Online greeting cards site Moonpig (MOON) gained 5.4% to 377.2p on signs the advance it made during lockdown - when high street card sellers were shuttered - has stuck.
Alongside its first half results, the company pointed to revenue at the top end of the £270 million to £285 million guided range for the current financial year to 30 April.
‘Customer purchase frequency had not yet fully normalised, but the data we now have provides us with confidence that we will exit the financial year with an enduring uplift in UK customer purchase frequency of approximately 15% compared to pre-Covid-19 levels,’ the company said.
The upbeat guidance arrived alongside first-half results showing a slump in profit. For the six months to 31 October, pre-tax profit fell 43.2% to £18.7 million (in part reflecting interest costs associated with a new lending facility) and revenue slipped 8.5% to £142.6 million.
PROFIT UP ON PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS
The rate of customer purchase frequency saw a month-on-month decrease as lockdown restrictions were progressively relaxed, the company said.
But compared with the pre-pandemic period, pre-tax profit was up 9.7%.
Following a call with management the retail team at stockbroker Numis commented: ‘Management are enthused by much better visibility on frequency and gift-attach trends in what recently are seen as more normal trading conditions in the UK.
‘On top of this, customer acquisition costs and payback have remained in line with historic levels, despite the much higher base, with management noting the benefit of network effects as more cards circulate and provide a “free” source of advertising to supplement customer growth.
‘There remain strategic drivers of the business as well - extended gifting ranges are being well received, drop-shop models offer optionality to improve breadth and unit economics, the tech platform rollout in the Netherlands should be supportive.’
