Global Fashion Group delivers NMV growth of 22.5 percent, revenues up 18.7 percent

Global Fashion Group (GFG) has reported full year net merchandise value (NMV) increase of 22.5 percent to 1,453 million euros (1,649 million dollars) year on year on a constant currency basis. Full year Revenue of 1,156 million euros, the company said, represented a 18.7 percent growth and adjusted EBITDA margin reached to negative 4.3 percent for the full year, increasing by 4.6 percentage points. With a growth of 14.7 percent compared to 2017, the group’s active customers reached 11.4 million at the end of this year.

Commenting on the full year trading, Christoph Barchewitz and Patrick Schmidt, Co-Chief Executive Officers of the company, said in a statement: “It has been a year of significant progress for GFG. Through our best-in-class fulfilment infrastructure and intuitive online shopping experience, we have delivered over 27m orders to 11.4m active customers. These efforts are clearly reflected in our results: We increased our number of active customers by 14.7 percent year-on-year, drove net merchandise value growth of 23 percent on a constant currency basis and delivered significantly improved profitability.”

Global Fashion Group posts strong full year results

The company added that NMV per active customer rose by 6.8 percent on a constant currency basis and orders also showed strong growth, rising by 22.2 percent to 27.5 million, with our customers ordering 6.5 percent more frequently than in the prior year. The average order value also increased by 0.3 percent compared to last year on a constant currency basis.

In the fourth quarter, NMV was 452 million euros (513 million dollars), an increase of 22.4 percent on a constant currency basis and marketplace NMV rose 90 percent, bringing the marketplace contribution to NMV to approximately 15 percent for the year. Revenue for Q4 was 357 million euros (405 million dollars), representing constant currency growth of 17.7 percent.

Full year gross profit margin reduced by 0.5 percentage points to 38.9 percent, while gross profit margin in the fourth quarter, at 38.8 percent, was 0.8 percentage points higher than in the same quarter previous year. For the year, the adjusted EBITDA was 49.8 million euros (56.5 million dollars) and adjusted EBITDA margin on a proforma basis improved by 4.6 percentage points to negative 4.3 percent.

Global Fashion Group’s performance across geographies

In the Asia Pacific region, GFG said, active customers reached 3.5 million in the year, growing by 18.3 percent year-on-year and NMV per active customer also grew strongly by 16.1 percent on a constant currency basis. Full year NMV of 502 million euros (570 million dollars), represented a constant currency growth of 37.4 percent. NMV for Q4 of 160 million grew by 38.5 percent, on a constant currency basis.

Full year Revenue of 409 million euros (464 million dollars) represented a 33.3 percent growth, whilst fourth quarter revenue was 128 million euros (145 million dollars), a 34.9 percent growth from last year on a constant currency basis. Full year gross margin decreased by 1.5 percentage points, driven by price investments at Zalora, while fourth quarter gross margin increased by 3.6 percentage points from last year to 38.8 percent.

In the LATAM region active customers reached 5.2 million, increasing 16.5 percent. Full year NMV reached 484 million euros (549.6 million dollars), an uplift of 18.5 percent from 2017. NMV of EUR 148 million in Q4, represented a 15.8 percent uplift on a constant currency basis. LATAM achieved full year revenue of 359 million euros (407.6 million dollars). Fourth quarter revenue was 111 million euros (126 million dollars), growing 15.7 percent on a constant currency basis. Full year gross margin decreased by 1.1 percentage points and gross margin in Q4 increased by 0.2 percentage points. The LATAM segment reached breakeven Adjusted EBITDA on a full year basis for the first time, driven by margin improvements in all countries.

In the CIS segment, active customers grew by 7 percent reaching 2.7 million with NMV per active customer growing at a similar rate. Full year NMV of 467 million euros (530 million dollars) represented a growth of 13.9 percent from 2017. NMV of 144 million euros in Q4 increased by 15.6 percent on a constant currency basis, resulting in revenue of 115 million euros (130.5 million dollars) and demonstrated constant currency growth of 7 percent. Full year revenue reached 376 million euros (426.9 million dollars) with a constant currency growth of 6.7 percent. Full year gross profit margin increased by 1.3 percentage points from 2017 to 38.7 percent, but Q4 gross profit margin declined by 0.8 percentage points.

Picture:Global Fashion Group website