Three things you need to know in the financial markets this morning from investment writer, Tony Cross.
The Restaurant Group
Casual dining company The Restaurant Group [LON:RTN] has issued a pre-AGM statement this morning, offering some insight into how its estate has performed since the resumption of outdoor dining in mid-April. There’s outperformance of the market in the Wagamama and Pubs division, arguably as a result of having the space outside to work with, whilst the fact sales here came close to the 2019 levels also indicates the strength of the recovery. However, the picture was less impressive across the leisure sites, a division that had seen increasingly intense competition in recent years.
Speedy Hire
Speedy Hire [LON:SDY] has published full year results this morning covering the period to March 31st, with sales down by just over 10% but pre-tax profits off by more than 40%. Significant closures of its network back in April 2020 have clearly taken a toll, with management noting that Q4 sales were 4% up on a Y-o-Y basis, whilst April and May revenues are 2% up on the equivalent 2019 numbers. The company used the pandemic to push through restructurings, cost savings and some diversification initiatives so this, along with the upbeat start to the new trading year and a strong balance sheet is giving management confidence over the future outlook.
MADE.com
MADE.com has this morning notified the market of its expected intention to apply for a listing on the main board of the London Stock Exchange. The high end designer furniture and homeware products company operates across Europe and is the most popular home and living brand for UK millennials. With 3.1 million followers on social media and 50% of orders in the UK market being made up by returning customers, the 11 year old company clearly has big ambitions. Over the last five years, gross sales CAGR was 36%, whilst the company – acting as a marketplace – also has an attractive negative working capital requirement.
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