Sosandar H1 revenues jump 407 percent

For the first half of the year, ending September 30, 2018, Sosandar Plc said that it expects to report revenue of 1.84 million pounds (2.42 million US dollars), a 407 percent increase against the same period in the prior year. The company also separately announced that it has raised 3 million pounds (3.9 million US dollars) through a placing arranged by Shore Capital of 9,375,000 new ordinary shares of 0.1p each, with institutional investors at a price of 32 pence per placing share.

Commenting on the trading update and fund raising, Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, the company’s joint CEOs, said in a statement: "The business has made substantial progress over the first six months of the year, and we are delighted to have delivered such strong growth in revenues, orders and new customers. We have successfully raised 3 million pounds following strong institutional investor interest in the company."

The company added that the sales momentum has continued throughout the summer and into the start of autumn, with record monthly revenues achieved in September 2018. Sales are strong across all product categories, including higher value items such as coats and leather. The company’s Facebook and Instagram followings from the beginning of the year to 30 September, 2018 grew by 129 percent and 193 percent respectively, while the number of new customers increased by 362 percent during the period compared to H1 2017, ahead of management's expectations.

Sosandar said that the gross margin for the period is expected to be 55 percent compared to 46 percent in H1 2017, achieved through higher levels of stock sold at full price, a very low level of discounting taking place during the summer months and improvement in the company's buying power as scale and repeat business builds.

Picture: Sosandar website