Pre-tax losses were slashed at musicMagpie during the first half of its financial year, new figures have confirmed.
The Stockport-headquartered company has posted losses of £1m for the six months to May 31, 2022, compared to £17.7m in the prior period which included one-off costs of around £22.9m.
The listed firm's revenue dipped slightly from £72.7m to £71.2m during the same time.
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musicMagpie said the growth in consumer technology revenue "largely offset" the post-pandemic fall in disc media and books.
Consumer technology revenue rose 15.9% to £46m while disc media and books dropped by 23.6% to £25.3m.
Chief executive Steve Oliver said: "I am pleased that the business has delivered a strong performance in our strategically important consumer technology division, which now represents two-thirds of our total revenue.
"I am also delighted with the progress being made in our device rental subscription service.
"In light of the continuing squeeze on consumer spending, we believe that this will become an increasingly attractive option to a wider range of consumers seeking to replace their non-discretionary technology products in a cost-effective way.
"Whilst the successful growth of this offering has a short-term compression on the financial performance of the business relative to a one-off sale, it will deliver higher revenue and EBITDA over the life of the device.
"It therefore remains our overriding growth strategy for the medium term, and we are delighted to announce HSBC UK and NatWest's support in the form of a new £30m three-year revolving credit facility to further support our investment in this area.
"Notwithstanding the challenges presented by the current macroeconomic uncertainty, we expect consumers will continue to seek ways to raise cash and save money and as a result, we are confident that the business is well positioned for future growth in H2 2022 and beyond."
On its outlook, the company added: "The current economic environment is of course uncertain for many consumer-facing businesses, with numerous well-documented headwinds in the market and squeezed wallets for consumers.
"For our strategically important consumer technology segment (which represents 65% of group revenue) we expect an increased contribution in the second half of the year from our growing base of rental subscribers. In addition to sales and rentals through the musicMagpie store, we also expect continued sales revenue growth from the recent expansion of 'marketplace' sales through our new partnership with Back Market, and from additional listings with long-term partners such as Amazon.
"These factors, along with the expectation of lower marketing spend as a percentage of higher revenues, not least owing to the expected contribution from the Black Friday sales period, mean that we have confidence going into the second half of our financial year.
"Disc media and book sales are expected to perform broadly in-line with the first half and we will start to see softer comparatives as the abnormal pandemic lockdown periods from 2021 fall away. Gross margins across disc media and books are expected to remain resilient.
"The board continues to be confident that the business is well positioned for future growth and adjusted EBITDA remains in line with its expectations for the full year."
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