CMO Group PLC

Interim Results for the period ended 30 June 2023

Progress on key strategic priorities and Improvement in trading

CMO Group PLC ("CMO" or the "Group"), the UK's largest online-only retailer of building materials, today announces its interim results for the half year to 30 June 2023.

H2 summary

Over the past six months, in line with its strategic priorities, CMO has delivered improvement in product margins, carriage costs and overhead efficiencies, and has thus adapted well to less favourable market conditions.

We are pleased to report an improving sales trend in the SUPERSTORES, but the online TILES market remains extremely challenging with YTD volumes having experienced a c. 33% decline (source: GFK).

The Group's trading position is improving on a like-for-like basis with the SUPERSTORES growing market share in Q2, a position which appears to be further improving as we move into Q3.

Strategic highlights

We are pleased to report success in the delivery of our previously documented key strategic priorities:

·    Improvement in product margins*: Gross product margins excluding carriage have moved upwards in the first six months and improved by 1.9 percentage points compared to full-year 2022.

·    Carriage Cost Control: Carriage margin loss has decreased from 67% H1 2022 to 29% H1 2023, an improvement of 56%.

·    Overhead Efficiency: Overheads have reduced 18% in accordance with plan, including the headcount reductions announced for the first quarter.

·    Brand Consolidation: JTM has been migrated into PLUMBING SUPERSTORE and the integration of TOTAL TILES into TILE SUPERSTORE is progressing.

*Excludes carriage

Financial highlights H1

·    Total sales of £36.9m (2022: £41.9m), 57% up on a four-year view.

·    Adjusted EBITDA** was £0.6m (2022: £1.3m).

·    Operating Loss of (£0.5m) (2022: profit £0.5m).

·    Basic earnings per share of (0.87p) (2022: 0.33p).

·    Net cash at the end of the period of £1.0m.

**Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, share option expense, acquisition costs and exceptional items and stated on an IFRS basis.

Operational KPIs H1

·    Cost of digital marketing in line with expectations at 6%.

·    Customer acquisition remains balanced at 24% paid to 76% non-paid channels.

·    Revenue per session up 16% YTD.

·    Repeat customers up 20% YoY.

·    Marketable database has grown 14% YoY.

Current trading and outlook

The Group has delivered positive performance during H1 against its strategic key priorities aimed at driving profitable sales growth for the future.  Like-for-likes indicate that we are now outperforming the market with a more encouraging trend in the SUPERSTORES.  We expect this improving sales trend to continue into Q4.  However, we are not immune to market conditions.  Volumes in the building materials market are down by 14% in the first 7 months of this year (Source: GFK) and forecasts for 2023 from the Construction Products Association, published in July, report a reduction of 19% in newbuild housing and 11% in private housing.

Since our last market update, consumer confidence has continued to erode with increasing interest rates and persistent high levels of inflation. This has meant that whilst we are seeing an improving sales trend the rate of improvement is being slowed by reduced market demand. This is particularly evident in direct-to-consumer products like tiles.  We anticipate that this slower rate of improvement will continue, and the Board expects the Group to deliver full year revenues of approximately £73m together with Adjusted EBITDA for H2 of approximately £1m.

We continue to maintain a strong focus on cash with net debt at the end of Sept. of c. £1.2m which is expected to be maintained at the year-end. We maintain a sound financial position with an undrawn working capital facility of up to £4m and flexible banking partner expected to provide sufficient headroom for continued Group development.

The Board expects that the actions taken to increase margins, reduce costs and invest in enhanced digital marketing will maintain the improving sales trend and deliver profitable sales growth going forward.

Dean Murray, CEO of CMO Group PLC, said:

"Like many others in our industry, our experience of this period has not been easy, especially with the tile market rebalancing online versus in-person. We are however, seeing an improving trend in our SUPERSTORES endorsing again our business model and strategy. In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity and we have embraced our opportunity wholeheartedly, improving margins, reducing costs and working towards the next organic vertical launch. Consequently, we are a better business and in good shape to go forward. We remain confident in our model and in our strategy to take the business forward and to deliver profitable progress."

29 September 2023

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Group to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

Half Year Trading Update (unaudited)

As reported in the July half-year trading update, we expected the economic situation to remain challenging during 2023, particularly with rises in interest rates seriously impacting the construction industry and disposable incomes.  Focus has therefore been on the controllable elements of our business: product margin, carriage costs, overhead efficiencies and improved customer experience to promote profitable revenue growth. We are pleased to report that considerable progress has been made on these strategic priorities.

Sales

Against a challenging economic backdrop, sales were down 12% H1 2023 on H1 2022, but have increased 57% since 2019.  Whilst this is largely demand related, we have resisted competing in spaces where it is not profitable to do so and have taken conscious decisions which we recognised wouldcompromise sales in the short-term such as the migration of JTM onto Plumbing Superstore.  Despite this, we have seen an improving sales trend following a difficult Q1.

The recent market for tiles has been particularly weak (estimated down c. 23%) and the online market further impacted by the return of customers to store (online estimated down c. 33%).  Total Tiles is trading approximately in line with the market which means that, of the Group's H1 reduction in like-for-like sales, Total Tiles accounts for 38% of the deficit while accounting for only 17% of total reported sales.

We have taken significant steps to improve performance at Total Tiles including changing the management team, investing in trend data to assist with enhanced product selection and listing, introducing a more consumer-focused journey with superior visual assets, rebranding the site, and investing in the Ipswich tile showroom to promote our hybrid model.

Conversely, the SUPERSTORES remain resilient and are seeing an improving sales trend as we enter H2. The table below illustrates how trading performance has changed during the year.

Cost and Margin

In common with other operators, we experienced cost increases across all major cost lines in H1 but are now starting to see some of these moderate. Pricing and supplier negotiation have been a strategic priority, and we are pleased to report that product margins excluding carriage have improved by 1.9% compared to FY 2022. 

Modestly increasing carriage charges to customers and negotiation of better carriage supplier rates has delivered a reduction in the carriage loss in H1 2022 of 67% to 29% in H1 2023, a 56% improvement.

Direct labour costs have been closely matched to demand with some redundancies necessary, and we have a continuous focus on efficiency.

As detailed in the bridges below (Financial Review), delivery against these strategic priorities gained momentum in Q2 favourably changing the P&L dynamics, a change which we will clearly seek to maintain in H2.   

Operational KPIs, Customer and Brand

In H1 we continued to experience underlying robustness in our Trade customer with improvement in our operational KPIs including 16% growth in revenue-per-session, the number of repeat customers up 20%, and opt-ins to the marketable database up 14% YOY. Our customer acquisition remains balanced between paid and non-paid channels at 24% to 76%, and the digital cost of marketing was 6% for the half year following a similar profile to H1 2022, albeit slightly higher, due to volatility in the Tiles market.

We have made further progress since July in our program to integrate JTM plumbing into PLUMBING SUPERSTORE. This is now completed with commensurate synergies and savings that will be of benefit going forward. The integration of Total Tiles into TILE SUPERSTORE is also progressing.

Since migrating CMO Trade to BUILDING SUPERSTORE, prompted brand awareness has risen 100% to 22% (Source: FIX Media).

Financial Review

Total revenue for the six months ended 30 June 2023 was £36.9m (2022: £41.9m).  Although largely the result of reduced market demand, this 12% decline was partially an expected consequence of adherence to the four key strategic priorities outlined in our earlier Half Year Trading Update:

·    Margin growth.

·    Stronger carriage recovery.

·    Overhead cost reduction including brand consolidation.

·    Improving sales trend.

A successful concentration on delivering profitable business through margin growth and carriage recovery has inevitably led to a reduction in volume as we refuse to participate in the "race to zero" pricing that has been detrimental to certain competitors.  A tightening of credit insurance on some trade customers has also been a challenge to sales growth. Having said that, H1 is still up 15% like-for-like on pre-Covid levels and the Group is up 57% on a four-year view.

Product margin has increased 1.9% compared to full year 2022 and a 55% reduction in net carriage costs. The majority of these benefits have come in the second quarter of the year as actions to drive the key strategic initiatives have gained momentum.  This can be seen in the bridges shown below, with Q1 2022 - 2023 data (top graph) shown on the left and Q2 on the right (bottom graph). 

A Q1 reduction in sales of 10% against challenging comparatives (Q1 2022 delivered 38% of 2022 EBITDA) manifested in a volume driven margin reduction over Q1 2022 of £450k.  Margin improvements driven by better pricing and purchase costs recovered £72k of this and variable marketing spend a further £12k, but the Q1 execution of a redundancy programme alongside increased infrastructure spend due largely to acquisitions, led to an overall EBITDA reduction in Q1 of £585k.

The picture in Q2 was much improved.  Continued trading pressures delivered a volume related margin reduction of £525k, but this was more than offset by margin enhancement, carriage and redundancy initiatives really taking hold and leading to an increase in EBITDA in Q2 of £176k.  Overheads remain higher than the prior year, due to inflationary pressures and costs in the acquired businesses.

The net effect is total EBITDA for H1 2023 of £0.6m (H1 2022: £1.2m), 68% of which was delivered in Q2.

To understand performance, it is prudent to break out Total Tiles.  The UK tile market has dropped in volume terms an estimated 20% year-on-year and an estimated 33% online (source: GFK).  Total Tiles has performed in line with this somewhat dramatic market decline and is the primary driver of the overall decline at Group level.  Performance in the SUPERSTORES, which represented 83% of total sales, accounted for 31% of the decline in EBITDA excluding Group costs while Total Tiles, at 17% of total sales, accounted for 69%.     

Operating loss for the period to June 2023 was £0.5m, compared to a £0.5m profit to June 2022.  Exceptional costs for the period were £0.1m (2022: £0.1m) principally relating to redundancy costs and acquisition integration. Amortisation and depreciation cost increases reflect acquisitions, platform investment and right-of-use asset costs increases. The latter will reduce moving forward as space costs are reduced.

The detailed profit and loss account is set out below:

Consolidated Income Statement for the Period Ended 30 June 2023

Consolidated statement of financial position

As at 30 June 2023

Consolidated Cash Flow Statement

Stock levels at the half year have fallen by £1.8m compared to June 2022, when stock weeks were selectively extended to secure availability, reduce lead times, and maximise margins at a time of continuously rising prices.  H1 2023 stock levels remain in line with 2022 year-end.

Trade and other receivables are in line with 2022.  A reduction in trade debtors due to the reduced availability of trade credit insurance on certain customers and reduced order volumes as a consequence is offset by an increase in prepayments.

Trade and other creditors have decreased by £2.2m, caused primarily by a deferred consideration payment of £1m to JTM and volume-related reductions in trade creditors and customer deposits, which have been temporarily offset by £0.9m of VAT withheld at the request of HMRC as it works to bring the Group under a single VAT registration.

These movements, alongside an increase of £1m in right-of-use assets and a £0.5m increase in lease liabilities both related to the 5-year lease renewal of the leasehold premises at Plymouth and extension at Ipswich and £0.9m reduction in the RCF drawn balance have reduced reported cash by £2.6m to £4.7m.

Drawn facilities of £3.7m (2022: £4.6m) leave net cash of £1m at the period end (2022: £1.4m) We continue to maintain a strong focus on cash with net debt at the end of Sept. of c. £1.2m which is expected to be maintained at the year-end. We maintain a sound financial position with an undrawn working capital facility of up to £4m and flexible banking partner expected to provide sufficient headroom for continued Group development.

Financing

The Group has banking facilities with Clydesdale Bank through to 2027.  The facilities comprise an amortising revolving credit facilities of £5.75m at June 2023 and an undrawn working capital facility of up to £4m.

1.     General Information

CMO Group PLC ('the Company' or 'the Group') is a public company limited by shares, incorporated in the United Kingdom under the Companies Act 2006 (registration number 13451589) and registered in England and Wales. The registered office address is Burrington Business Park, Burrington Way, Plymouth, PL5 3LX.

Copies of this interim report may be obtained from the registered address or from the investors section of the company's website at cmogroup.com.

2.     Basis of Preparation

These consolidated interim financial statements of the group of for the six months ended 30 June 2023 were approved by the Board of Directors on 28 September 2023.

They do not include all of the information required for a complete set of IFRS financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the Group's last annual consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022. However, selected explanatory notes are included to explain events and transactions that are significant to understanding changes in the Group's financial position and performance since the last annual financial statements. 

The Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022 was audited and has been filed with the Registrar of Companies.  The independent auditors report on the annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022 was not qualified and did not contain statements under Section 498 of the Companies Act 2006. 

The financial information for the six months ended 30 June 2023 and 30 June 2022 is unaudited and has not been reviewed by the Company's auditors.  

The condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the six months to 30 June 2023 has been prepared on the basis of the accounting policies expected to be adopted for the year ending 31 December 2022. These are anticipated to be consistent with those set out in the Group's latest annual financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2022 with the exception of where there is a difference between UK GAAP and IFRS. These interims have been prepared in accordance with UK adopted international accounting standards but does not include all of the disclosures that would be required under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). The interim financial statements are presented in pounds sterling, which is the functional currency of the group. Amounts are rounded to the nearest thousand, unless otherwise stated. 

AIM-quoted companies are not required to comply with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting and accordingly the company has taken advantage of this exemption. 

The directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and thus continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing these interim financial statements.

3.     Significant Accounting Policies

The group has applied the same accounting policies in these interim financial statements as in its 2022 annual financial statements with the exception of where there is a difference between UK GAAP and IFRS. Full disclosure of the transition to IFRS was made in the Group's AIM admission.

4.     Use of judgments and estimates

The significant judgments made by management in applying the Groups accounting policies and key sources of estimation uncertainty for the interim financial statements are the same as those described in the 2022 annual financial statements.

5.     Segmental Analysis

The group currently only report on one performance line being the retail of construction materials.

6.     EBITDA

EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and FX) has been calculated as follows:

7.    Income tax

The income tax credit /charge for the period is based on the estimated rate of corporation tax that is likely to be effective for the year to 31 December 2022.

8.    Dividends

No dividends were paid or proposed during the period and no dividend was paid relating to financial year 2022.

9. Earnings per share

The calculation of basic and diluted earnings per share is based on the following data:

Earnings per share (EPS) is calculated by dividing the profit for the year, attributable to ordinary equity holders of the parent, by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the year.

Diluted EPS is calculated on the same basis as basic EPS but with a further adjustment to the number of weighted average shares in issue to reflect the effect of all potentially dilutive share options. The number of people in potentially dilutive share options is derived from the number of share options and awards granted to employees and directors where the exercise price is less than the average market price of the Company's ordinary shares during the period. Under IFRS no allowances made for the dilutive impact of share options which reduce a loss per share. The basic and diluted EPS measures are therefore the same.

Loans and borrowings

On 1 July 2021, the Company entered into a revolving credit facility agreement with Clydesdale Bank Plc (trading as Yorkshire Bank) in respect of revolving loan facilities in an aggregate amount of £10 million to be made available to the Group (the "Revolving Facility"). The borrowers under the Revolving Facility are the Company, CGL, CMOStores Holdings Limited and Total Tiles. The guarantors under the Revolving Facility are the Company, CGL, cmostores.com Limited and Total Tiles.

The proceeds of the Facility A of the Revolving Facility (which has a limit of £6 million) can be used for financing acquisitions permitted under the Revolving Facility ("Facility A") and the proceeds of Facility B under the Revolving Facility (which has a limit of £4 million) can be used for the general corporate and working capital purposes of the Group ("Facility B"). The final maturity date of the Revolving Facility is six years after the date of the Revolving Facility (the "Termination Date"). Facility A will be reduced by £250,000 on each quarter from 30 June 2023, until it is reduced by £3 million on 30 June 2026.