Sosandar reiterates FY guidance following record quarter

Sosandar said revenues were up 30% in the three months ended 31 December at £11.6m, with strong growth across all sales channels and a new record quarter for third-party partners in a fifth consecutive quarter of profitability for the group.

Average order values rose 11% to £106.37, reflecting customers buying into higher priced items and categories, while gross margins improved from 55.8% in Q3 FY22 to 56.8% a year later.

However, despite delivering "another strong trading performance" in Q3 amid the current "challenging consumer backdrop", Sosandar added that it was cognisant of wider macroeconomic challenges and was regularly reviewing market conditions to ensure that it is" well prepared to adapt" to customer trends and mitigate all headwinds.

As a result, Sosandar confirmed that it was continuing to trade in line with market expectations of revenues of £42.8m and pre-tax profits of £2.0m for the current financial year.

Co-chief executives Ali Hall and Julie Lavington said: "The momentum built in H1 has continued and we are thrilled to report both strong revenue growth and improved margins compared with the first half of the financial year.

"Whilst the macroeconomic environment remains challenging, and we remain highly vigilant, we continue to demonstrate that our differentiated model is capable of achieving sustained profitable growth. As a management team, we have complete confidence in our brand, unique product, amazing colleagues, and our ability to continue executing on our strategy."

As of 1000 GMT, Sosandar shares were down 0.55% at 21.88p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com