Lulu Retail Holdings, the largest and fastest growing pan GCC full line retailer, has reported a revenue of $2.1 billion for the first quarter of 2025, up 7.3% YoY, with like-for-like sales up 3.6% YoY driven by strong sales during Ramadan period and volume growth in certain product categories.

 

EBITDA of $214.1 million was up 6.4% YoY, with EBITDA margin of 10.3%, which remained stable vs Q1 2024. Net profit was $69.7 million, up 15.8% YoY, with a net profit margin of 3.4%, up 25bps vs Q1 2024.

 

Other highlights of the result:

• Good strategic progress with five new stores opened in Q1 2025 including in Makkah and Madinah with the target for 20 new stores in 2025 unchanged

• E-commerce sales grew strongly, up 25.3% YoY to $93.4 million - now 4.7% of retail revenue

• Strong growth in revenue from Private Label products, up 9.5% YoY - 29.3% of retail revenue

• Happiness loyalty program members reached around 6.3 million in Q1 vs 5.5 million in FY24 - linked to 65% of sales.

 

Saifee Rupawala, Chief Executive Officer of Lulu, commented: “We are pleased to have demonstrated good growth in the first quarter of this year, with revenue up 7.3% YoY. This was underpinned by a combination of like-for-like sales growth, supported by strong trading during the Ramadan period, and our store rollout programme, which remains well on track with five stores opened in the quarter, in line with our plan to rollout a total of 20 stores in 2025. The first quarter also saw Lulu make good progress on delivering on our overall growth strategy, supported by robust sales in Private Label and e-commerce, which remain key components of our strategy. 

 

“Looking ahead, we expect our growth momentum to continue as we remain focused on several initiatives under each of our four key pillars, including driving growth in existing store network, opening new stores, driving operational efficiencies and delivering further upside through our private label and e-commerce offerings. Overall, we are pleased with the performance in the first quarter, marking a good start to 2025, and we look forward to continuing to deliver on our strategy throughout the rest of the year,” he said. - TradeArabia News Service