AO World Begins Strategic Review of German Business

AO World plc ("the Group"), a leading European online electricals retailer, today issues the following trading update for the period ended 31 December 2021 and announces a strategic review of its German business.

The Group confirms that current trading estimates for the full year remain in line with the guidance set out at the Interim Results on 23 November 2021. On a comparable two-year period for the nine months to 31 December, UK revenues grew 58%. On a one-year comparative, which covered the Covid-related government lockdowns in the previous year, UK revenues were broadly stable, despite supply chain constraints and driver shortages. In Germany, on a comparable two-year period for the nine months to 31 December, revenues grew 67%⁶.  On a one-year comparative in Germany for the same period, revenues declined 8%⁶.

Our German business is being significantly impacted by a number of recent material changes to the local trading environment: competition in the online market has intensified whilst online penetration has returned to pre-pandemic levels; digital marketing costs have substantially increased against pre-pandemic levels; and supply remains constrained.  We expect these trends will continue for the foreseeable future in the German market.

The Board is focused on maximising shareholder value, and as a result of the aforementioned factors, the Group has decided to commence a strategic review of its German business, which will evaluate a range of options. The results of the review will be announced in due course.

We remain confident about AO's long-term growth prospects, driven by the strength of our proven business model, the quality of our customer proposition, and the long-term market trend towards online migration. 

AO World will announce its full year results to 31 March 2022 on 15 June 2022.

Source : AO World PLC

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