Music Magpie 'confident' of future profits despite falling to pre-tax loss in H1

Online retailer Music Magpie said on Wednesday that it "remains confident" of future profits despite the recently listed firm tumbling to an interim pre-tax loss.

Music Magpie reported a pre-tax loss of £17.7m for the six months ended 31 May, a marked downturn when compared to the £2.5m profit recorded at the same time in 2020.

However, Music Magpie did register an interim pre-tax profit of £4.0m on an adjusted basis, up from £3.3m a year earlier, and an adjusted EBITDA of £6.2m, up from £5.5m.

Revenues, on the whole, grew from £71.1m to £72.8m, while UK revenues improved 6.6% on the back of increased demand for reselling and a trend towards buying from firms with strong environmental, social and corporate governance credentials.

"This has been a landmark period for Music Magpie, and we are very pleased with the performance of the business as it has adapted quickly to life as a public company," said co-founder and chief executive Steve Oliver.

"We are seeing strong and growing demand for our unique circular economy model, as consumers continue to realise the benefits of buying and renting refurbished consumer technology products. In addition, there is a growing awareness of the rising problem of e-waste."

As of 0945 BST, Music Magpie shares were down 1.89% at 182.0p.