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Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
Business
Jon Robinson

THG brands takeover proposals 'unacceptable' as revenue passes £2bn

THG has branded the initial takeover proposals it has received from "numerous parties in recent weeks" as unacceptable as it revealed its full-year revenue jumped past the £2bn mark.

The Manchester-headquartered retail giant added that "each and every proposal to date" had failed to reflect the fair value of the group.

THG also confirmed that it is not currently in receipt of any approaches.

READ MORE: THG appoints former ITV, EMI Music and food giant boss as new chairman to succeed Matthew Moulding

In a statement issued to the London Stock Exchange, the group said it is preparing to step up to the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange "at the appropriate time".

The update comes as the online beauty, wellness and software giant confirmed its revenue for the 12 months to December 31, 2021, totalled more than £2.1bn, up from the £1.6bn it achieved in 2020.

The group's Beauty revenue increased from £751.6m to £1.1bn while Nutrition sales rose from £562.3m to £659.5m.

THG Ingenuity's revenue grew from £137.3m to £194.3m and THG OnDemand's sales went from £101.3m to £128.1m.

The group's pre-tax profits were cut from £534.6m to £186.2m while its adjusted EBITDA increased from £150.8m to £161.3m.

Chief executive Matthew Moulding said: "In our first full year as a public company, 2021 saw us scale revenue and expand our business model, well ahead of targets set at IPO.

"We delivered a record revenue performance for the year, with group revenue up +38% year-on-year to £2.2bn.

"On a two-year basis, THG has grown revenues +95%; effectively doubling the size of the business.

"Alongside significant revenue growth, FY 2021 saw us acquire and successfully integrate a number of complementary businesses, deepening our vertical integration across both Beauty and Nutrition and expanding our reach to consumers across the globe.

"The operational resilience and performance of our Ingenuity infrastructure, especially during our peak trading period was a highlight, as was the opening of our automated warehouse at our ICON technology campus, delivering material improvements and cost savings across our global storage and delivery infrastructure.

"Our technology platform is now powering an expansive list of global brands across a multitude of sectors, and the number of third-party websites has almost doubled during the year.

"We also continued to progress governance within the group through the year, and I was delighted to announce last month the appointment of Lord Charles Allen as our independent non-executive chair.

"Charles' extensive boardroom experience will help the group continue to drive profitable and sustainable growth, and to meet the highest standards of corporate governance.

"You will all be aware that there has been significant speculation about possible third party interest in THG.

"I can confirm that the board has received indicative proposals from numerous parties in recent weeks.

"The board has concluded that each and every proposal to date has been unacceptable, failing to reflect the fair value of the group, and confirms that THG is not currently in receipt of any approaches.

"We continue to focus on delivering our exciting growth strategy across a number of large global sectors, and prepare to step up to the premium segment of the LSE at the appropriate time.

"I would like to thank all THG colleagues for their dedication and hard work in helping us achieve such a strong performance for the year.

"We remain confident in delivering our strategic growth plans for the year ahead and beyond, with full support from the board and our new chairman."

THG added that it saw " saw very encouraging consumer demand levels against a particularly challenging comparable global lockdown period in 2021" during the first quarter of its new financial year.

It also confirmed that its second quarter has started in line with expectations.

THG Beauty (THG)

THG added: "The group is fully aware of the significant impact of short-term cost inflation on both global consumers and supply chains alike.

"THG intends to limit the impact of cost pressures on our consumers by maximising efficiencies in our operating model, absorbing some of the pricing pressures, and raising prices at a lower rate to underlying input costs.

"We believe the recent and rapid inflationary environment is largely transitory, and THG will, as far as possible, continue to shield consumers from these adverse macro-economic conditions.

"The group's consumer first focus remains to build the long-term, loyal customer base, with c.80% of revenues generated from returning customers each year."

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