Gear4Music profits rocket 371% as Britons turn to music in lockdown

Hitting the high notes: Gear4Music profits rocket 371% as Britons turn to making music and ‘sound therapy’ instruments to beat lockdown blues

  • Pre-tax profits rose by £11.5m to £14.6million in the year to the end of March
  • Guitars, digital keyboards and pianos flew off the virtual shelves
  • Lockdown saw growth of new niches, such as instruments for sound therapy
  • Trading in the new financial year so far has been stronger than expected

Online instrument retailer Gear4Music has emerged as a massive lockdown winner after more people decided to learn to play music or improve their skills to beat the lockdown blues. 

The York-based company said pre-tax profits rose by a whopping 371 per cent to £14.6million in the year to the end of March – or an increase of £11.5million from the £3.1million it made in 2019. 

Guitars, digital keyboards and pianos flew off the virtual shelves, with sales of Gear4Music own-brand instruments doing particularly well, as people trying their hand at instruments for the first time preferred their ‘intermediate and beginner products’.

Music to its ears: Gear4Music saw sales rise 31% last year and profits rocket 371%

The company said the lockdown also saw the development of new product niches, such as instruments for sound therapy.

Revenues rose 31 per cent to £157.5million, with strong growth of 42 per cent during its first half, when the first lockdowns were introduced across Europe, giving way to softer growth of 23 per cent in the second half.

Chief executive Andrew Wass said that while the company is unlikely to see the same level of sales and profits growth during the current year, trading so far has been stronger than expected.

‘Trading in Q1 FY22 has been stronger than the Board previously expected and, having retained a good proportion of the gross margin gain achieved during FY21, financial results for FY22 are likely to be ahead of the Board’s previous expectations,’ he added.

Shares in AIM-listed Gear4Music rose 1.4 per cent to £9.41 in afternoon trading on Tuesday. 

The muted response from investors to the spectacular figures highlights how they have already watched Gear4Music post stellar growth in recent years. 

Shares have climbed from £1.39 in the summer of 2015, to £7 in December last year and to £9.45 today.

‘The outlook and general demand for musical instruments and equipment remains positive, and with the strategies and actions we are taking, we remain confident of delivering sustainable and profitable growth in the long-term,’ Wass added.