2023-10-26 13:28:40
The meal kit retailer Hellofresh has announced a buyback program of shares and convertible bonds with a volume of up to 150 million euros. However, the larger part of the sum should flow into shares, emphasized Hellofresh boss Dominik Richter on Wednesday morning when the quarterly figures were presented to journalists. The program ends on December 31, 2024.
Richter justified the step with the strong cash flow generation in the current year. Cash flow from operating activities increased to 280.3 million euros in the first nine months of the year from 265.2 million euros at the same time in 2022. Capital expenditure fell from 311.9 million euros to 235.8 million euros in the same comparative period.
Last but not least, the Berliners may have hoped to boost the share price by buying back shares. After the Corona price peak in November 2021, the value of the papers halved. In the current year, however, things initially went better for the share price. In mid-September the price climbed to an annual high of almost 34 euros. But since then he has lost more than a third. The stock market was also not impressed by the announcement of the share buyback. The share price has now fallen significantly into double digits.
Hellofresh, those Kunden run away
This is probably due to the mediocre figures for the third quarter. Demand is usually lower in summer anyway because many people go on vacation or eat out more in restaurants. Sales fell by 3 percent compared to the previous year to around 1.8 billion euros. The strong euro also caused problems for Hellofresh. Adjusted for currency effects, sales rose by 3.5 percent to more than 1.9 billion euros.
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For detailed view
As in previous quarters, Hellofresh lost active customers. The number fell to 7.07 million from 7.51 million in the same quarter last year. The group compensated for the lower number of orders with higher average order values. Richter explained this with an expansion of the offering; customers would have 25 percent more menus to choose from.
Disagreed analysts
The bottom line is that Hellofresh slipped into the red in the third quarter and achieved a loss of 11.1 million euros. In the same quarter last year, the Berliners recorded a profit of 5.2 million euros. However, the company is sticking to its forecast and is targeting an adjusted operating profit of 470 to 540 million euros. Currency-adjusted sales growth is expected to be between 2 and 8 percent.
Jakob Arnold Published/Updated: Recommendations: 1 Archibald Preuschat Published/Updated: Recommendations: 9 Sarah Huemer and Dyrk Scherff Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 19
Analysts are divided as to whether now is a good time to enter. JP Morgan continues to believe that Hellofresh will perform better than comparable stocks and has left its price target at 38 euros. The meal kit retailer fell slightly short of its self-published consensus estimates, but confirmed its annual targets, wrote analyst Marcus Diebel. William Woods from the analysis house Bernstein considers the figures to be “not particularly impressive” and leaves the price target at 17 euros. LBBW lowered its target for Hellofresh from 23.50 euros to 21.75 euros. Deutsche Bank still considers the share to be moderately valued in terms of medium-term profit expectations and is leaving its price target at 41 euros, even if analyst Nizla Naizer describes the decline in customers as “somewhat disappointing”.
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