Sosandar PLC (LON: SOS) on Wednesday said it expects a more than 400% jump in half-year revenue, and that it has raised £3mln through a share placing, a move that the online women’s fashion retailer said will help fuel growth.
The AIM-quoted company said it foresees a 407% surge in sales to £1.84mln for the first half of year ending September 30, compared with the same period a year ago.
“Sales momentum has continued throughout the summer and into the start of autumn with record monthly revenues achieved in September 2018. Sales are strong across all product categories, including higher value items such as coats and leather,” the Cheshire-based company said in a statement.
The apparel seller also said it expects gross margin for the period of 55%, compared with 46% in the first half of 2017.
That margin view represents “significant improvement on the prior period achieved through higher levels of stock sold at full price, a very low level of discounting taking place during the summer months and improvement in the Company's buying power as scale and repeat business builds,” it said.
In May, Sosandar said like-for-like sales increased by more than 200% in the last 6 months of its financial year.
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In a separate statement Wednesday, Sosandar said it raised £3mln through a placing arranged by Shore Capital of 9,375,000 new ordinary shares of 0.1p with institutional investors at a price of 32p per placing share.
Sosandar said net proceeds will be used to support its growth plans.
“The Placing Price is at a very significant premium to our IPO in November 2017 which we believe reflects the significant ongoing progress of the Company and its future prospects,” said Ali Hall and Julie Lavington, co-CEOs of Sosandar, in a statement.
The company raised £5.3mln after its float was priced at 15.1p a share.
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In early trade Wednesday, Sosandar shares rose 6.5% to 38.75p.