Made.com Group PLC (LSE:MADE) saw its shares slide 13% to 55.2p after it warned that trading has been tougher than expected this year.
Third-party data suggests that the online furniture and home market is down around 30-40% so far this year, the company said, and while Made.com has outperformed the market, with first-quarter sales down 10% year-on-year, the group has resigned itself to the market remaining tough for the rest of the year.
“We remain very confident that MADE will continue to outperform the online home and furniture market by at least 20 percentage points,” the company said as it issued new full-year guidance for several key metrics.
It now expects net revenue could be anywhere between 7% lower and 8% higher for 2022 compared to 2021, while the loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation is tipped to fall between £15mln (best case scenario) and £35mln (worst case).
The group said it still expects the 2022 exit rate will be around pre-pandemic levels but lower sales mean the recovery to pre-pandemic levels will happen later in the year than previously expected.
“With a much weaker market backdrop for 2022, we now expect to achieve £1.2bn of gross sales later than 2025. The board remains very confident in the long-term value drivers of the business,” it added.
“There is no escaping the tough trading environment at the moment; however, we are laser-focused on executing our strategy and we are delivering strong progress across each of our strategic pillars. Our customers are at the heart of our business and we're seeing a really positive reaction to our improved proposition, with average lead times consistently at the targeted 3-4 weeks average for the last two months. MADE continues to outperform the online furniture and home market and I am confident the company will emerge in a very strong position,” said Nicola Thompson, the chief executive officer of MADE.com.
In other news, the online retailer said it has appointed former John Lewis finance chief Patrick Lewis as its chief financial officer.
The online lifestyle brand said Lewis, currently a non-executive director of Sanderson Design Group Plc, will start near the end of next month.
At John Lewis Partnership, Lewis was tasked with leading a programme to improve the supply chain, while he also gained valuable insight into e-commerce while serving as a non-executive director at Ocado Group PLC (LSE:OCDO).
Lewis is to take over from Adrian Evans and help lead Made.com's next phase of growth and development, the company said in a statement.