% of our total net revenue. Since we opened, 60% of
customers shopping in-store are brand new to Sosandar, and we're also seeing a
notable uplift in both traffic and online revenue in those areas where we have
opened stores.
As expected, our stores continue to weigh on profitability until they mature.
Despite this, our first two locations, Chelmsford and Marlow have recently
passed their twelve-month anniversary and are delivering encouraging results.
Both stores are expected to achieve breakeven in year two.
Two of the locations, both in shopping centres (Cardiff and Gateshead) have
been challenging. One of the key learnings is that smaller market towns have
consumers who shop more regularly in those locations meaning it has been
quicker to build repeat customer visits resulting in higher revenue.
We remain focused on improving the performance of our six stores and
progressing towards breakeven. Therefore we do not plan to open any further
stores at this time.
Current trading and outlook
The strong trading in the first half has continued into October and November.
Overall sales growth has continued to be strong, and we are particularly
pleased with the year-on-year growth on our own website. In addition, trading
through M&S has resumed. Gross margin has further strengthened, and we
remain on track to deliver full year expectations.
Looking ahead, we have laid strong foundations for sustained, profitable
growth. Our priorities are clear: to drive revenue growth and profitability,
maintain our strong gross margin, and further strengthen our cash position.
Financial review
KPIs
6 months ended 30 September 2025 £'000 6 months ended 30 September 2024 £'000 Change
Revenue 18,690 16,187 +15%
Gross Profit 11,624 10,066 +15%
Gross Margin 62.2% 62.2% +10bps
PBT (1,090) (659) -65%
Revenue and PBT
Revenue in H1 FY26 has increased substantially, largely reflecting 28% growth
in revenue from our own website. Overall, revenue in H1 FY26 increased by 15%
to £18.7m (H1 FY25: £16.2m) despite minimal revenue from M&S as a result
of their cyber incident holding back our growth. The increase in revenue on
our own website reflects equal increases in both visits to the site, and
conversion. We invested more in marketing this year (versus last) and this is
paying back on first order, which is resulting in greater profit contribution
from this channel.
The pre-tax loss for H1 FY26 is £1.1m (H1 FY25: Loss of £0.7m) which was
impacted by M&S and own stores, weighing on profitability in the
near-term. It is important to note that the second half of the financial year
is always stronger, with higher revenues and margins.
Gross Margin
The Gross Margin in H1 FY26 was maintained at a very solid 62.2%. This is flat
against the previous year, and represents an increase of 7 percentage points
compared to the same period two years ago (H1 FY24: 55.4%). The vast majority
of this improvement is due to the reduction in price promotional activity on
Sosandar.com. Gross Margin has always been stronger on our other channels,
with our own site historically lower as a result of the much greater reliance
on price promotions. Now that the vast majority of our sales are at full RRP
(as through Concessions), the margin differential has closed substantially,
resulting in the higher margin overall. There remains further growth potential
as we look ahead to the second half, in part as we will benefit more greatly
from the strength of Sterling against the Dollar, resulting in improvements to
the intake margin on Autumn / Winter product.
Operating Costs
Total Operating Costs increased by £2.0m / 18% to £12.7m (H1 FY25:
£10.7m).
This overall increase includes the operating costs associated with our own
retail stores which were £1.3m for H1 FY26 (H1 FY25: £0.2m). Our first store
opened in August 2024, with further openings through the second half of last
year. Therefore, the increase in operating cost seen in H1 FY26 will be lower
in H2 FY26.
The 28% increase in revenue on our own website reflects an increase in
marketing spend during the period. The increase compared to the previous year
is £0.7m and includes incremental spend on digital, notably meta and google
as well as sending consumer brochures. The payback on the marketing spend has
improved compared to previous years as a result of the gross margin being
substantially higher. During the first half, average payback was on the first
order.
Despite revenue overall increasing by 15%, the cost of fulfilment has remained
broadly flat compared to the previous year. The successful move to the new
warehouse provider in February 2025 has delivered greater efficiency resulting
in lower cost per unit metrics. In addition, we have reduced our average
postage rates for deliveries to consumers.
Balance Sheet
The balance sheet is robust with net assets as at 30 September 2025 of £17.0m
compared with £17.7m at 30 September 2024. Cash at 30 September 2025 was
£7.7m, up from £7.3m as at 31(st) March 2025. We continue to have zero debt
and the cash position at the end of September is the lowest level across the
financial year. This is reflective of the natural working capital cycle,
whereby a large proportion of stock has been paid for ahead of it being sold
from October onwards. This low point is slightly exacerbated by a managed
decision to land more stock earlier to maximise the opportunity from demand
generated in early autumn.
Inventory has reduced to £10.5m (H1 FY25: £12.2m) which reflects a planned
reduction in stock holding coupled with strong sell through during the first
half. The balance includes stock that has already landed for the autumn
/winter season, which is in greater quantum compared with last year.
Receivables reduced marginally to £3.6m (H1 FY25: £3.9m), predominantly due
to lower prepayments than last year. Trade receivables increased year on year
reflecting stronger revenue through our concession and wholesale partners in
September. During the period, there was no change to payment terms with any of
our partners.
Current liabilities increased marginally to £8.3m (H1 FY25 £8.0m) due to
lease liabilities including all six stores compared with two last year. Trade
payables reduced to £7.5m (H1 FY25: £7.7m), with stock related creditors
falling as payments were earlier compared to the previous year. This is
because stock was handed over and therefore landed earlier. There was no
material change to the average payment term with suppliers. Offsetting this
reduction is an increase in contract liabilities, due to a higher provision
for returns following strong sales in September.
Having a strong net cash position coupled with being cash generative in the
period and the stronger half of the year still to come has allowed us to
commence buying back our own shares. Prior to this, at our Annual General
Meeting in September 2025 we received shareholder approval to purchase up to
10% of the Company's issued share capital and, in October 2025, the requisite
Court approval for a capital reduction. At the date of this release, the
Company has bought back 5,000,000 shares, which are currently held in
treasury.
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE 6 MONTHS ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025
6 Months to 30 Sept 6 Months to 30 Sept Year ended 31 March
2025 2024 2025
Notes £'000 £'000 £'000
Revenue 3 18,690 16,187 37,132
Cost of Sales (7,066) (6,121) (14,067)
Gross profit/(loss) 11,624 10,066 23,065
Administrative expenses (12,662) (10,748) (22,884)
Warehouse transition - one-off costs - - (223)
Operating Loss (1,038) (682) (42)
Finance income 60 62 109
Finance costs (112) (39) (134)
Loss before taxation (1,090) (659) (67)
Income tax credit/(expense) - - (477)
Loss for the year (1,090) (659) (544)
Other comprehensive income - - -
Total comprehensive loss for the period (1,090) (659) (544)
Earnings/(loss) per share:
Loss per share - basic & diluted, attributable to ordinary equity holders 5 (0.44) (0.27) (0.22)
of the parent (pence)
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
AS AT 30 SEPTEMBER 2025
As at As at As at
30 Sept
30 Sept
31 March
2025 2024 2025
Notes £'000 £'000 £'000
Assets
Non-current assets
Intangible assets 815 459 747
Property, plant, equipment 1,573 1,201 1,793
Right of use asset 3,706 2,093 4,083
Deferred income tax asset 128 605 128
Total non-current assets 6,222 4,358 6,751
Current assets
Inventories 10,518 12,165 11,090
Trade and other receivables 3,628 3,864 3,835
Cash and cash equivalents 7,747 6,951 7,284
Total current assets 21,893 22,980 22,209
Total assets 28,115 27,338 28,960
Equity and liabilities
Equity
Share capital 4 248 248 248
Share premium 4 52,619 52,619 52,619
Capital reserves 4,648 4,648 4,648
Other reserves 1,887 1,617 1,753
Reverse acquisition reserve (19,596) (19,596) (19,596)
Retained earnings (22,830) (21,855) (21,740)
Total equity 16,976 17,681 17,932
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 7,518 7,675 7,096
Lease liability 826 294 571
Total current liabilities 8,344 7,969 7,667
Non-current liabilities
Lease liability 2,795 1,688 3,361
Total non-current liabilities 2,795 1,688 3,361
Total liabilities 11,139 9,657 11,028
Total equity and liabilities 28,115 27,338 28,960
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASHFLOWS
FOR THE 6 MONTH PERIOD ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025
6 Months 6 Months Year ended
to 30 Sept
to 30 Sept
31 March
2025 2024 2025
Notes £'000 £'000 £'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Loss before tax (1,090) (659) (67)
Adjustments for:
Share based payments 134 132 268
Depreciation and amortisation 642 266 802
Finance costs 112 39 134
Finance income (60) (62) (109)
Disposal of intangibles - - 3
Disposal of tangibles - - 7
Working capital adjustments:
Change in inventories 572 (1,245) (170)
Change in trade and other receivables (230) (1,096) (1,067)
Change in trade and other payables 770 2,559 2,020
Net cash flow from operating activities 850 (66) 1,821
Cash flow from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (8) (1,045) (1,717)
Purchase of intangibles (121) (114) (424)
Initial direct costs on right of use asset - - (463)
Bank Interest paid - - (1)
Net cash flow from investing activities (129) (1,159) (2,605)
Cash flow from financing activities
Lease payment (308) (199) (354)
Bank interest received 50 62 109
Net cash flow from financing activities (258) (137) (245)
Net change in cash and cash equivalents 463 (1,362) (1,029)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 7,284 8,313 8,313
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period 7,747 6,951 7,284
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
FOR THE 6 MONTH PERIOD ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2025
Share capital Share premium Reverse acquisition reserve Capital redemption reserve Retained earnings Other reserves Total
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Balance at 30 September 2024 248 52,619 (19,596) 4,648 (21,855) 1,617 17,681
Profit for the period - - - - 115 - 115
Share-based payments - - - - - 136 136
Balance at 31 March 2025 248 52,619 (19,596) 4,648 (21,740) 1,753 17,932
Loss for the period - - - - (1,090) - (1,090)
Share-based payments - - - - - 134 134
Balance at 30 September 2025 248 52,619 (19,596) 4,648 (22,830) 1,887 16,976
Share capital is the amount subscribed for shares at nominal value.
Share premium represents the excess of the amount subscribed for share capital
over the nominal value of those shares net of share issue expenses.
Other reserves represents the share based payments reserve which relates to
the charge for share-based payments in accordance with International Financial
Reporting Standard 2.
Retained earnings represent the cumulative loss of the Group attributable to
equity shareholders.
Reverse acquisition reserve relates to the effect on equity of the reverse
acquisition of Thread 35 Limited.
Capital redemption reserve represents the aggregate nominal value of all the
deferred shares repurchased and cancelled by the Company. The reserve is
non-distributable.
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL INFORMATION
1. General Information
Sosandar Plc (the 'Company') is a public company limited by shares
incorporated in England and Wales. Details of the registered office, the
officers and advisers to the Company are presented on the Company Information
page at the end of this report. The Company is listed on the AIM market of the
London Stock Exchange (ticker: SOS).
The principal activity of the Group in the year under review was that of a
clothing manufacturer and distributer via internet and mail order as well as
retail stores.
The financial information set out in this Half Yearly report does not
constitute statutory accounts as defined in Section 434 of the Companies Act
2006. The Company's statutory financial statements for the year ended 31 March
2025, prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"),
have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The auditor's report on those
financial statements was unqualified and did not contain statements under
Sections 498(2) and 498 (3) of the Companies Act 2006.
Copies of the annual statutory accounts and the Half Yearly
report can be found on the Company's website at
http://www.sosandar-ir.com/content/investors/annual-reports.asp
(http://www.sosandar-ir.com/content/investors/annual-reports.asp) .
2. Basis of preparation and significant accounting policies
This Half Yearly report has been prepared using the historical cost
convention, on a going concern basis and in accordance with "IFRS" as adopted
by the European Union, using accounting policies which are consistent with
those set out in the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.
3. Revenue
The directors have considered the requirement of IFRS 15 with regards to
disaggregation of revenue and do not consider this to be required as the group
only has one operating segment which is retail sales.
The income recognition for delivery receipts, commissions on partner-fulfilled
sales and wholesale revenue are in line with that of retail sales and linked
to dispatch/delivery to customers.
Due to the nature of its activities, the group is not reliant on any
individual major customers.
During the prior year, the Group expanded into international markets. The
major geographical market remains the UK.
Period ended Year ended
30-Sept 30-Sept
2025 2024
£'000 £'000
UK 18,550 16,015
Rest of World 140 172
Total 18,690 16,187
Disaggregation of revenue based on distribution channels is as follows:
Period ended Period ended
30-Sept 30-Sept
2025 2024
£'000 £'000
Own Channels * 10,148 7,206
Third-Party Channels ** 8,542 8,981
Total 18,690 16,187
* Own Channels includes Sosandar.com and own stores
** Third-Party Channels includes concession and wholesale
4. Share capital and reserves
Details of ordinary shares issued are in the table below:
Ordinary Shares (£0.01)
Date Number of shares Issue Price £ Total Share Capital Total Share Premium £'000
£'000
At 31 September 2024 248,226,513 0.001 248 52,619
Shares issued: - - - -
At 31 March 2025 248,226,513 0.001 248 52,619
Shares issued: - - -
At 30 September 2025 248,226,513 0.001 248 52,619
5. Earnings per share: profit / (loss)
Basic loss per share is calculated by dividing the loss attributable to equity
shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during
the period:
6 Months to 30 Sept 2025 6 Months to 30 Sept 2024 Year Ended 31 March 2025
Loss after tax attributable to equity holders of the parent (£'000) (1,090) (659) (544)
Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue 248,226,513 248,226,513 248,226,513
Basic / Diluted loss per share (pence) (0.44) (0.27) (0.22)
6. Post balance sheet events
On the 14(th) October 2025, the Court approved the Company's application to
cancel the amount standing to the credit of its share premium account
("Capital Reduction"). The Capital Reduction became effective on the 16(th)
October 2025 whereby the share premium account of the Company of £52,619k was
cancelled. The Capital Reduction itself did not involve any distribution or
repayment of capital by the Company and did not affect the rights attached to
the Ordinary Shares or the total number of Ordinary Shares in issue.
Following the Capital Reduction and under the general authority granted by the
Company's Shareholders, the Company purchased 5,000,000 Ordinary Shares at
5.7p per share representing approximately 2.01% of the Company's issued share
capital. The Ordinary Shares purchased will be held in treasury.
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