Verkkokauppa.com - A small break for momentum of growth

Tough quarter behind
The company’s net sales decreased by 4% y/y to EUR 168.9m driven by weak demand for its core categories. The growth was good in the B2B segment as well as in Computers, Games, Sports, and Toys products categories. The online transition continued and e-commerce represented 63% of total net sales. Despite tough market conditions, gross margin improved to 15.5% (15.1%), mainly driven by category mix and wise pricing decisions. Adj. EBIT declined by 14% y/y to EUR 5.3m (3.2% margin) due to lower sales. EPS amounted to EUR 0.09 and BoD proposed a dividend of EUR 0.246.

Guidance implies growth to continue
The company guides net sales growth and possible profitability improvement during 2022. Revenue is estimated to reach EUR 590-640m and EBIT EUR 19-15m. Driven by weakened visibility to the consumer electronics market, we have made some adjustments to our estimates. In 2022, we expect net sales of EUR 610.0m and EBIT of EUR 22.3m (3.7% margin). The growth is driven by online transition and good development of the evolving categories. In Q1’22, we expect the core categories to still suffer from weak demand and net sales amount to EUR 133.6m and EBIT totaling EUR 3.9m (2.9% margin). Jätkäsaari’s automated warehouse is estimated to be in production until the end of Q1’22 and we are expecting cost savings to kick in during H2’22 as the utilization rate of Vantaa rental warehouse will decrease.

HOLD with a target price of EUR 6.5
With our revised estimates, the company valuation is still slightly elevated. The company’s peers trade with 22E P/E 14-17x, while Verkkokauppa.com is trading at the upper bound of the range. We retain our HOLD rating and TP of EUR 6.5.