Maxine Horne (Vita Group)
Vita Group has come down off the high of 2020’s revenue recording-breaking financial year, posting a year-on-year decline for FY21 of 18 per cent, down to $633.5 million, with COVID-19 hindering its IT segment.
For the 12 months to 30 June, the retailer saw its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increase by 1 per cent, to $50.3 million, and net profit after tax rise by 17.5 per cent, to $26.3 million.
Its ICT segment took a 20 per cent hit, dropping down to $604.3 million, while its Artisan Aesthetic Clinics business grew by 41 per cent, to $28.4 million.
The hit to its ICT business, according to documents published to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), was reflective of the COVID-19 pandemic on its retail ICT division, with lockdowns, restrictions and social distancing measures causing a reduction in foot traffic.
Its operational EBITDA in the segment was at $71.1 million, a year-on-year decrease of 16 per cent, which was partly offset by $13.5 million in JobKeeper payments.
Its Sprout accessories business was impacted by a reduction in hardware volume across the Telstra branded network but claimed that its team has worked to offset future impacts by focusing on new product development.
Meanwhile, its Artisan business’ operational EBITDA was at $1.4 million, up from the financial year prior’s $1.9 million loss, which was boosted with $1.1 million in JobKeeper payments.
Across all facets of the business, the business received a total of $17.7 million in Job Keeper income.
The group’s overall operating cashflows after tax were at $46.7 million, with $10 million of capital expenditure directed to ICT acquisitions and retail ICT store refits, $1.4 million to IT investments and $3.9 million to Artisan acquisitions and aesthetic equipment.
Thias was all offset by proceeds of $4.9 million from the sale of the group’s Vita Enterprise Solutions business, and three Telstra Business Technology Centres, which went to Sunshine Coast headquartered technology services provider Entag in June.
Looking out to the financial year ahead, Vita said the retail ICT market will continue being challenging because of COVID-19. It is also still in talks with Telstra in regards to the transition for all Telstra retail branded stores to move to corporate ownership.
“It has been a challenging year with the team facing several pressures including COVID-19 and the ongoing evolution of the ICT industry," said Vita Group CEO Maxine Horne.
“The team has worked extremely hard to deliver results in both Artisan and ICT and I’d like to express my gratitude to each of them. Our focus on consulting with our clients to add value to them has never wavered and has supported our result in this tough period. Our performance amidst all of this, is to the team’s credit and I thank them all sincerely.”
