Online marketplace business Mysale Group has reduced pre-tax first-half losses on the back of an improved performance from its Australia and New Zealand operations.
Unveiling unaudited result for the six-months ended 31 December overnight in the UK, Mysale – which owns local online marketplaces ozsale, oo.com.au, Topbuy and DealsDirect – reported a before tax loss of $125,000, compared to its $1.3 million loss in the prior corresponding period.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 72 per cent to $3.8 million, including around $1.7 million in non-cash and “non-trading nature” costs.
Mysale’s total top-line revenue increased by 11 per cent to $151.9 million in the first-half.
This was driven by a 12 per cent increase in top-line sales in ANZ, Mysale’s largest division, which offset a relatively stagnant 1 per cent increase in top-line sales from Southeast Asian operations to $17.5 million.
UK-based operations, primarily driven by the Cocosa brand, increased by 24 per cent to $8.6 million.
Commenting on the result, Mysale CEO Carl Jackson said the performance was driven by improvements to the company’s technology platform, including the development of its own in-house payments platform called Ourpay.
“We are very pleased to be reporting a record first half performance,” Mysale CEO Carl Jackson said.
“This strong performance has been driven by our technology platform, which continues to enhance both our customer offer and relationships with our global brand partners.”
Mysale’s total active customer numbers increased by 12 per cent to 1 million, while average order value growth was flat at $87.
Gross margins increased, for the sixth consecutive half, up 169 basis-points to 30.9 per cent in ANZ, on the back of continued efforts to move from inventory on consignment (drop shipped) to company-owned products, which are now 20 per cent of online revenue.
Mysale provided no specific guidance, but said it expects to book underlying EBITDA at the top-end of market expectations for FY18, despite continued investment in technology.
A 13.6 per cent increase in operating expenses to $40.2 million over the first-half reflected the company’s continued investment, with increases in staff resources called out by the company.
Capital expenditure increased as a result of continued proprietary technology investments, up 34 per cent to $4.3 million.
