Sosandar swings to first ever FY profit

Fashion retailer Sosandar said on Wednesday that it expects to swing to a full-year profit for the first time as it reported a surge in revenues.

In an update for the year to 31 March, the company said it expects to post a pre-tax profit of at least £1.6m, versus a loss of £0.6m a year earlier. Revenues are expected to have risen 44% on the year to £42.5m.

Sosandar noted that the profit figure is below consensus expectations of £1.9m, however. It put this down mainly to the fact that it brought forward recruitment plans.

The number of orders on Sosandar.com increased 22% to 620,977, of which 148,382 were from new customers and 472,595 from existing customers. Meanwhile, the average order value was up 8% to £97.27.

The company said the performance of third party partners "continues to go from strength to strength", noting the successful launch with Sainsbury's in the fourth quarter.

Co-chief executives Ali Hall and Julie Lavington said: "We are delighted to be reporting a milestone year. Sosandar has grown from a true start-up business just six years ago to a brand which is delivering multi-million-pound revenue and is profitable.

"This growth has been delivered against a backdrop of highly challenging macro-economic conditions and our sustained performance against this backdrop is testament to how well our product resonates with our customers.

"While the macro-economic environment remains challenging, and we remain highly vigilant, we continue to demonstrate that our differentiated model is capable of achieving sustained profitable growth."

At 0925 BST, the shares were down 1.9% at 23.30p.