Vacuum cleaner specialist Godfreys has booked a $58.6 million net loss after tax for the first-half of FY18 after signalling $75.2 million in non-cash impairments earlier this month.
Underlying net-profit after tax declined by 61.8 per cent to $0.9 million for the six months to 31 December, amid a continued decline in earnings and sales.
Godfreys chief executive Jason Gowie, who was appointed last December, said work is ongoing to turnaround the struggling brand, with a raft of leadership changes foreshadowing broader changes to the business.
In line with previously reported figures, audited earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined by 43.3 per cent to $3.6 million for the six months ended 31 December.
Revenue decreased by 8.9 per cent to $84.1 million, while comparable store sales decreased by 6.2 per cent.
In light of the result Godfreys said on Tuesday morning that it expects EBITDA (excluding any one-off costs) to be between $5 million and $6 million for the full-year.
“Today we are confirming the continuation of a negative like-for like sales trend which has been consistently minus six to seven per cent for the last three halves,” Gowie said.
“It was clear to me when I joined Godfreys in early December that there is fundamental value in the business but there is a need for change.”
Gowie has instituted a number of leadership changes in recent months, which will see current merchandise general manager Stephen Bennetts promoted to chief product officer, Mari Ruiz joining the company as chief people and culture officer and the continuation of a search process for other executive roles, including chief customer officer, chief commercial officer and executive general manager, store network.
“During my first two months I have individually met with over 300 team members, visited 70 stores across Australia and met with a number of our key business partners which has given me clear insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the business. I have also commissioned detailed brand and customer experience insights to give us greater understanding of how we are perceived by our customers and the broader market,” Gowie said.
“The turnaround will require us to drive operational efficiencies from all facets of the business and reinvest these savings into five key focus areas: brand and customer experience; product range; channels; people and culture; and technology.
“Work is underway to drive the required operational efficiencies and we expect to commence investment in our key focus areas from early FY19,” he continued.
More to come…
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