Warpaint London PLC (AIM:W7L) shares tumbled over 15% on Thursday, despite the cosmetics retailer flagging strong trading both last and this year.
Revenue increased from £89.6 million to £102 million, or by 13.8%, over the course of last year to the end of December, the cosmetics retailer announced on Thursday.
Pre-tax profit jumped almost a third in the meantime, from £18.1 million to £24 million.
Warpaint added trading had also improved into the new year, with revenue climbing 15% year on year in January “at an improved margin”.
Retailers have come under pressure in recent months, with April's employer national insurance hike threatening to fuel costs after muted trading across the wider sector in the run-up to Christmas.
Chief executive Sam Bazini highlighted “ongoing consumer spending headwinds” but said stronger figures came despite this.
"We expect to see continued growth across the group in 2025," he said, "we look forward to completing the acquisition of Brand Architekts later this month".
Warpaint had unveiled a £13.88 million bid to buy the challenger beauty firm in December, which it said at the time would improve efficiency, reduce costs and drive profitability.
Full results for 2024 would be published in late April, Warpaint added.
Shares dropped 15.8% to 448p.