After record Christmas trade.
Kogan.com earnings before interest and tax (EBITDA) was $13.3 million for the half year ended 31 December 2018, down from $14.1 million in the prior corresponding period, attributed to some up-front costs from warehousing expansion and increased marketing investment.
Net profit after tax (NPAT) was $7.4 million, down from $8.3 million in the previous half.
These results follow the announcement of the best Christmas trading period in business history with Black Friday and Boxing Day producing record days.
Kogan.com founder and CEO, Ruslan Kogan said, “In the first half of FY19, we have continued our significant investments in our improved customer offering. We now have a nationwide logistics network, enabling us to delight customers all over Australia with faster and more cost efficient delivery options.
“We now operate in more industries than ever with a very compelling offer. The Kogan retail business currently represents around 2% of the Australian ecommerce market – continuing to invest in our brand and spreading our message is an important part of our strategy to capture market share.
“2019 has started well with January unaudited management results showing continuing strong growth and increased operating leverage.”
The Exclusive Brands product division continues to achieve year-on-year revenue growth with an increase of 26.1% on 1HFY18 and represented 50.9% of overall gross profit for 1HFY19. This growth was achieved through ongoing investment in Exclusive Brands inventory to broaden our range, including into whitegoods, and meet consumer demand from the growing base of active customers.
Global Brands, the internationally sourced third party brand product division, has experienced a year-on-year revenue decrease following the change to GST laws and apparent avoidance of GST by foreign websites. Subdued demand for new release Apple products tempered growth.