Safestyle UK has delivered its fastest acceleration in revenue growth since it floated in 2013, according to its trading update for the year ending December 31.
The retailer saw 9% growth in Q3 and expects to hit 20% for Q4, its order book is now more than double its Q3 2019 level with a forecast year-end level of 75% up on closing 2019.
The results come despite severe supply chain issues during the year, it says. However, the group reports it was able to continue largely as normal during the November lockdown due to strict Covid safety policies it had implemented during and after the first lockdown.
“The level of installations activity in Q4 is expected to help deliver our strongest financial result for any quarter since 2017,” says the update report. “The Group has built capacity to deliver double digit revenue growth and has also invested in strengthening the year-end order book.
“At the same time, management have navigated a range of issues including supply chain disruption, additional Covid-related costs, temporary restrictions on canvass operations and investments to deal with lockdown warranty work. Together, these factors have impacted profitability levels.
“As a result, H2 revenue is expected to be approximately £71m with an underlying profit before taxation of around £0.5m, materially lowered by the investments made into building our order book and the issues highlighted above.
“Full year revenue is therefore expected to be over £113m with an underlying loss before taxation of approximately £(4.5)m, the loss being fully attributable to the cessation of operations during the first national lockdown in H1.”
CEO Mike Gallacher concluded: “Despite the unprecedented challenges faced by the Group during the year, I am pleased with the recent tangible progress we have made in stepping up our operational capacity and delivering strong revenue growth, whilst further strengthening our order book. Moreover, we have also made good progress on our longer-term strategic priorities.
“Notwithstanding the uncertainty associated with the current economic backdrop, the Group is well positioned to build on this positive momentum going into 2021.”
