musicMagpie PLC on Thursday reported a widened loss and a fall in revenue following a ‘challenging’ first half, but said it remains confident for the ‘seasonally more important’ second half.

Shares in the company slumped 14% to 16.12 pence each in London on Thursday morning.

The consumer goods reseller said in the six months to May 31 its pretax loss widened to £3.2 million from £1.0 million the year prior. Revenue fell 13% to £61.9 million from £71.3 million a year before.

musicMagpie said its first half had been ‘challenging’ with postal strikes and low consumer confidence hurting trading in December and January. It noted that its trading performance had strengthened from February onwards, however.

This strong momentum seen in the second quarter has so far carried into the early part of the third quarter, musicMagpie said. This, combined with musicMagpie’s focus on gross margins and cost savings, means the company remains confident in meeting its full-year expectations.

‘After a challenging first quarter, I am pleased with the performance of the business during Q2 and the momentum that has been carried over into H2, which is traditionally the seasonally more important half for musicMagpie...Looking ahead, we have a clear plan for our rental business and for our enhanced Buy Now Pay Later offering, which should drive sales and make our offering even more attractive to consumers looking to save cash,’ said Chief Executive Steve Oliver.

‘Despite the tough consumer environment, we expect consumers to increasingly look to the refurbished tech market and are confident that the business has the right strategy in place for future profit growth.’

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