Angling Direct, the specialist fishing tackle and equipment retailer, has announced its full year results for the 12 months ended 31 January 2021.

Over the year, group revenue increased by 27.1% to £67.6m. Profit before tax was £2.6m, an increase of 279%.

Over the period, four new stores opened in Warrington, Bristol, Northampton and Leicester – bringing the store estate total to 38.

Assuming there are no further lockdowns, the group is well-placed to deliver profitable growth in revenues, albeit at a lower rate than the prior year as trading conditions and sales mix begin to normalise, the company said.

The group said it was focused on five key growth territories; Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium and Austria.

Andy Torrance, CEO of Angling Direct, said: “In a year characterised by the unique challenges associated with the pandemic, I am extremely proud of the way our people responded to help deliver such a strong group performance.

“We made great strides with our strategic and operational objectives, growing revenues both in the UK and key European territories, driving operational excellence across the business and delivering sustainable margin-accretive, profitable growth as part of our laser-focus on pricing and inventory management.

“As the health and wellbeing benefits of angling become more widely recognised and its popularity grows around the world, we are ideally positioned to fulfil our ambition of becoming Europe’s first choice omni-channel fishing tackle destination for all anglers, regardless of their experience or ability.

“Having reopened our stores on 12 April and with the UK emerging from the pandemic, I am cautiously optimistic when I look to the future: the strong foundations we have put in place through 2020 will ensure the group is able to take advantage of the numerous opportunities that will arise through the remainder of 2021 and beyond.”