Australian eTailer Kogan has revealed it wasn't immune to the global supply chain issues and fluctuating consumer demand the world has been facing since the fallout of COVID.
These ongoing disruptions saw the business report a statutory NPAT of -$11.9 million, gross profit down 8.1% to $108.1 million and EBITDA of -$2 million, in its first half results.
Kogan founder and CEO Ruslan Kogan said that despite the disruption, he was pleased with the Group's results.
"Even through the COVID situation – which has continued to bring operational disruption to all industries around the country and the world – our team has continued to focus on innovative ways to further enhance the Kogan and Mighty Ape customer experience.
"What you're seeing right now is the building blocks for an even bigger and greater business, as we invest in building the best place for Aussie and Kiwi customers to get what they need," he said.
Despite the challenges, Kogan reported a growing base of active customers, an increasing marketplace offering and a growing loyalty program.
In H1 FY22, the Group's active customer base grew 9.4% to more than four million active customers - Kogan with 3,314,000 and Mighty Ape with 757,000.
These customers boosted the Group's gross sales to $698 million – an increase of 9.4% on the first half of FY21.
Meanwhile, the Kogan Marketplace saw a 28.7% lift in gross sales in the half, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 94.6% since H1 FY20.
During the period, the Kogan First loyalty program grew its subscriber base by 176% year-on-year to over 274,000, with these customers showing stronger loyalty and repeat purchasing behaviour than non-members.
By February 2022, the Kogan First membership had grown to 310,000.
The Kogan First subscription revenue grew to $5.9 million compared to $4.2 million in the first half of FY21.
"Our business has achieved huge scale, from the roughly $100 million gross sales recorded in the December half prior to our listing in 2016, to our largest recorded gross sales in a single half of $698 million in H1 FY22," Kogan said.
"We have set our sights high, with a five-year goal of $3 billion in annual gross sales, which the first half results show we are progressively on our way to achieving," he said.
Kogan Group closed the period with operating cash inflow of $61.7 million and net cash at the bank of $39.7 million.