Moonpig profits double as Covid pushes spending online

Moonpig has reported that its annual sales and profits have doubled in its first results since listing on the stock market, after it benefited from lockdown spending during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The online greetings card and gift retailer’s revenue rose by 113% to £368m in the year to 30 April, compared with a year earlier, which it said was a result of people shopping more often, as well as new customers making purchases.

The company’s adjusted pretax profit, excluding exceptional items mostly related to its IPO, more than doubled to £92m from £44m a year earlier.

The firm, which also operates as Greetz in the Netherlands, said its annual profits were at the top end of its guidance from when it floated on the London Stock Exchange in February.

Moonpig placed 140m shares at an initial price of 350p at its listing, giving investors a 41% stake in the company. Since then the shares have mostly traded higher, giving the company a market value of just under £1.5bn.

However, the share price dropped more than 5% in early trading on Tuesday, as investors reacted to Moonpig warning that customer purchases have started to return to more normal levels, as lockdown restrictions have eased and shops have reopened in the UK and the Netherlands.

Best known for its humorous greetings cards, the company said it had dispatched more than 50m orders in the year to April, while it experienced its strongest-ever week of sales during the run-up to Valentine’s Day.

One of the retail winners from the pandemic, the firm sells products from brands including Lego and Cath Kidston, and also sends annual reminders to customers who have previously bought birthday or anniversary cards.

The Moonpig chief executive, Nickyl Raithatha, said the past year was a “milestone” for Moonpig Group, which aims to become “the ultimate gifting companion”.

“Our customer proposition continues to improve, with enhancements to our card and gifting ranges, and more delivery options than ever before,” he said.

“The long-term growth opportunity remains vast, with the majority of the card and gifting market still offline, and we have never been in a better position to capture this growth.”

Moonpig forecast that its sales will grow by about half in the coming year, reaching between £250m and £260m.