Revenue up 6.1% for Q3 2024 and 5.7% YoY for 9M 2024; Q3 EBITDA increases 9.9% to $176.3 million; Group opens 12 new stores in 9M 2024
Lulu Retail, following its record IPO, has released its first result as a public-listed company, and the company announced a 6.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY) revenue growth to $1.86 billion in Q3 2024.
With strong sales performance across its key markets and product categories, the 9M 2024 revenue was up 5.7 per cent to $5.73 billion.
Like-for-like (LFL) sales in Q3 2024 increased by 1.2 per cent to $1.7 billion, while LFL sales for 9M 2024 increased by 2.2 per cent to $5.3 billion.
Lulu posts record profit
The UAE remained Lulu’s biggest market and saw strong revenue growth of 7.5 per cent during the quarter, mainly driven by healthy LFL growth of 4.7 per cent during the quarter and opening of three new stores during the first nine months.
Revenue in Saudi Arabia grew by 5.7 per cent to $369.3 million in Q3 2024, driven by an improvement in its fresh food offer. Five new stores were opened in the Kingdom in the 9M period, including two Hypermarkets and two Express stores.
E-commerce sales increased to $237.4 million during 9M 2024, up 83.5 per cent YoY. Online sales now constitute 4.3 per cent of the group’s total retail sales.
EBITDA in Q3 2024 was up 9.9 per cent to $176.3 million with an EBITDA margin of 9.5 per cent, nearly 30bps improvement YoY. The EBITDA performance was driven by Gross Margin expansion of approximately 130bps in Q3 2024.
Net Profit from Continuing Operations increased to $35.1 million for the Q3 period, an increase of 126.0 per cent, driven by improved operating profit and improved cost management. For the nine-month period, Net Profit from Continuing Operations improved by 73.3 per cent to $151.5 million.
Yusuffali MA, Chairman of Lulu Retail, commented: “It has been a milestone period for our team, with our record listing on ADX and our first set of results as a listed company. The vision and ambition of nations across the GCC is enabling businesses like Lulu to thrive and creating opportunities for growth.
“The flexibility of our three-store format and growing e-commerce presence allows us to grow in diverse communities and to form strong partnerships across the region, as seen with the 12 stores we opened in the first nine months of this year and our recent partnership with Modon Holding.”
Post-period, Lulu announced a strategic partnership with Modon Holding to build retail facilities, including hypermarkets, supermarkets and other retail stores.
Saifee Rupawala, Chief Executive Officer of Lulu Retail, said the company remains positive of the growth momentum to continue and will stick by its revenue guidance issued at the time of the IPO.
“The third quarter and nine-month period were marked with ongoing revenue and profit growth across our business, driven by sales growth across our six GCC markets, strategic expansion in higher margin segments like Private Label and through investment in operational efficiencies and customer-focused engagement,” said Rupawala.
“Our Happiness Loyalty Program continued its strong momentum with 5.0 million members by the end of Q3 – a remarkable achievement given it was only launched in January 2023. The program provides valuable data insights for our teams that are driving sales and repeat purchase across the group.
“We are encouraged by the growth we have seen in the business and are pleased to reiterate our guidance for the 2024 period, with the fourth quarter seasonally stronger, supported by promotional campaigns and higher footfall given the holiday period.”
The company spent $98.5 million on capital expenditure (for continuing operations) during the 9M 2024 period, constituting 1.7 per cent of total sales. Capex was primarily invested in the opening of 12 new stores.
Net Debt, as at 30 September 2024, totalled $2.54 billion.
Source: www.arabianbusiness.com
