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Matalan impacted by “Severity of Covid-19” as revenue drops by 72%

Sadiyah Ismailjee
21 July 2020

Matalan has reported its revenue has dropped by over 70%, revealing the “severity” of the impact the Coronavirus pandemic has had on trading.

Total revenue at Matalan plunged 72% to £75.3m for the 13 weeks to 30 May compared with the same period the previous year.

In the quarter, EBITDA made a loss of £10.2m, after the adoption of accounting standard IFRS 16, compared with a profit of £50.4m in the same period as the previous year.

Matalan completed the quarter with cash of £40.9m, compared with £71.2m the previous year.

CEO Jason Hargreaves said: “The stores were closed throughout most of the first quarter as the UK endured lockdown in what has been without doubt the biggest challenge ever faced by the sector.

"The scale of revenue lost from our closed stores could not be offset by our smaller online channel, which continued to trade throughout the quarter.

“In response, the business took immediate action to preserve cash, manage working capital and reduce costs in addition to accessing all available government support and drawing down on our revolving credit facilities.

"Liquidity was well managed and resilient, then further supported in June with the successful financing exercise. This positions us well to manage through a period of recovery and adjustment over the coming months.”

Matalan said its large and out-of-town stores have been performing strongly since it began reopening its store estate from 18 May.

Recently the value retailer appointed former Dreams chairman Steve Johnson as its new chairman. He will be replacing John Mills, who announced in May that he would be stepping down from the board.

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