Gear4Music Holdings PLC on Tuesday reported a 1.4% fall in revenue in the six months to the end of September caused by declining sales outside the UK, despite a return to revenue growth in the second quarter.

York, England-based Gear4Music is the largest online retailer of music equipment in the UK, and delivers to 190 countries.

Pretax loss narrowed by £700,000 to £1.2 million.

Total revenues fell by 1.4% to £61.7 million from £62.6 million. There was 6% year-on-year growth in UK revenues but a 12% decline in Europe and the rest of the world due to a ‘challenging consumer environment’.

Gross margin fell from 27.1% to 26.7%, which the company said was impacted by ‘challenges with the implementation of a new outsourced AI-based marketing system’ which are now resolved.

Reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation improved by £500,000 with a £1.0 million reduction in admin expenses.

The company also reported 5% revenue growth during the second half to date. It said the full-year outlook remains in-line with consensus market expectations which it believes are revenues of £154.7 million and pretax profit of £2.8 million.

Executive Chair Andrew Wass said: ‘We are pleased to report progress in executing our refreshed growth strategy announced in June 2024, resulting in improvements in our financial performance during FY25 H1.

‘Our long-term focus remains on growing higher-margin revenues, and we will continue to invest in areas that support this objective, such as the Studiospares acquisition announced on 22 October 2024, our second-hand platform, and our own-brand product offering, teams and infrastructure. Our full-year outlook remains in-line with consensus market expectations, we are well prepared for our seasonal peak trading period,’ he said.

Shares in Gear4music were down 3.2% to 150.00 pence per share in London on Tuesday morning.

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