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Verkkokauppa.com - COVID-19 boosting online sales

Verkkokauppa.com will report its Q1’20E result on Friday. We expect the coronavirus to boost online sales but expect decreasing sales in the physical stores. We have made small adjustments to our 20E estimates and retain our rating “HOLD” with TP of EUR 3.5 ahead of Q1.

Online sales boosted by COVID-19

The exceptional situation due to COVID-19 has pushed retailers online as the demand in physical stores slumped quickly when the movement restrictions came into force. This is likely to have a positive impact on Verkkokauppa.com’s sales development in Q1’20E as the company has a strong online presence and only four physical stores in Finland. According to the management, the demand for instance in home office supplies has increased as people have switched their working spaces to their homes.

Expecting good market growth in Q1’20E

We expect the market growth in consumer electronics to be relatively good in Q1’20E but in the near future, consumers might become more cautious due to the weakening economy, especially if the situation is prolonged. Despite of the good online sales outlook we expect to see decreasing sales in Verkkokauppa.com’s physical stores during this situation. We have slightly increased our Q1’20E estimates. We expect Q1’20E revenue to increase by 4.5% y/y to EUR 121m (cons. EUR 118m) and EBIT of EUR 2.7m (cons. EUR 2.4m).

“HOLD” with TP of EUR 3.5 intact

We have made small adjustments to our 20E estimates and expect revenue of EUR 518m (2.7% y/y) and EBIT of EUR 13.0m (~15% y/y). According to the guidance given for 20E, the company expects revenue to be between EUR 510-530m and EBIT of EUR 12-15m, thus our estimates are at the lower end of the guidance. COVID-19 might speed up the more permanent leap into online in long-term which should benefit players such as Verkkokauppa.com. At the same time, the rumors of Amazon entering the Nordic market have once again increased. On our estimates, Verkkokauppa.com trades at 20E-21E EV/sales multiple of 0.3x which translates into ~50% discount compared to the peers. We keep our rating “HOLD” with TP of EUR 3.5 intact ahead of Q1 result.

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