In morning trade the Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price has stormed higher after the ecommerce company released a business update.
At the time of writing the Kogan share price is up 6.5% to $5.55.
What was in Kogan's update?
Kogan's update revealed that the company has had a very positive finish to the financial year.
Based on its unaudited accounts, management expects to report a 9% increase in gross transaction volume in the second half compared to the prior corresponding period.
A solid performance by its Exclusive Brands segment played a key role in this growth. Exclusive Brands revenues grew by more than 30% in the second half.
The release explains that the launch of the White Goods & Built-in Kitchen Appliance Category in 2018 has been a big success. So much so, that category is currently the second largest category for the Exclusive Brands segment.
Second half gross profit was up over 12% on the same period last year and EBITDA is expected to be up 25% on the prior corresponding period.
Also growing strongly was its customer numbers. Kogan.com achieved a 15.9% increase in active customers to 1,609,000 in FY 2019. Strong active customer growth was also achieved by Kogan Mobile and Kogan Internet. Customer numbers increased 24.4% and 273%, respectively, year on year.
Kogan.com's founder and CEO, Ruslan Kogan, was pleased with the company's performance despite the tough trading conditions being faced by the rest of the retail sector.
He said: "In contrast to what has been reported as a tough retail environment, we have been able to grow the business and earnings while investing significantly in the Kogan.com customer experience and enabling our long term strategy. Our team has continued to delight our customers while delivering a solid quarter of trading."
He also provided an update on the recent launch of Kogan Marketplace.
Mr Kogan added: "The launch of Kogan Marketplace is proving to be a transformational step for our business. Marketplace gained momentum during the quarter and we have been overwhelmed by the response from both sellers and customers. Our team is working hard to onboard the backlog of sellers who want to reach the Kogan customer base."
Pleasingly for shareholders, the chief executive appears confident that the strong form can continue into FY 2020.
He advised: "The Kogan.com team is continuing to build an innovative, efficient, agile and resilient business. We are obsessed about delivering our customers better value, and look forward to the start of the new financial year with confidence in our team, and our business strategy."
