Moonpig holds guidance amid challenging conditions

(Sharecast News) - Greeting card maker Moonpig on Tuesday reiterated half-year revenue guidance as trading remained in line with expectations. In a trading statement ahead of its annual general meeting, the company said it expected pro forma revenue to grow at a low single digit percentage rate in the first half of the current financial year, amid a "continued challenging macroeconomic environment".

"We continue to deliver innovation for our customers and are encouraged by adoption levels for new features, including our Moonpig Plus subscription service in the UK, the Greetz app in the Netherlands, and creative card features, such as video messages, across both brands," it added.

"For the full financial year, we continue to expect consolidated revenue growth at a mid to high single digit percentage rate, with all our brands returning to growth in the second half. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation margin is expected to remain resilient."

Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter said investors "still appear concerned about the ongoing cost-of-living crisis weighing down demand for personalised cards and gifts".

"Although its revenue wings were clipped last year after consumers shifted to buying lower cost gifts, the company has shown more resilience of late with big events like Mother's Day proving a draw for personalised cards, but it doesn't look like sales will be set for a major boost over the next few months,'' she said.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com