Wilko Posts Heavy Loss Despite Robust Sales Growth

Accounts filed at Companies House for the year to 3 February 2018 show the retailer’s total sales rose 7.1% to ￡1.62bn, buoyed by new store openings and like-for-like growth of 3.7% – a marked improvement on the 1% rise recorded the year before. Its online unit also continued to perform well with growth of 47% as more customers took advantage of its Order & Collect service. However, pre-tax profit plummeted from ￡5.2m to a loss of ￡65m. [more]

• This is about expectation management.
• Wilko have explained the causes of the ￡65m loss…
• …now they have to deliver via their new strategy going forward.
• From a NAMs-eye-view, NAMs’ focus should be on helping Wilko optimise that strategy, saleswise…
• …and NAMs keeping in mind the need to resist pressures in helping to rebuild the bottom line…