British electronics retailer AO World reported a 27% rise in annual profit on Wednesday, helped by robust sales from its consumer-facing business and cost-saving efficiencies.
The company has benefitted from returning customers and its business-to-customer retail, boosting performance at a time when consumers are struggling with higher essential bills and firms face increasing employment costs.
AO World is also broadening its product range beyond home appliances to include categories such as fitness, drones, cameras and health and beauty, cushioning its margins from dips in demand for higher-priced items.
The company, which sells everything from washing machines to mobile phones, reported adjusted pre-tax profit of 43.5 million pounds ($58.52 million), ahead of last year’s 34.3 million pounds.
($1 = 0.7433 pounds)
(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru)
