Shares of Bolton-based electrical retailer AO World plc rose as much as 5% after it published a strong trading update for the 12 months to March 31, 2025.
AO World also said it has appointed Mark Higgins to Chief Operating Officer, in addition to his existing role of Chief Financial Officer.
“B2C Retail revenues are expected to increase by c12% YoY, with estimated LFL Group revenues expected to increase c7% YoY to £1.1bn, reflecting reductions in B2B and mobile as we focus on profitable growth as set out in the half year results in November,” said the company.
“Adjusted profit before tax has grown faster than sales, in the region of 30%, and is expected to be around the top end of our previously upgraded guidance range of £39m to £44m.
“At the period end we expect to have net funds on a pre IFRS16 basis of around £20m, after the outflow of c£25m for the acquisition of musicMagpie plc.
“The Company extended its revolving credit facility in the period from £80m to £120m to October 2028 on more favourable terms, and it remains undrawn.
“On 12 December 2024, the Company successfully completed the acquisition of musicMagpie. The post-acquisition performance of musicMagpie is expected to contribute around £30m of revenue and a negligible loss to the FY25 results.
“Looking ahead to FY26, our current momentum means we expect our B2C Retail business will deliver another year of double-digit revenue growth and our other revenue categories to be broadly flat.
“Despite the wider economic uncertainty and cost headwinds from the Government’s budget we again expect adjusted PBT to continue to grow faster than sales.
“We are pleased today to also announce that we have appointed Mark Higgins to Chief Operating Officer (in addition to his existing role of Chief Financial Officer, reflecting the way Mark and John have been running the business together for some time.”
John Roberts, AO’s CEO and Founder, said: “Our strong performance shows that our model is working. With a globally leading Trustpilot score of 4.9 from almost 750,000 reviews, and AO Five Star membership continuing to grow strongly, we’re cementing our position as the most trusted electrical retailer and are increasing our frequency and share of wallet with customers.
“AO is back to being a highly efficient growth machine; we are reaping the rewards from the execution of our strategy and 25 years of unwavering obsession with amazing customer service.
“We’re carrying good momentum into the new financial year and are pleased to be guiding to another year of double-digit revenue growth in our B2C Retail business, and for profits to keep growing faster than sales.”