Online electrical retailer AO World warned that supply chain issues and higher costs would hit full-year earnings and revenue.
The company on Tuesday said the crucial Christmas trading period “is significantly softer than we anticipated only eight weeks ago”.
“As a result, we now expect full year group revenue to be flat-to-minus 5% year on year, with group Adjusted EBITDA in the range of £10m – £20m,” the company said.
It reported a £5m core adjusted profit for the six months to September 30, down 84% from last year, but up 24% from the pre-pandemic period two years ago.
AO said growth in the UK had been impacted by the nationwide shortage of delivery drivers and the ongoing disruption in the global supply chain, while the German online market had seen significantly increased competition.
“As we now look to the second half, we continue to see meaningful supply chain challenges with poor availability in certain categories, particularly in our newer products where we have less scale, experience and leverage,” the company said.
“In addition, shipping costs, material input prices and consumer price inflation remain challenging uncertainties.”
