Revolution Beauty results finally released, losses widen

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
May 26, 2023

Troubled Revolution Beauty has finally reported its much-delayed results for the year to February 2022 and operating losses surged to £38.8 million, wider by almost £30 million, although revenue jumped 35% £184.6 million.

The delay was caused by concerns on the part of its auditors with the fallout from this for the stock exchange-listed firm meaning that its shares had stopped trading, and its founder, stepped back from the company.

EBITDA in the year was a loss of £0.8 million after profit of £14.2 million a year earlier and pre-tax losses jumped to £44.9 million from £17.8 million as high freight costs during the pandemic hit its bottom line.

The company's auditors had raised concerns over the accounts back in August and the shares were suspended from trading at the start of September with the full-year results also delayed as a result. Then CEO Adam Minto stepped down in November.

Auditor concerns had included it “pulling forward” revenue to meet sales targets and making undisclosed personal loans to distributors. The wider board hadn’t been informed about the activities.

On Friday, current CEO, Bob Holt said that “integrity and honesty in every aspect of our business is paramount. This has been the focus of the new leadership team as we reset internal controls and processes to ensure that we are in a position to achieve consistent operational excellence at a global scale, and in line with the standards of a UK plc.”

And its chairman added that while the latest numbers “are significantly below that forecast by the previous management team to the market, they nevertheless reflect a robust business with a strong brand, loyal following, and significant potential in terms of both sales and profitability”.