AGM Statement

musicMagpie plc

22 May 2024

 

22 May 2024

musicMagpie plc

("musicMagpie", or "the Group")

AGM Statement

musicMagpie, a circular economy pioneer specialising in refurbished consumer technology, disc media and books in both the UK and US, provides an update in advance of the Annual General Meeting to be held at 08:30 am today.

As communicated at the time of the Group's FY23 financial results on 13 March 2024, the new financial year started positively following a record Black Friday period in November 2023.  Subsequent Q2 trading has been broadly in line with management's expectations and has benefitted from cost control and lower overheads.

The recent changes in our US Consumer Technology operation, to make the business a sourcing function for the UK, where devices can be sold more profitably, are now fully embedded and the US is providing a regular supply of devices for sale. This strategy change, combined with a competitive UK market, is delivering lower Group revenues, but a strong focus on profitability is helping to support performance and gives the Board confidence in the Group's medium-term prospects.

The Rental offering is being managed to balance the opportunity cost of immediate profits from an outright sale and the cash investment required in rented devices, and rental income for the current year to date is slightly ahead of the same period in 2023.  The decision to segment the rental offering to higher credit rated customers has now been operating for almost 12 months and the rental book is predominantly composed of higher credit rated individuals.

Sales of Disk Media and Books have declined modestly at their predicted rates and the Company continues to manage this segment for cash. Gross margins for the segment remain robust.

Net debt remains at similar levels to the same period in 2023.

The Company recently introduced the strategy of unlocking a 'world of inventory' from people's homes and is expected to launch certain new product categories shortly. 

musicMagpie plc has been in an offer period since 27 November 2023 during which time various conversations have taken place with interested parties.  Several discussions remain ongoing and as such the Company remains in an offer period.  There can be no certainty that any offer for the Company will be made, nor as to the terms of any such offer. The Panel Executive has granted a dispensation from the requirements of Rule 2.4(a) and Rule 2.4(b) of the Takeover Code such that the Company is not required to identify any potential offeror with which the Company is in talks, or from which an approach has been received.

The Board is focused on improving profitability and as second-use markets continue to grow, remains confident that the ongoing work across the business and the strategy to unlock inventory in people's homes, positions musicMagpie well for the future.

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Enquiries

musicMagpie plc Steve Oliver, CEO Ian Storey, COO	Tel: [phone]
Matthew Fowler, CFO
Shore Capital (Nominated Adviser and Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Mark Percy
Malachy McEntyre
Daniel Bush
Rachel Goldstein
Powerscourt (Financial Public Relations) Rob Greening Sam Austrums Oliver Banks	Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors

About musicMagpie plc

Operating through two trusted brands - musicMagpie in the UK and decluttr in the US - musicMagpie's core strategy is simple: to provide consumers with a smart, sustainable and trusted way to buy, rent and sell refurbished consumer technology and physical media products with sustainability running to the very heart of its operations. Founded in 2007, the Group has an established presence in the UK, with operations in Stockport, Greater Manchester, and in the US in Atlanta, Georgia.

musicMagpie has a strong environmental and social focus, as demonstrated by its trademarked 'smart for you, smart for the planet' ethos. Nearly 400,000 consumer technology products were resold in FY23. In addition, the Group re-sells approximately 8.4m books and disc media each year that could have ended up as waste. The Group has been given the London Stock Exchange's Green Economy Mark in recognition of its contribution to the global green economy.

When selling to musicMagpie, the customer is offered a fixed valuation via the website, provided with free logistics to ship the products and (subject to it being 'as described') receives payment for their product on the day of arrival at the Group's warehouse. The Group has  partnered with Asda to give customers the option of using its SMARTDrop Kiosks in store for a fast and easy way to recycle phones for instant payment. Customers purchasing from musicMagpie receive branded refurbished product for a fraction of the price of buying new.

The Group has the highest number of seller reviews on both Amazon and eBay and has consistently achieved extremely positive feedback scores. The Group also has a 4.4* rating on UK Trustpilot with over 290,000 reviews, and is honoured to have won Best Refurbished in the Uswitch Telecoms Awards 2023 as well as Best Online Retailer and Best Secondary Market Provider at the Mobile News Awards 2023.

For further information please visit: www.musicmagpieplc.com

 

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