Supreme hikes expectations after year of strong trading

The AIM-traded firm said gross profit rose 6% to £40.9m, while adjusted EBITDA decreased 8% to £19.4m.

Profit before tax declined 11% to £14.4m, adjusted profit before tax decreased 13% to £15.2m, and earnings per share dropped by 13% to 10.3p while adjusted earnings per share decreased by 8% to 11.8p.

Supreme said its operating cash flow surged 63% to £19.3m, while net debt expanded to £11.8m, compared to £4m at the end of 2022.

Adjusted net debt stood at £3.2m, compared to adjusted net cash of £1.9 million at the end of the prior year.

Looking ahead, Supreme said it had started the 2024 financial year on a solid note, with its core business and acquisitions from 2023 performing strongly.

As a result, the board said adjusted EBITDA looked like it would exceed the latest expectations by at least £1m.

Additionally, the company said it expected to generate an additional £25m to £30m in revenue, and around £2m in incremental zdjusted EBITDA for 2024, driven by a master distributor appointment with Elfbar and Lost Mary, the UK's leading vaping brands.

Based on those developments, the board said it now projected that trading in 2024 would significantly surpass current consensus.

“Supreme has delivered a strong performance across the year punctuated by an outstanding contribution from our vaping division, which has almost doubled revenues in the year,” said chief executive officer Sandy Chadha.

“Our commitment to providing highly affordable but competitively priced products sits at the heart of our business and our diverse client base continues to provide a stable platform for growth.

“As we look to the future, we remain committed to expanding our product set, both organically and via acquisition, which in turn creates greater opportunities to cross sell and forge ever closer bonds with our customers.”

At 1242 BST, shares in Supreme were up 11% at 116p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.