Gloucester-based kitchenware specialists ProCook today announced its interim results for the first half of FY24.

Total revenue of £26.3m declined by 3.8% year-on-year, or 1.2% excluding the Amazon EU channels which ProCook exited last year.

Like-for-like revenue declined by 4.4% year-on-year after a volatile first half in difficult trading conditions and impacted by teething issues following the launch of the new website.

ProCook held its UK kitchenware market share YoY2, despite a continued shift away from online with UK ecommerce revenue representing 34.7% of total revenue (H1 FY23: 40.1%).

Net debt at the end of the first half was £3.2m (FY23 year end: £2.8m) with available liquidity of £12.8m

A new brand campaign, Meta marketing, and referral scheme to raise awareness and loyalty helped attract 290,000 new customers to shop with ProCook for the first time.

In the first eight weeks of the second half, including Black Friday and the early part of Christmas trading, total revenue was +1.5% YoY, outperforming the market during this period.

ProCook said its retail stores continue to perform well with +4.1% year-on-year like-for-like performance and total revenue growth of 10.7% year-on-year supported by the opening of Trafford Centre and Watford stores.

Lee Tappenden, chief executive officer, said: "Whilst the consumer macro backdrop remains challenging, we are pleased to have delivered a robust Black Friday campaign and an improvement in recent trading, as we enter the important pre-Christmas trading period.

"I am delighted to have joined the business, with its strong foundations as a specialist retailer with a differentiated model and high-quality products providing a firm base from which to build brand awareness and expand the product range and store portfolio.

"Whilst we remain cautious about the timing and pace of market recovery, we are confident in our proposition and are making good strategic progress in building a stronger customer-focused business ready to accelerate growth as trading conditions improve and deliver profitable and sustainable growth for all stakeholders."

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