17th Jun 2021. 9.10am
Regency View:
Update
Regency View:
Update
Boohoo’s quarterly sales jump 32%
Online fashion house Boohoo (BOO) released a bullish trading update this week as shoppers shifted away from athleisure clothing.
Revenues jumped by 32% in the three months to the end of May to £486.1m – driven by increased demand for ‘going out’ clothes.
“Our medium-term guidance for 25% sales growth per annum and a 10% adjusted EBITDA margin remains unchanged, reflecting the board’s confidence in the Group’s prospects as it continues to invest in building for the future” read the trading update.
Despite making a number of high-profile acquisitions during the last year, Boohoo still have a formidable cash pile of £199.1m.
Commenting on the ongoing inquiry into Boohoo’s supply chain slave labour allegations, CEO John Lyttle said:
“We continue to make great progress on our Agenda for Change programme, with this morning’s latest report from Sir Brian Leveson outlining the seriousness with which the Group is determined to develop and demonstrate a gold standard in our supply chain.”
BOO Daily Candle Chart
IG Design unwrap a solid set of numbers
Giftware and stationary group IG Design (IGR) posted a solid set of Full-Year results on Tuesday.
Non-adjusted revenues jumped 40% year-on-year due to a full year of trading from US acquisition CSS.
Adjusted profit before tax was up 4%, with reported profit before tax up $15.6 million on the prior year.
Alongside the numbers, CEO Paul Fineman released IG’s Growth Plan which includes delivering revenue over $1.5 billion and doubling their adjusted earnings.
“Much of this growth is set to come from M&A activity, which we have never been better positioned for as the key industry consolidator” said Mr Fineman.
“Our management team has built a strong track record of successful acquisition and integration, and our scale and market position represent a compelling offering for businesses within our industry. We are also now in a strong financial position with zero average leverage” he continued.
IGR Daily Candle Chart
Clinigen’s drop 25% on profit warning
Pharma platform Clinigen (CLIN) released a shock profit warning last week which saw the shares gap significantly lower…
In a statement titled ‘Impact of COVID-19 on Group Trading’ Clinigen said the pandemic was playing havoc with its bottom line “primarily due to the global reduction in hospital-based oncology treatments and delays to clinical trials.”
Whilst net revenues are expected to be in-line with prior guidance, “it is now expected that adjusted earnings will be within the range of £114m-£117m for the full year 2021 due to the lower proportion of revenues from the Products division” read the sobering update.
The market has clearly been spooked by the news and the shares printed a large negative gap on the price chart. From experience, we believe it is best not to panic and be too reactive and we have seen a small ‘dead-cat-bounce’. When the bounce starts to wane we will more than likely look to close our position.
CLIN Daily Candle Chart
Eckoh’s strong US performance offsets tougher UK market
Eckoh (ECK) released their in-line Final Results this week which saw total revenue down 8% due to the pandemic.
Despite the drop in total revenue, Eckoh’s US Secure Payments business is flying with revenues surging 57%. Eckoh’s cloud-based offering accounted for over half the contract value and more than 80% of the number of contracts, compared to 20% in the prior year.
Eckoh also notched up a record number of contracts won in a year since they entered the US market.
Commenting on the numbers, CEO Nik Philpot said:
“The momentum in the US Secure Payments business returned strongly in the second half, buoyed by the switch to the Cloud, a trend that has been accelerated by current market conditions, and we look forward to overall growth returning as the pandemic restrictions are lifted”…
“Our Secure Payments business continues to benefit from ever increasing regulation and the need to mitigate the financial risk of data breaches and fraud, as organisations look for ways to secure themselves more comprehensively, beyond just the needs of compliance.”
ECK Daily Candle Chart
Ramsdens reports ‘resilient’ trading despite Covid-19 lockdowns
Ramsdens (RFX) released their Interim Results this week which showed a “resilient performance” for the six months ended 31 March 2021.
The pawnbroking and foreign exchange company said that pre-tax losses were limited to £0.1m (HY20: £2.3m profit) and gross revenue decreased 23% to £20.8m (HY20: £27.0m).
Jewellery retail revenue increased 14% to £8.1m (HY20: £7.1m) despite the regional lockdown periods – with online revenue doubling year on year.
Pawnbroking gross profit decreased 26% to £3.5m (HY20: £4.7m) as a result of the loan book falling as customers repaid their loans during lockdown and this subdued demand for new loans.
Foreign Currency Exchange was severely impacted by travel restrictions resulting in income dropping 78% to £1.0m (HY20: £4.7m).
Commenting on the numbers CEO, Peter Kenyon said:
“We are pleased to have delivered a resilient performance during the Period despite the difficult trading conditions experienced. This is a testament to the strength of Ramsdens’ diversified business model, our loyal customer base, and the commitment of our employees, whom I would like to thank for their continued dedication to serving our local communities throughout the pandemic.”
RFX Daily Candle Chart
Disclaimer:
All content is provided for general information only and should not be construed as any form of advice or personal recommendation. The provision of this content is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.