Gear4music makes 'good progress' on growth strategy in H1

Music equipment retailer Gear4music said on Tuesday that it has made "good progress" in executing its growth strategy, with its full-year outlook tracking in line with consensus market expectations.

Gear4music said total revenues were down 1% at £61.7m, with a 4% increase in UK revenues to £38.0m being offset by a 9% drop in Europe and ROW revenues to £23.7m.

The AIM-listed group said interim gross margins had slipped to 26.7% from 27.1% at the same time a year earlier, while gross profits dropped by £500,000 to £16.5m.

Underlying earnings, on the other hand, were expected to grow from £2.4m in H124 to £2.9m in H125, while reported pre-tax losses were set to improve by £700,000 to £1.2m.

Chairman Andrew Wass said: "We are pleased to report good progress in executing the growth strategy we announced in June, with a return to growth in FY25 Q2 and further growth momentum during October trading to date.

"As we enter our peak trading season, which has historically been a key driver of our profits and revenues, the board is confident that our full-year outlook remains in-line with consensus market expectations."

As of 1010 BST, Gear4music shares were up 4.08% at 178.49p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com