LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - N Brown reported a contraction in first-half revenue on Thursday, alongside a commitment to strategic and operational progress.
The AIM-traded company recorded revenue of £297m in the 26 weeks ended 2 September, marking a 10.4% decline, with product revenue sliding 11.2% to £187.5m and financial services revenue dipping 9% to £109.5m.

It put the revenue shrinkage down to several factors, including unseasonable weather patterns through spring and from July to August, affecting retail sales and the opening debtor book, consequently diminishing financial services revenue.

However, first-half adjusted EBITDA managed to tally with board expectations despite ongoing macroeconomic challenges.

Adjusted profit before tax was reported at a marginal £0.1m, down 97.7% year-on-year, as the firm recorded a statutory loss before tax of £4.1m, compared to a profit of £7.2m in the first half of 2022.

Despite the challenges, the group described an improvement in its product revenue trend in the second quarter, as well as a marginally positive development in adjusted group gross profit margin, which rose by 0.4 percentage points to 47.6%.#

The improvement in product margin rates continued, up 1.6 percentage points, buoyed by normalised freight rates.

On the operational front, N Brown launched a new mobile-first website for Jacamo, marking the transition of the second of its three strategic brands to its new platform.

The development showed good traction in its net promoter score (NPS), which saw a boost of five points against 2023, benefiting from a sustained focus on operational enhancements such as extending the order cut-off time for next-day delivery to 11 pm.

Looking ahead, N Brown said adjusted EBITDA for the full year was still set to align with market expectations.

The first five weeks of the third quarter showed a further improvement over the second-quarter run rate, even as the macroeconomic challenges of a high inflationary environment and low consumer confidence were expected to linger throughout the year.

"We expected external market conditions to remain soft and for the first half of the 2024 financial year to be particularly challenging," said chief executive officer Steve Johnson.

"In response, we acted decisively to adapt to the trading environment and maintain real focus and discipline in areas we can directly control, remaining on track to deliver full-year adjusted EBITDA in line with the board's expectations.

"Alongside this, we're pleased with the delivery of our strategy as we position the business for medium-term growth."

Johnson said the company's investment across JD Williams, Simply Be, and Jacamo had led to new commercial partnerships and technology upgrades to drive performance.

"We have a clear set of transformational priorities in train and expect to continue to deliver further progress during the second half of the year.

"Good work by our teams, including more efficient stock management, has helped generate cash and further improve our liquidity position in the half, providing a solid base for the continued investment in our priorities."

At 1029 BST, shares in N Brown Group were down 4.55% at 19.09p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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