22
May 2024
musicMagpie
plc
("musicMagpie", or "the
Group")
AGM
Statement
musicMagpie, a circular economy
pioneer specialising in refurbished consumer technology, disc media
and books in both the UK and US, provides an update in advance of
the Annual General Meeting to be held at 08:30 am today.
As communicated at the time of the
Group's FY23 financial results on 13 March 2024, the new financial
year started positively following a record Black Friday period in
November 2023. Subsequent Q2 trading has been broadly in line
with management's expectations and has benefitted from cost control
and lower overheads.
The recent changes in our US
Consumer Technology operation, to make the business a sourcing
function for the UK, where devices can be sold more profitably, are
now fully embedded and the US is providing a regular supply of
devices for sale. This strategy change, combined with a competitive
UK market, is delivering lower Group revenues, but a strong focus
on profitability is helping to support
performance and gives the Board confidence in the Group's
medium-term prospects.
The Rental offering is being managed
to balance the opportunity cost of immediate profits from an
outright sale and the cash investment required in rented devices,
and rental income for the current year to date is slightly ahead of
the same period in 2023. The decision to segment the rental
offering to higher credit rated customers has now been operating
for almost 12 months and the rental book is predominantly composed
of higher credit rated individuals.
Sales of Disk Media and Books have
declined modestly at their predicted rates and the Company
continues to manage this segment for cash. Gross margins for the
segment remain robust.
Net debt remains at similar levels
to the same period in 2023.
The Company recently introduced the
strategy of unlocking a 'world of inventory' from people's homes
and is expected to launch certain new product categories
shortly.
musicMagpie plc has been in an offer
period since 27 November 2023 during which time various
conversations have taken place with interested parties.
Several discussions remain ongoing and as such the Company remains
in an offer period. There can be no certainty that any offer
for the Company will be made, nor as to the terms of any such
offer. The Panel Executive has granted a dispensation from the
requirements of Rule 2.4(a) and Rule 2.4(b) of the Takeover Code
such that the Company is not required to identify any potential
offeror with which the Company is in talks, or from which an
approach has been received.
The Board is focused on improving
profitability and as second-use markets continue to grow, remains
confident that the ongoing work across the business and the
strategy to unlock inventory in people's homes, positions
musicMagpie well for the future.
- Ends
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Enquiries
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musicMagpie plc
Steve Oliver, CEO
Ian Storey, COO
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Tel: +44 (0) 870 479 2705
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Matthew Fowler, CFO
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Shore Capital (Nominated Adviser and Broker)
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Tel: +44 (0) 20 7408 4090
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Mark Percy
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Malachy McEntyre
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Daniel Bush
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Rachel Goldstein
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Powerscourt (Financial Public Relations)
Rob Greening
Sam Austrums
Oliver Banks
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Tel: +44 (0) 20 7250 1446
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Notes to Editors
About musicMagpie plc
Operating through two trusted brands
- musicMagpie in the UK and decluttr in the US -
musicMagpie's core strategy is simple: to provide consumers with a
smart, sustainable and trusted way to buy, rent and sell
refurbished consumer technology and physical media products with
sustainability running to the very heart of its operations. Founded
in 2007, the Group has an established presence in the UK, with
operations in Stockport, Greater Manchester, and in the
US in Atlanta, Georgia.
musicMagpie has a strong
environmental and social focus, as demonstrated by its trademarked
'smart for you, smart for the planet' ethos. Nearly 400,000
consumer technology products were resold in FY23. In addition, the
Group re-sells approximately 8.4m books and disc media each year
that could have ended up as waste. The Group has been given the
London Stock Exchange's Green Economy Mark in recognition of its
contribution to the global green economy.
When selling to musicMagpie, the
customer is offered a fixed valuation via the website, provided
with free logistics to ship the products and (subject to it being
'as described') receives payment for their product on the day of
arrival at the Group's warehouse. The Group has partnered
with Asda to give customers the option of using its SMARTDrop
Kiosks in store for a fast and easy way to recycle phones for
instant payment. Customers purchasing from musicMagpie receive
branded refurbished product for a fraction of the price of buying
new.
The Group has the highest number of
seller reviews on both Amazon and eBay and has consistently
achieved extremely positive feedback scores. The Group also has a
4.4* rating on UK Trustpilot with over 290,000 reviews,
and is honoured to have won Best Refurbished in the Uswitch
Telecoms Awards 2023 as well as Best Online Retailer and Best
Secondary Market Provider at the Mobile News Awards
2023.
For further information please
visit: www.musicmagpieplc.com
