Adore Beauty Smashes Prospectus Forecast in Half Year Report

The retailer is reporting a strong start to the first half of FY21, with revenue up 85 percent PCP and EBITDA up 188 percent on PCP.

In its HY1 FY21 report, the pureplay beauty retailer delivered revenue of $96.2 million, which is eight percent ahead of its prospectus forecast of $89 million.

Adore beauty experienced an uplift in its active customers, hitting 777,000 – this is also ahead of the prospectus forecast by seven percent.

Gross Profit Margin rose 1.4 percentage points to 32.5 percent. The retailer also currently houses no debt, with $25.9 million in cash.

Shopping events such as Afterpay Day in August and Cyber Weekend in November helped solidify the growth of Adore Beauty, reporting ‘multiple record trading days’ which were ‘100 percent brand funded’.

Skincare remains a trending category | via Unsplash

“I am pleased to present our first set of results as an ASX-listed company. We have delivered record growth and financial performance, exceeding our prospectus forecast,” said Tennealle O’Shannessy, the CEO of Adore Beauty.

The pandemic-driven acceleration to online has proven successful for the retailer, with the expectation of delivering FY revenue growth above pre-CVID levels. The adoption of e-commerce is an unsurprising catalyst for this growth, which has further expanded the ‘strong’ retention of new customers acquired over the peak COVID period.

“Adore Beauty is Australia’s market leader in online beauty retail,” said O’Shannessy. “Our strong performance this half is underpinned by high levels of customer engagement, retention and satisfaction, and includes a record trading day of $1.5m. We have been thrilled to welcome many new customers to our platform over the last six months and are pleased to continue to be the online beauty shopping destination for our loyal customers.”

Adore Beauty plans to expand its presence online across Australia, by catering tot he digitally-native Millennial and Gen Z shopper.

Furthermore, the retailer will increase the importance of online to premium beauty brands and further extend its knowledge on global beauty trends, which include premiumisation and increased focus on skincare.

“I have enormous respect for the passionate and dedicated team at Adore Beauty and their strong collective sense of purpose and commitment to deliver the best beauty shopping experience for our customers. It is their endless drive to provide the best range of brands and an exceptional online shopping experience, enriched by data-driven personalisation and highly engaging content, that continues to build our loyal customer base,” she said.

“Further, the strong relationships we have with our brand partners continue to underpin our strategy to develop and grow a platform for them that is integrated across digital media, content and marketing.

“Looking forward, we are executing a clear strategy to cement our online market leadership position, and we are well-positioned to capture market share in a large and growing market benefitting from structural tailwinds,” she explained.

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