SUMMARY
- Record FY24 Group revenue of €6.2bn, up 10.2% year-on-year ("y-o-y"), driven by new store growth
- Group gross margin sharply improved to 43.9%, up 390 basis points y-o-y, led by Pepco
- Record underlying EBITDA (IFRS 16) of €944m up 25.2%, driven by Pepco EBITDA up 41.7%
- Reported net loss for the year of €662m, related to a non-cash €775m impairment of Poundland, following weak performance and outlook
- Free cash flow of €168m, driving reduced net debt (pre-IFRS 16) to €256m (0.5x pre-IFRS 16 leverage ratio)
- Strong Group balance sheet and liquidity profile
- Initiating new capital returns policy and inaugural FY24 full year dividend
Stephan Borchert, Chief Executive Officer, said:
"Pepco Group has very attractive, market-leading retail businesses, providing great product range, value and convenience to over 60 million customers each month across Europe.
"Within the Group, I see the Pepco concept itself as our key engine for future strategic and financial growth, particularly in Pepco's CEE heartland. Pepco generates the vast majority of the Group's earnings and our highest returns on capital - we plan to further build on that strong base. In the year ahead, our core focus at Pepco will be to deliver improved like-for-like revenues. Pepco's like-for-like performance has been positive since the start of September - an encouraging start.
"At Poundland, recent performance has been very challenging, impacted by declines in clothing and general merchandise following the transition to Pepco-sourced product ranges at the start of the year. We are taking swift action to get Poundland performance back on track, focusing on a return to Poundland's strengths. We will also closely evaluate Poundland's overall competitive positioning and requirements for future success as an FMCG-led format. We will provide further updates on Poundland during the first half of 2025.
"I am excited to join Pepco Group at this important stage in its evolution toward a company focused on targeted new-store expansion, higher capital returns, and growing earnings and free cash flow. We plan to deliver further strategic and financial progress during FY25, as I will describe in more detail at our Capital Markets Day in March 2025."
Read press release:
https://www.pepcogroup.eu/media-news/pepco-group-n-v-preliminary-results-for-the-year-to-30-september-2024/
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