"We try not to look at the share price, we just concentrate on running the business," said Boohoo (BOO) finance director Neil Catto after unveiling half-year results. The Aim-traded online retailer's shares rocketed on flotation in March, but quickly fell back and spent most of the summer below their float price of 50p. While these results were full of punchy growth numbers, it seems there's little appetite for retailers' shares, with Boohoo's stock flat on the news.
Boohoo's sales in the UK rose 47 per cent to £45.6m in the first half. In Europe, revenue grew 51 per cent at constant exchange rates to £8.7m. Sales in the 'rest of the world' segment - primarily Australia and the US - were flat at £12.9m, but improved over the period as management adjusted its pricing. Active customer numbers soared by a third to 2.7m, while orders were 40 per cent ahead. The company continued to invest heavily in foreign language websites, warehouse capacity and marketing.
Sentiment in the consumer sectors has deteriorated in recent months as the housing recovery has come off the boil, and gloomy September sales figures from the British Retail Consortium this week won't help. But Mr Catto insists there's a lot of investor interest in Boohoo, and that the sector remains full of opportunity.
Broker Investec Securities expects EPS of 1.2p for the full year, up from 1.1p in 2014.
| BOOHOO (BOO) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 44p | MARKET VALUE: | £494m | |
| TOUCH: | 43-44p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 85p | LOW: 36p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 56 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 5p | NET CASH: | £55m | |
| Half-year to 31 Aug | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 51.4 | 3.7 | 0.3 | nil |
| 2014 | 67.2 | 4.5 | 0.3 | nil |
| % change | +31 | +23 | +16 | - |
Ex-div: na Payment: na | ||||
