Three things you need to know in the financial markets this morning from investment writer, Tony Cross.
Naked Wines
Naked Wines LON:WINE has published a full year trading update for the period to March 29th. The wine subscription model has unsurprisingly performed well through lockdown with around a 50% increase in active members – or angels as the company prefers to call them – whilst the growth across the Atlantic is also singled out. Sales there are up by 50% and now account for 45% of all revenues. It’s not all good news as investment in onboarding new customers has been higher than forecast but repeat customer contributions were also ahead of target. There’s lots to like about the model they use – it’s not a typical wine club subscription but instead puts the customer in control of what they get and when. Arguably it went into the COVID pandemic on a strong footing and is emerging on the other side looking even more robust.
AO World
A similar story from online retailer AO World [LON:AO], which has released a full year trading update to March 31st. Group revenues have jumped some 62% higher, with the German operation achieving profitability in Q3. The company attracted 2 million new customers during the period and sees the year’s performance as having been without parallel. Again, by all accounts the company went into the crisis on a strong footing with a solid customer proposition. The outcome here is arguably deserved and that move into profit for the German operation is testament to that.
Deliveroo
There’s a Q1 trading statement out from recently IPO’d Deliveroo LON:ROO, which again shows a suitably robust performance off the back of the pandemic. Gross transaction value (GTV) is some 130% up from where it was in Q1 2020, with the UK slightly outperforming other markets. Looking ahead the company retains the optimistic view set out in its prospectus with a belief that GTV can grow 30-40% over the full year. As we noted with Just Eat’s numbers earlier in the week, as consumers face increasing competing demands on their cash and have the option to eat out in restaurants once again, it will be fascinating to see if there’s still room for growth in this industry.
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