(AOF) – Miliboo has published its half-year results for the 2022-23 financial year (period from May 1 to October 31, 2022) marked by a general inflationary context. The digital furniture brand generated sales of 21.4 million euros over the period, up 16%. The group relied on the good availability of its products and its best-sellers, in particular in the second quarter when growth amounted to 25%. The average basket increased, standing at 315 euros against 301 euros in the same half-year last year (+4.9%).
Despite the good growth in sales, the gross margin for the first half remained stable at 10.9 million euros, ie a gross margin rate on sales of 51.1%, down more than 8 points.
This change is explained by the short-term rise in cost prices due to global inflationary pressures (freight, raw materials, etc.) which were amplified by the unfavorable change in the euro-dollar parity. The effect was particularly striking in the 1st quarter when the gross margin rate reached a low point at 50.5% on average, before beginning to rise in the second quarter to reach 52.8% in the month of october.
Half-year EBITDA thus came to -1.6 million euros, with a loss essentially concentrated in the first quarter (-1.4 million euros), the second quarter being close to breakeven (-0.2 million euros) thanks to the good level of activity over the period. Miliboo posted a half-year Ebitda of 0.6 million, a year earlier.
After taking into account the financial result (-0.1 million euros) and the exceptional result, Miliboo posted a net loss of 2 million euros against a profit of 0.3 million euros, a year earlier.
In a still sluggish economic context, Miliboo indicates that the gradual restoration of the gross margin rate is the main objective for the second half thanks to the easing noted on purchase and import costs and an adjusted commercial policy.
The group is also committed to keeping its other operating costs under control, in order to quickly return to positive operating profitability.
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Concerns remain
According to the Federation of Specialized Trade, Procos, in October 2022, activity fell by 1.5% over one year. Nevertheless, the beauty and health (+ 5.2%) and specialized food (+ 3.5%) activity is dynamic compared to October 2021. The frequentation of the points of sale was very impacted by the problems of fuel and bad weather. Compared to October 2019, the pre-covid year, the drop in attendance is very sharp (-20.9% in October). Shopping centers and the outskirts are more impacted than city centers with a difference of four to five points.
Several reasons for concern exist for the future. The players are experiencing a very significant scissor effect given the increase in their operating costs while the evolution of demand is very uncertain. Very few brands can pass on the increase in their costs to their selling prices. The federation therefore asks, among other things, to limit the indexation of the Commercial Rent Index to + 3.5% for the rents of all companies in 2023. It also invokes an absolute urgency: to cap the price of energy for 2023 and retroact on the contracts already signed to prevent the rate of failures from accelerating.