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(Sharecast News) - Musical equipment retailer Gear4music reported strong fullyear growth on Tuesday, with revenues, margins and profits all sharply higher and trading in the new financial year in line with expectations.
Gear4music stated revenues rose 30% to 190.7m in the year ended 31 March, while gross profits increased 37% to 54.2m, lifting gross margin to 28.4%. Underlying earnings jumped 84% to 18.4m, ahead of market expectations, and pre-tax profits climbed to 10.3m from 1.6m a year earlier. Net debt fell for a fourth consecutive year to 5.0m, helped by a 3.1m pre-payment on the firm's new UK warehouse.
The AIM-listed company said revenues grew 26% in the fourth quarter, continuing the momentum seen throughout the year, while EBITDA margins improved to 9.7% - up nearly 300 basis points.
Gear4music said several technology and systems upgrades launched in late FY26 and early FY27 were performing well and expected to support further progress this year, and added that fitout of its new warehouse remained on schedule ahead of the FY27 peak trading period. It has also secured a new 45m committed revolving credit facility running to August 2029, providing liquidity for investment and strategic opportunities.
Trading so far in FY27 was said to have shown doubledigit revenue growth against tough comparatives, with Gear4music's performance in line with board expectations and on track to meet consensus forecasts.
Executive chair Andrew Wass said: "We are delighted to report that FY26 delivered significant strategic, commercial and financial progress, with strong revenue growth of 30% contributing to an excellent full-year financial performance. Improved gross margins combined with disciplined cost control have driven an 84% increase in EBITDA and a significant improvement in profit before tax, an increase of 8.7m compared with the previous year.
"Whilst it remains early in the financial year, double-digit revenue growth in FY27 to date gives us confidence that the business will build on the substantial progress achieved in FY26. Trading in FY27 to date is in line with the board's expectations despite more challenging year-on-year comparatives. We are on track to deliver FY27 consensus market expectations and the group is well positioned to take advantage of further growth opportunities in both the UK and Europe."
As of 0935 BST, Gear4music shares were up 5.46% at 271.55p.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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