Despite the earnings fall, revenue continued to boom, growing 46 per cent over the half to $235.4 million, as the company continued to add more active customers during the pandemic, coming in at just over 900,000. Mr Coulter said he believed there was still plenty of room for growth in the local furniture market, which has an online penetration of just 10 per cent.
“There’ll be periods where growth moderates and growth accelerates, but over the long term we still have a lot of growth left,” he said.
Shipping delays have caused headaches for retailers around the globe.Credit:Getty
The earnings slide marks an end to the company’s multi-year track record of increasing profits, and the company warned it would likely wear even more costs in the current half. However, analysts were unfazed, lauding the significant revenue growth and sending the company’s shares up 11 per cent to $8.95.
Jarden analyst Wassim Kisirwani told clients the company’s results had beaten expectations for both revenue and earnings and was outperforming the rest of the market where online growth appears to have moderated.
Analysts were also bullish on the company’s outlook, with Temple & Webster showing that sales have continued to grow through January, up 26 per cent.
The company did not declare a dividend, and Mr Coulter reiterated that he was not considering introducing a dividend, instead opting to reinvest for growth.
“When we get to the point where we can’t find a good use of shareholder money to deliver the right [return], then, of course, we will consider returning that money by way of dividend,” he said. “But we still see lots of growth ahead of us.”
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