TIDMCBOX

RNS Number : 4451Q

Cake Box Holdings PLC

18 October 2023

18 October 2023

Cake Box Holdings plc

("Cake Box" or the "Company" or the "Group")

Half Year Trading Update and Capital Markets Event

Continued improvement in sales year-on-year and cost pressures starting to ease

Trading in the first half of the financial year (six months ended 30 September 2023) has been in line with the Board's expectations. The Group expects to report revenues up c.6% year-on-year, with adjusted profits ahead of H1 2023. This performance reflects continued strong like-for-like franchise store sales growth and further new store openings.

Franchisee store like-for-like* sales increased 6.2% for the half year, a significant improvement on the negative 1.6% reported for the same period in the prior financial year.

The cost of raw materials has remained stable since the second half of the prior financial year (ended 31 March 2023). Franchisees have seen some relief from inflationary pressures with an easing in utility and fuel prices during the period.

We remain mindful of the continued pressures on our customers in the current environment and have not increased pricing during the period, which has helped with customer retention whilst ensuring our proposition is attractive to new customers.

Store estate growth continues

Franchisees demand for stores remains strong, with a further nine stores opening in the half (H1 FY23: 11, FY 23: 20), despite the significant increase in interest rates implemented by the Bank of England since the start of the 2022 calendar year. As at 30 September 2023 the franchise store estate stood at 214 stores (H1 FY23: 196, FY23: 205).

Strong balance sheet maintained

The Group's cash position remains strong, with cash and cash equivalents of GBP7.1m after paying the final dividend of GBP2.2m for the 2023 financial year (as at 30 September 2022: GBP5.5m, as at 31 March 2023 GBP7.4m). Capex spend was considerably down on the prior year, due to the substantial investment in the Group's facilities in the preceding years.

Sukh Chamdal, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"We are pleased with our first half performance, delivering a recovery in sales and margins as raw material and input prices have stabilised. Our brand continues to grow and we have made further strides with our marketing initiatives, with the successful launch of our new website in June 2023 already boosting our online sales channel.

We enter the second half of the year with good momentum and remain confident in our growth prospects following the investment in our operations and our enlarged and enhanced operational team. Together with the continued dedication and enthusiasm from our franchisees, we look forward to continuing to grow our customer base and brand."

* Like-for-like: Franchise stores trading for at least one full year prior to 30 September 2023

Capital Markets Event

The Company is today hosting a Capital Markets Event for investors and analysts at its Head Office in Enfield.

The event is intended to provide further detail on the Group's strategy and opportunities for future growth.

A copy of the presentation will be available under the investor relations section of the Cake Box website later today: https://investors.eggfreecake.co.uk/

No new material trading information will be disclosed.

For further information, please contact:

 
 Cake Box Holdings plc      Enquiries via MHP 
  Sukh Chamdal, CEO 
  Michael Botha, CFO 
 Shore Capital 
  Stephane Auton 
  Patrick Castle            +44 (0) 20 7408 4090 
 
  Liberum (Joint Broker) 
  Edward Thomas 
  Dru Danford                +44 (0) 20 3100 2000 
 MHP                        +44 (0) 7834 623818 
  Charlie Barker             cakebox@mhpgroup.com 
  Robert Collett-Creedy 
  Hugo Harris 
 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy.

END

MSCZZMMGRNVGFZM

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 18, 2023 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)

Cake Box (LSE:CBOX)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Mar 2024 a Abr 2024 Haga Click aquí para más Gráficas Cake Box.
Cake Box (LSE:CBOX)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Abr 2023 a Abr 2024 Haga Click aquí para más Gráficas Cake Box.