Online retailer Very Group, which operates the Very and Littlewoods online retail businesses, has reported ‘broadly flat’ sales as profit declines.

According to its full year results for the 52 weeks ended 1 July 2023, total group revenue was flat at £2.15bn, while Very UK sales increased 1.9% to £1.82bn from £1.79bn.

“This performance was ahead of the online non-food retail market and represents growth in market share during the same period,” the group said.

Group adjusted EBITDA resulted at £276.5m, down from £291.4m in 2022, which was impacted by pricing investment and cost inflation, and mitigated by good cost management and strong Very Finance contribution. Compared with FY20, Group adjusted EBITDA margin was flat at 12.9% despite the inflationary pressures.

Pre-tax profit resulted at £4.6m, down from £63.9m, which was impacted by the heightened cost of funding to the company, as finance costs increased 43.5% in the year.

Within its categories, the group said that Home was down 1.4% year-on-year. Within the category, it delivered a strong performance in textiles (+5.3%) and upholstery (+9.6%), which was offset by declines in home accessories (-6.0%) and garden (-12.7%).

Lionel Desclée, CEO at The Very Group, commented: “Despite challenging economic conditions, our adaptable business model has driven market-beating top-line growth, improved cash flow year-on-year, and our best-ever customer satisfaction score. It’s down to the investments we made in pricing and our digital customer experience, our cost discipline, and the commitment of our people in serving families in the UK and Ireland.

“In the year ahead, we will continue to deliver a combination of investment-led growth – with a clear focus on improving our digital customer experience – and diligent cost management. While the market will remain challenging, we’re confident our proven and resilient business model, which combines multicategory online retail with flexible ways to pay, will continue to deliver for our customers.”