Made.com has insisted that putting the company up for sale will succeed in securing its future.
The company this afternoon, unusually, released its half-year results showing pre-tax losses had ballooned from £10.1m to £35.3m as sales rose by 4.2% to £178.2m in the six months to 30 June.
Gross order value, which Made defines as sales excluding VAT, cancellations, returns or the timing difference between customer order and delivery, fell by 18.8% to £173.6m.
A week ago it revealed plans to severely cut its staffing and stock levels as it looked to find new investment after ruling out support from shareholders – who have largely seen the value of their investment wiped out.
‘The board expects this process to lead to sufficient investment and access to funding to enable the group to operate as a going concern,’ it says.
‘The board and I recognise that recent performance has been disappointing for all of the group’s stakeholders, reflecting a very challenging external environment as we executed on our strategy of improving lead times for our customers. Following the continued challenging trading environment through Q3 2022, we believe that the decision we have taken to launch the strategic review and formal sale process, is the best route to maximise shareholder value,’ says Nicola Thompson, Made ceo.
It says it is implementing a three-phase strategy of reducing costs: £6m a year of wages and £5m of warehousing along with lower stock levels; reducing the level of products sold from stock and expanding to more European markets and setting up an international parcel delivery system.
The company saw £73m of cash leave the business in the period and had cash of £32.1m, helped by £4.4m of currency gains.
