EBITDA at listed re-commerce business musicMagpie has risen by 15.4 per cent to £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 £23.4m.
The Stockport-headquartered circular economy pioneer say the trading figures are in line with management’s expectations.
Coupled with recent changes made in the US to the group’s 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’s prospects for 2024 and the medium term.
Steve Oliver, chief executive officer and co-founder of musicMagpie, said: “Following a successful end to FY23 we are pleased with FY24’s Q1 performance.
“Having 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.
“We expect second-use markets to continue to grow which will complement our strategy of unlocking a ‘world of inventory’ from consumers homes and providing them with a solution that is ‘smart for you, smart for the planet’ across of our existing product categories and potential new product categories. As such we remain confident in musicMagpie’s future prospects.”
The company’s 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’s innovative device rental service increased to 37,100, which amounts to approximately £3.6m of committed revenue into 2024.
Other highlights from annual results show:
- Consumer technology revenue of £95.4m (2022: £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 £8.1m (2022: £6.2m);
- £30m revolving credit facility with HSBC UK and NatWest committed until July 2026;
- Year-end net debt of £13.1m (2022: £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.