Matas grows across the board, upgrades guidance and launches new five-year growth strategy
Company announcement no. 05 2021/22 – INSIDE INFORMATION
Allerød, 18 August 2021
Interim report – Q1 2021/22
(1 April – 30 June 2021)
Matas grows across the board, upgrades guidance and launches new five-year growth strategy
- Matas grew revenue by 7.9% on the back of improvements in all product categories and sales channels
- EBITDA before special items up by 7.5%
- More than DKK 500 million investment in new logistics centre initiated
- Guidance upgraded
- New five-year growth strategy launched
“Matas had an excellent spring quarter. Danish consumers released their pent-up desire to shop, substituting hand sanitiser and face masks for makeup and sunscreen, in-store revenue bounced back, and online sales remained strong. Against this background, we’re upgrading our full-year guidance, and when we present our new growth strategy later today, we will do so from the strongest imaginable position”, says Gregers Wedell-Wedellsborg, CEO of Matas A/S, and he adds:
“Over the past three or four years, Matas has evolved into a digital business with online revenue in excess of DKK 1 billion and more than 600,000 online customers. Online customer satisfaction is at a historic high, while at the same time our customers have demonstrated an unchanged desire to shop in our physical stores.”
“Over the next five years, we will invest more than DKK 1 billion in measures to ensure we play an increasingly important role in the everyday lives of our customers. During this period, our customers will experience a steadily growing product range at matas.dk as we add lots of new brands and tens of thousands of new items with nationwide next-day delivery and same-day delivery in the Greater Copenhagen area, Aarhus, Odense and the Jutland Triangle Region. At the same time, we will invest in a new logistics centre, continue to upgrade our stores through new digital services and further strengthen our DNA, which is to advise our customers. Our ambition is to grow revenue to more than DKK 5 billion and to deliver EBITDA margin before special items in the 17-18% range within the next five years.”
Matas’ Board of Directors has today approved the plan to build a big new central logistics centre in Allerød. Matas Logistics Center (MLC) will bring together a wide range of logistics functions currently handled from various locations in a state-of-the-art automated facility. Establishing MLC will involve an investment of more than DKK 500 million, of which a maximum of DKK 125 million is expected to be incurred in the current financial year. MLC will be able to accommodate more than 150,000 items and secure faster delivery to customers. When fully operational, MLC is expected, seen in isolation, to single-handedly add more than 1 percentage point to Matas’ overall EBITDA margin.
As part of its new strategy, Matas intends to accelerate the development and acquisitions of house brands with a view to enhancing differentiation and profitability. At the same time, Matas will begin to export its house brands in order to accommodate growing global demand for brands with a Nordic, sustainable and clean profile.
Q1 2021/22 highlights
- Revenue grew by 7.9% to DKK 1,021 million. Like-for-like sales were up by 5.9%.
- The stores grew revenue by 6% on the back of 4% growth in the average basket size and 2% growth in the number of transactions.
- Online sales via matas.dk and Firtal were up by 7%, meaning that Matas’ webshops continued to build on the significant momentum from Q1 2020/21, during which revenue surged by 152%.
- Boosting revenue by more than 11% on the back of increased sales across all product groups, High-End Beauty was the sales category to record the strongest growth. Makeup sales were supported by many consumers returning to their workplaces and social activities starting up again. At the same time, Matas continues to benefit from reduced travel activity since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in spring 2020.
- EBITDA before special items came to DKK 186 million, up from DKK 173 million in the year-earlier period. The 7.5% increase was attributable to higher revenue as the EBITDA margin before special items was largely unchanged at 18.2% compared with 18.3% in Q1 2020/21.
- Cash generated from operations was an inflow of DKK 88 million in Q1 2021/22 against an inflow of DKK 301 million in Q1 2020/21. The DKK 213 million decline should be seen in light of exceptionally favourable working capital developments in Q1 2020/21 as a result of the deferred payment of payroll tax and VAT as part of Covid-19-related relief packages.
- The activities acquired by Web Sundhed ApS were successfully integrated in the first quarter and contributed DKK 17 million to Q1 revenue.
| 2021/22 | 2020/21 | Percentage | |
| (DKKm) | Q1 | Q1 | change |
| Revenue | 1,021 | 947 | 7.9% |
| Gross profit | 453 | 420 | 7.8% |
| EBITDA before special items | 186 | 173 | 7.5% |
| EBIT | 78 | 72 | 8.2% |
| Adjusted profit after tax | 77 | 67 | 14.5% |
| Free cash flow | (5) | 237 | (102)% |
| Underlying like-for-like revenue growth | 5.9% | 8.4% | |
| Gross margin | 44.4% | 44.4% | |
| EBITDA margin before special items | 18.2% | 18.3% | |
| Net interest-bearing debt/EBITDA before special items | 2.1 | 3.2 |
Matas upgrades financial guidance for 2021/22
- Revenue is now expected in the range of DKK 4,160-4,290 million, equivalent to a growth rate of between 0% and +3%, against the previous estimate of DKK 4,080-4,250 million, equivalent to a growth rate of between -2% and +2%.
- The EBITDA margin before special items is now expected in the range of 17.5%-18.5% up from the previous 17.0%-18.5% range.
- Factoring in the maximum expected MLC investment in the financial year of DKK 125 million and the DKK 29 million acquisition of Web Sundhed already completed, the CAPEX estimate is raised by DKK 155 million to DKK 295-315 million.
The driving factors behind the upgrade are the strong revenue growth witnessed in the first quarter and reduced Covid-19-related uncertainty.
Revenue guidance for the rest of 2021/22 is based on the following basic assumptions:
- Continued, but moderate, growth in consumer spending
- No significant restrictions or retail sector lockdowns during the financial year
- A gradual normalisation of trading patterns and travel activity in the second half of calendar year 2021
- No sales of personal protective equipment but continued strong demand for health products
- Continuing shift in sales channels from physical to online shopping but at a more moderate pace than in 2020/21
- Increasing competition, especially online
Earnings guidance is based on the following assumptions:
- A stable earnings level in physical stores and at matas.dk
- Accelerated digital business development activity across Matas Group, which is expected to squeeze the EBITDA margin by up to 1% in the short term but will secure the Company’s long-term growth
Video conference
Matas will host a video conference for investors and analysts on 18 August 2021 at 10:00 a.m. The video conference and the presentation can be accessed from Matas’ investor website: https://investor.en.matas.dk.
Video conference access numbers for investors and analysts:
Denmark: +45 82 33 31 94
United Kingdom: +44 333 300 9034
United States: +1 631 913 1422
PIN: 53061265#
Link to webcast: https://streams.eventcdn.net/matas/2021q1/
Capital markets day
Matas will host a capital markets day on 18 August 2021 at 10:30 a.m.
The capital markets day is a digital event that may be accessed through the above telephone numbers or via this webcast link: https://streams.eventcdn.net/matas/capital-markets-day-august-2021/
The capital markets day and related presentations can be accessed from Matas’ investor website: https://investor.en.matas.dk.
Contacts
Gregers Wedell-Wedellsborg
CEO, tel +45 48 16 55 55
Anders Skole-Sørensen
CFO, tel +45 48 16 55 55
Henrik Lund
Head of Investor Relations, tel +45 30 30 99 08
Klaus Fridorf
Head of Communication, tel +45 61 20 19 97
Forward-looking statements
This interim report contains statements relating to the future, including statements regarding Matas Group's future operating results, financial position, cash flows, business strategy and future targets. Such statements are based on Management’s reasonable expectations and forecasts at the time of release of this report. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and a number of other factors, many of which are beyond Matas Group's control. This may have the effect that actual results may differ significantly from the expectations expressed in the report. Without being exhaustive, such factors include general economic and commercial factors, including market and competitive conditions, supplier issues and financial and regulatory issues as well as any effects of measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 that are not specifically mentioned above.
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