What Message Will Card Factory Send Investors?
Spreadex | Sep 24, 2018 12:19
What message will be written on the inside of Card Factory’s interim results this Tuesday?
It’s been a year of commiserations rather than celebrations for the high street retailer. Starting at £3.01 the stock plunged below £2 by the end of January, a price it couldn’t substantially rally back above until late April, where it managed to climb to £2.50.
Those gains didn’t last for long, however, and since then the stock has been almost permanently on the back foot. Having hit an all-time nadir of £1.75 in mid-August the company has seen a negligible improvement, with Card Factory PLC now at a current trading price of £1.90 (Spreadex, 24/09/2018).
The firm’s last update came in early August, and was responsible for sending it to that aforementioned record low. There Card Factory revealed that, while total sales for the 6 months to the end of July had risen 3.2% (almost half the 6.1% posted at the same point the year previous), like-for-like sales had fallen -0.2%. That’s a huge swing from the 3.1% increase seen in H1 FY18, with the company blaming the ‘weak consumer environment and extreme weather conditions’ for the drop.
All this meant, shock-horror, that Card Factory warned on profits, and now expects underlying FY19 EBITDA to come in between £89 million and £91 million, against the £94 million posted in FY18, ‘dependent on the key Q4 trading period’.
In terms of Tuesday’s update, investors will at the very least be hoping for signs that those underlying earnings will be arriving at the upper end of estimates, though given that the big quarter is still to come, Card Factory may not be comfortable with changing it guidance just yet.
Card Factory PLC (LON:CARDC) has a consensus rating of ‘Hold’ alongside an average target price of £2.11.
"Disclaimer: Spreadex provides an execution only service and the comments above do not constitute (or should not be construed as constituting) investment advice or recommendations, or a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. Any person placing trades based on their interpretations of the above comments does so entirely at their own risk. Spreadex Ltd is a financial and sports spread betting and sports fixed odds betting firm, which specialises in the personal service and credit area. Founded in 1999, Spreadex is recognised as one of the longest established spread betting firms in the industry with a strong reputation for its high level of customer service and account management.
Get The App
In relation to spread betting, Spreadex Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and can result in losses larger than your initial stake/deposit. It may not be suitable for everyone, so please ensure you fully understand the risks involved."
Original post
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.