Gear4music’s quarterly sales are up 55 per cent from the previous year
Britain's largest online retailer of musical instruments said full-year profit will be ahead of expectations as sales took a huge leap in the last quarter.
Gear4music reported a total sales increase of 55 per cent on the same period in the previous year, rising to £24.4m, from £15.7m in the four months to the end of December.
Shares in the Aim-listed company were up 2.8 per cent in early trading.
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The online retailer's sales in the UK, its main market, grew significantly – up 29 per cent from last year to £15m.
In Europe and the rest of the world, sales rocketed 129 per cent to £9.4m, from £4m.
The York-based company's own-brand sales grew 63 per cent from the previous period, driven by improving conversion rates and investment in additional stock, said Gear4music’s chief executive Andrew Wass.
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“As a result of this and a controlled overhead cost base, the board is now confident Gear4music is well placed to deliver profits for the full year that will be ahead of the increased expectations signalled at the half year stage," Wass said.
“As the business continues its programme of investment into distribution centres, websites, systems, products and people, we remain confident of delivering on our growth strategy.”
Gear4music sells its own-brand musical instruments and equipment alongside premium third-party brands like Fender, Yamaha and Gibson.
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