Loss before tax at Matalan for the full year ending 24 February amounted to £60m ($75m) compared with a loss of £106m.
Total revenue fell 6% to £1.08bn and fell 6% on a like-for-like basis to £1.05bn. Matalan attributed this to the impact of “strategic decisions and challenging trading and market conditions; improved full-price sales mix to 70%, up 4pp on last year through tighter stock and markdown control.”
Gross margin improved 8% to £495m, driven by improved buying strategies, value creation programme, product margins & lower levels of discounting, as well as growth in full prices sales mix.
Jo Whitfield, CEO, commented: “In the last year we have kick-started the transformation of Matalan against a very challenging backdrop, resetting the foundations of the business. We delivered a significant increase in underlying profit due to our clear focus on growing full-price sales and tight cost control.
“With a new leadership team in place, we have put the customer back at the heart of Matalan to ensure we become top of their list of go-to value retailers. We have reset our value proposition, acted decisively to improve and strengthen our online performance and worked to improve our in-store execution.
“Looking ahead, we are determined to deliver better value, more choice and improved style for all our customers. It is still early days in our transformation, and while we have much more to do, with challenges ahead, we are pleased that the actions we have already taken are having an impact as we build a stronger, more modern Matalan.”
