Half Year Trading Update and Capital Markets Event

Cake Box Holdings PLC

18 October 2023

 

18 October 2023

Cake Box Holdings plc

("Cake Box" or the "Company" or the "Group")

Half Year Trading Update and Capital Markets Event

Continued improvement in sales year-on-year and cost pressures starting to ease

Trading in the first half of the financial year (six months ended 30 September 2023) has been in line with the Board's expectations. The Group expects to report revenues up c.6% year-on-year, with adjusted profits ahead of H1 2023. This performance reflects continued strong like-for-like franchise store sales growth and further new store openings.

Franchisee store like-for-like* sales increased 6.2% for the half year, a significant improvement on the negative 1.6% reported for the same period in the prior financial year.

The cost of raw materials has remained stable since the second half of the prior financial year (ended 31 March 2023). Franchisees have seen some relief from inflationary pressures with an easing in utility and fuel prices during the period.

We remain mindful of the continued pressures on our customers in the current environment and have not increased pricing during the period, which has helped with customer retention whilst ensuring our proposition is attractive to new customers.

Store estate growth continues

Franchisees demand for stores remains strong, with a further nine stores opening in the half (H1 FY23: 11, FY 23: 20), despite the significant increase in interest rates implemented by the Bank of England since the start of the 2022 calendar year. As at 30 September 2023 the franchise store estate stood at 214 stores (H1 FY23: 196, FY23: 205).

Strong balance sheet maintained

The Group's cash position remains strong, with cash and cash equivalents of £7.1m after paying the final dividend of £2.2m for the 2023 financial year (as at 30 September 2022: £5.5m, as at 31 March 2023 £7.4m). Capex spend was considerably down on the prior year, due to the substantial investment in the Group's facilities in the preceding years.

Sukh Chamdal, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"We are pleased with our first half performance, delivering a recovery in sales and margins as raw material and input prices have stabilised. Our brand continues to grow and we have made further strides with our marketing initiatives, with the successful launch of our new website in June 2023 already boosting our online sales channel.

We enter the second half of the year with good momentum and remain confident in our growth prospects following the investment in our operations and our enlarged and enhanced operational team. Together with the continued dedication and enthusiasm from our franchisees, we look forward to continuing to grow our customer base and brand."

*Like-for-like: Franchise stores trading for at least one full year prior to 30 September 2023

Capital Markets Event

The Company is today hosting a Capital Markets Event for investors and analysts at its Head Office in Enfield.

The event is intended to provide further detail on the Group's strategy and opportunities for future growth.

A copy of the presentation will be available under the investor relations section of the Cake Box website later today: https://investors.eggfreecake.co.uk/

No new material trading information will be disclosed.

For further information, please contact:

Cake Box Holdings plc Sukh Chamdal, CEO Michael Botha, CFO	Enquiries via MHP
Shore Capital Stephane Auton Patrick Castle Liberum (Joint Broker) Edward Thomas Dru Danford	[phone] [phone]
MHP Charlie Barker Robert Collett-Creedy Hugo Harris	[phone] [e-mail]

 

END