Kogan dodges Christmas carnage, books fivefold jump in first-half profit

Kogan’s has booked a fivefold jump in first-half profit, as revenue soared almost 50pc to over $200m.

Ruslan Kogan, online electrical goods marketer.

Listed online retailing powerhouse Kogan has avoided the Christmas carnage faced by bricks and mortar retailers like Myer, lifting revenues 45.7 per cent to $209.62m for the six months to December 31.

Founder and CEO Ruslan Kogan, who has said Amazon’s arrival into Australia would only help his online-only stores, said the results were primarily driven by customer growth and investments made in inventory and marketing.

The company’s (KGN) first-half profit leapt fivefold to $8.3 million, with profit for the six months to December 31 rose from $1.5 million in the prior corresponding period as revenue soared 45.7 per cent to $209.6 million.

“I’m incredibly proud of the Kogan.com team and the work they have been doing over the last few years as part of our investment in our infrastructure and our brand to drive our growing portfolio of businesses. The Kogan.com team is executing our long term strategy with precision and delighting our customers along the way,” Mr Kogan said in a statement to the market.

“Our consumer offering is always improving and we continue to exceed customer expectations as our business grows. We are always mindful of the fact that our customers have a lot of choice and we’re humbled by the fact that more and more Aussies are voting for us with their wallets.

“The business is in the best shape it’s ever been and our team is excited about our pipeline of initiatives that will further enhance our consumer offering.”

He said the company, which yesterday began selling health insurance through a partnership with Medibank, had grown its customer base to 1,166,000, up 40.5 per cent from December 31 2016.

Kogan declared an unchanged fully franked interim dividend of 3.9 cents and said revenue growth had further accelerated at the start of the second half.

Mr Kogan told The Australian in an interview last month that he felt unfazed by Amazon’s launch in Australia.

“We’re excited by Amazon’s launch, and anything that can be done to increase the online shopping experience [in Australia],” he said.

As of 10.56am (AEDT), Kogan.com shares were up 69 cents, or 9.54 per cent, at $7.92.

with AAP