Warpaint London raises earnings forecasts as AIM-listed cosmetics group sees record first-quarter revenue
- Major chains selling Warpaint products include Boots, Tesco and Wilko
- The company said its turnover so far this year had already exceeded £16m.
Warpaint London had raised annual guidance, and the cosmetics group expected to post its best-ever sales in the first quarter.
The owner of the Technic and W7 brands said turnover from the start of January to March 23 had already exceeded £16m, up from £13.2m in the first three months of last year.
As a result, the Buckinghamshire-based company said its full-year outlook is now forecast to beat the board’s earlier forecasts.
Outlook: Warpaint London said turnover from early January to March 23 had already exceeded £16m, up from £13.2m in the first three months of last year.
Warpaint’s unscheduled business update on Friday comes about a month before the company plans to release its annual results.
The group now expects to post revenue of approximately £64m, which is £3m more than previously forecast, and £14m more than it earned in the previous 12 months.
It also predicts an adjusted pre-tax profit that beats forecasts of around £10m, having made £6.9m in 2021.
Chief Executive Sam Bazini said: ‘We are enjoying strong business performance across the group, with sales growing in many territories and online. We also continue to enjoy healthy margins.
“We look forward to the remainder of 2023 with confidence and will update further when the Group’s results are released in April.”
Makeup and mascara purchases have rebounded significantly in recent years after sales fell amid lockdown restrictions in 2020.
AIM-listed Warpaint was also affected by the temporary closure of many retail stores that stock its products and online sales remain a fraction of total trade.
As well as a pickup in demand, the company has been boosted by the launch of more product ranges both online and at leading physical retailers.
In the US, the world’s largest color cosmetics market, W7 products have launched at outlets owned by retailer CVS, Texas-based supermarket chain HEB and discount group Five Below.
Warpaint also aims to expand its e-commerce presence in the country by selling products on the Amazon FBA platform. In China, it has opened official W7 brand stores on the TMall and Xiaohongshu shopping platforms.
Boots and Tesco have started selling W7-branded products in the UK, while homewares chain Wilkinsons is stocking products from the Technic and Body Collection labels.
Other British companies selling Warpaint’s makeup and skincare offerings include Matalan, Tesco, Asda and Superdrug.
Clive Shore and Darren Shirley, analysts at broker Shore Capital, said: “We see Warpaint as a multi-year growth business, with a building client base in existing markets and prospects for healthy international growth in the US and partners. online.’
Warpaint London Actions they rose 3.1 percent to 203.6 pence just before the close of business on Friday and are up about two-thirds in the past 12 months.
