Abokado's gross profit up 7%
The rise has been achieved despite weakness in the trading environment and significant cost pressures.
Abokado has announced another year of growth with an increase in EBITDA driven by a 10% increase in sales and a 7% increase in gross profit.
Sales growth was driven by the addition of four new stores in central London, taking Abokado's total estate to 29. Trading since the year end has strengthened further with sales, gross profit and EBITDA all increasing, driven by an improved performance across our core estate and the maturing of new stores.
In a release, Abokado said, "It’s our intention to continue to invest in new stores which deliver a high return but we have not signed any new leases since the year end. The directors are taking a cautious approach, in the anticipation that there will be improved opportunities over the coming months due to growing weakness in the property sector. This should translate to both improved availability and more favourable commercial terms, which we hope to exploit through 2018 and beyond."
"We continue to invest in our wonderful, hardworking teams, who are key to delighting our customers and helping to deliver our vision. This investment has included enhanced pay scales, benefits and conditions and has led to much improved staff retention in recent months. Our relationships with suppliers have also strengthened over the past year. Our work with local charities continues to remain an important part of our commitment to doing business in a socially responsible manner and being a valuable member of the community.
"As ever we would like to thank our customers, suppliers and most importantly our hard working and passionate managers and team members for their continued support. Our vision remains to help people live happier and healthier lives by making our ‘feel great’ menu as accessible as possible," Abokado concluded.
