Welcome back to a new issue of Investing in Europe, a weekly newsletter on what’s happening in European companies and markets, filtered for what matters. Welcome to our new subscribers! 🥂
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Weekly performance update
Company news and results
Zara’s owner Inditex reported its first-quarter results (Feb-Apr 21) and gave some indications on current trading:
The recovery continues to gain momentum. Store and online sales in constant currency between 1 May and 6 June 2021 increased 102% versus the same period in 2020 and by 5% versus the same period in 2019. 10% of trading hours were unavailable in this period due to lockdowns and restrictions. Currently 98% of stores are open
Auto Trader, the UK automotive classified advertising business, reported its FY21 results (March end). Revenues decreased 29%, with operating profit margin decreasing to 61% from 70% last year. The year was impacted by free and discounted advertising to retailer customers. Some of that was offset by higher pricing. Platform visits were up 15%, to 58.3mn visits per month. Dividend and buybacks are restarting.
Auto Trader provided a positive guidance for the year:
In the year ahead, we expect to deliver high single digit growth on FY20 ARPR1 and Operating profit margins that are in line with FY20 levels, with FY20 being the year ended March 2020.
The presentation included a few slides on the impact of lockdowns on the used car markets in the UK:
M&A and IPO
Billionaire's Altice group buys 12% BT stake in support of fibre plans (link)
Grubhub Stockholders Approve Transaction with Just Eat Takeaway.com (link)
Other news
(UK) online sales volumes saw largest drop in history last month - or better, a slowdown a very high base (link):
“While the -9.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY) drop is technically the biggest in the 21-year history of the index, it can be misleading as it is compared against a huge growth rate last year,” he explained.
“The monthly growth between April and May is more revealing; when comparing the same period in 2019 (i.e., a normal year) there is a 10-percentage point difference this year, which also happened between March and April. So, there is definitely a slowing down in demand, though from a very high base.”
Ferrari names Benedetto Vigna as new CEO after six-month vacancy (link)
Tesco and Carrefour agree to end three-year purchasing alliance (link)
LVMH’s La Samaritaine Department Store to Reopen (link)
Ferrari Brings Back Its Legendary Trattoria With Chef Massimo Bottura (link)
The 10 most valuable spirits brands in the world (link)
Have a great week and good investing!
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Disclaimer: this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not represent investment advice. I might have a position in some of the stocks discussed. Always do your own research before investing. Your feedback is important - please contact me on Twitter
Average Revenue Per Retailer