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McColl's Retail earnings fall on sales of lower-margin products during lockdown
StockMarketWire.com
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Convenience store group McColl's Retail posted a narrower annual loss after its sales rose 3.2%, though its underlying earnings were hit by lower margins.
Pre-tax losses for the year through December amounted to £2.7 million, compared to year-on-year losses of £95.9 million.
Sales increased to £1.26 billion, with growth of 12% on a like-for-like basis.
Adjusted earnings fell 9.3% to £29.1 million after customers stocked up on lower-margin products during lockdowns and avoided impulse buying.
McColl's didn't declare any dividends of the year.
As for current trading, the company said like-for-like sales in the 15 weeks to 14 March had grown 8.8%.
Gross margin trends were consistent with those experienced in 2020, reflecting a continued shift in sales to lower-margin take-home products and multi-packs.
'As lockdown restrictions begin to ease, we expect our sales mix to normalise with higher purchases of impulse products and a progressive reversion towards pre-pandemic margins,' McColl's said.
'However, we remain in a highly uncertain environment, with little visibility on macroeconomic and consumer trends for the remainder of 2021.'
Story provided by StockMarketWire.com
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