EBITDA at listed re-commerce business musicMagpie has risen by 15.4 per cent to 拢7.5m for the 12 months to November 30, 2023.
The increase has been credited to a record Black Friday period and tight control of margins and costs.
Consumer technology gross profits also increased, rising 15.8 per cent to 拢23.4m.
The Stockport-headquartered circular economy pioneer say the trading figures are in line with management鈥檚 expectations.
Coupled with recent changes made in the US to the group鈥檚 consumer technology buying strategy and operations, cost reduction exercises in the UK and lower investment levels into its rental offering, the board say they have confidence in the company鈥檚 prospects for 2024 and the medium term.
Steve Oliver, chief executive officer and co-founder of musicMagpie, said: 鈥淔ollowing a successful end to FY23 we are pleased with FY24鈥檚 Q1 performance.
鈥淗aving recently made changes to our US consumer technology buying strategy and operations, and implemented further cost savings in the UK, we believe that musicMagpie is well positioned for the remainder of the year.
鈥淲e expect second-use markets to continue to grow which will complement our strategy of unlocking a 鈥榳orld of inventory鈥� from consumers homes and providing them with a solution that is 鈥榮mart for you, smart for the planet鈥� across of our existing product categories and potential new product categories. As such we remain confident in musicMagpie鈥檚 future prospects.鈥�
The company鈥檚 SMARTDrop kiosks, which are located across 290 Asda stores, now account for up to 43 per cent of the consumer technology items bought by musicMagpie from UK customers.
In addition, the number of subscribers to the company鈥檚 innovative device rental service increased to 37,100, which amounts to approximately 拢3.6m of committed revenue into 2024.
Other highlights from annual results show:
- Consumer technology revenue of 拢95.4m (2022: 拢96.6m), representing 70 per cent of group revenue;
- Increase in gross margin to 27.7 per cent (2022: 26.3 per cent) with continued focus on margin expansion;
- Cash generative before investing and financing activities with net cash from operations of 拢8.1m (2022: 拢6.2m);
- 拢30m revolving credit facility with HSBC UK and NatWest committed until July 2026;
- Year-end net debt of 拢13.1m (2022: 拢7.9m) following investment in rental assets.
Operating through two trusted brands – musicMagpie in the UK and decluttr in the US – musicMagpie’s core strategy is simple: to provide consumers with a smart, sustainable and trusted way to buy, rent and sell refurbished consumer technology and physical media products with sustainability running to the very heart of its operations.
Founded in 2007, the group has an established presence in the UK, with operations in Stockport, and in the US in Atlanta, Georgia.
Nearly 400,000 consumer technology products were resold in FY23, along with 8.4m books and disc media each year that could have ended up as waste.