Market doubters beware: shares in Just Eat (JE.) sprang back to life following a solid set of annual results, despite prevalent fears over growth rates at the online takeaway operator. The close price for the company's shares on the day before these numbers was 11 per cent down from the beginning of the year, not helped by the resignation of chief executive David Buttress, announced last month. Mr Buttress will stay on as a non-executive director, and a formal successor has yet to be announced.
But these numbers have helped soothe investors' concerns. Last year, orders rose 42 per cent to £136m, translating into like-for-like growth of 36 per cent, excluding acquisitions and disposals. The group bought and integrated new businesses, spanning Italy, Spain and Mexico, although its December 2016 acquisition of rival group hungryhouse in the UK remains subject to regulatory approval.
Almost three-quarters of total orders are now placed via mobile devices (up from two-thirds the year before) while the number of active users - those who have placed an order in the past 12 months - rose by 31 per cent to 17.6m.
Analysts at Numis still expect pre-tax profit of £145m for the year ending December 2017, giving EPS of 16.9p (from 12.2p in 2016).
| JUST EAT (JE.) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 556p | MARKET VALUE: | £3.77bn | |
| TOUCH: | 555-556p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 624p | LOW: 360p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 52 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 121p* | NET CASH: | £97m† | |
| Year to 1 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012** | 59.8 | -2.6 | na | na |
| 2013** | 96.8 | 10.2 | 1.5 | na |
| 2014 | 157 | 57.4 | 9.8 | nil |
| 2015 | 248 | 34.6 | 3.8 | nil |
| 2016 | 376 | 91.3 | 10.7 | nil |
| % change | +52 | +164 | +182 | - |
Ex-div:na Payment:na *Includes intangible assets of £829m, or 122p a share **Pre-IPO figures †Excludes £33.8m of cash to be paid to restaurant partners | ||||
