AO World swings to interim loss, plans expansion in the Netherlands

Online domestic appliances retailer AO World swung to an interim loss, despite posting a sharp increase in first half revenue.

In the six months to 30 September, the FTSE 250 group reported a £8.9m operating loss compared with a profit of £0.9m in the corresponding period last year, while revenue rose 21.7% year-on-year to £264.3m.

The increase in revenue was driven by a strong performance in the group’s UK division, which saw revenue grow 14.5% year-on-year, compared with the 6.5% growth it reported in the three months to 30 June.

AO said the second half had started well and it remained upbeat about its outlook, particularly given it still had peak trading to look forward to, starting with Black Friday later this week.

Meanwhile, the group unveiled plans to expand to the Netherlands next year and to continue investing in Germany, indicating it expect to invest in the second half as much as it did in the first six months of the year.

“In Germany, our first international market, we are continuing to build scale and remain confident that our business model and customer proposition are working as well on mainland Europe as they have in the UK,” said group chief executive John Roberts.

“Our confidence means that we are now ready to move into the Netherlands, helping to leverage our German asset, and we continue to review other adjacent markets.”

AO shares were down 1.90% to 159.90p at 0843 GMT on Tuesday.