Online electricals retailer AO World has posted widened half-year losses after sales fell and cautioned trading will be remain under pressure amid the cost-of-living crisis and supply chain woes.
The group reported pre-tax losses of £12 million for the six months to September 30, against losses of £4 million a year earlier, as revenues tumbled 17%.
Founder and chief executive John Roberts said the firm’s turnaround plan to strip out costs was paying off as it revealed full-year underlying earnings would now be at the top end of the £20 million to £30 million previous guidance. AO World said: “We are, of course, not immune to the challenging and uncertain consumer environment, and we expect to continue to be impacted by both the cost-of-living crisis affecting consumer spending as well as by ongoing supply chain issues.”
Mr Roberts added: “During the first six months of the year, we’ve made good progress with our strategic realignment as we focus on profitability and cash generation, all of which is yielding the results we expected.
“We’ve now closed the loss-making and cash consumptive parts of our operations, meaning the remaining UK business is cash generative, and are successfully closing our German business with a minimal cash impact to the wider group.
“I’m pleased with this progress, particularly against the backdrop of an extraordinarily difficult macro-economic climate.”
