Latest news with #AOWorld
Reuters
03-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Currys beats profit estimates on strong demand for mobile and computing products
July 3 (Reuters) - British electricals retailer Currys (CURY.L), opens new tab beat market expectations for annual adjusted pre-tax profit on Thursday, having raised its guidance three times over the year as it navigated cost pressures, driving its shares up nearly 10%. Currys said its mobile business - which includes smartphones, gaming, computing and related services - remained one of its top-performing categories, with consumers rapidly adopting AI-powered products as prices decline. "We're coming up to the COVID era replacement cycle for laptops. Five years in, people are replacing their laptops," CEO Alex Baldock said on a media call, noting that rising demand for AI and gaming was also fuelling growth for computing. The retailer has also been expanding into grooming and pet care products, where it sees opportunities to gain market share. Currys shares, which have risen nearly 25% this year, hit their highest level in over 3-1/2 years on Thursday. "Every part of the business is heading in the right direction, the balance sheet has not been this strong in a decade", analysts at Panmure Liberum said in a note. Last month, peer AO World posted record annual profit helped by a growing customer base. Currys has been ramping up automation and moving more business processes to cheaper overseas locations, in addition to price hikes, to save almost 10 million pounds ($13.7 million) in annual costs. Increases in employer social security contributions and minimum wages under the UK's Labour government, along with rising economic uncertainties, have prompted British companies to step up cost-saving measures to shore up profits. Early trading in the current financial year has been in line with expectations, Currys said, adding that it remained comfortable with market consensus for the year ahead. It posted adjusted pre-tax profit of 162 million pounds for the year ended May 3, above analysts' estimate of 159 million pounds, according to a company poll. ($1 = 0.7332 pounds)
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UK's June 2025 Stocks That May Be Trading Below Fair Value
The United Kingdom's stock market has recently faced challenges, with the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices both closing lower amid concerns over weak trade data from China and its impact on global economic recovery. In this environment, identifying stocks that may be trading below their fair value can offer potential opportunities for investors seeking to navigate these uncertain times. Name Current Price Fair Value (Est) Discount (Est) Vistry Group (LSE:VTY) £6.482 £11.90 45.5% Van Elle Holdings (AIM:VANL) £0.385 £0.69 44.1% LSL Property Services (LSE:LSL) £3.01 £5.65 46.7% Jubilee Metals Group (AIM:JLP) £0.0355 £0.066 46.3% Informa (LSE:INF) £7.91 £14.56 45.7% Huddled Group (AIM:HUD) £0.0335 £0.06 44% Greatland Gold (AIM:GGP) £0.164 £0.30 45.4% Gooch & Housego (AIM:GHH) £5.88 £10.56 44.3% Duke Capital (AIM:DUKE) £0.285 £0.53 46.4% Deliveroo (LSE:ROO) £1.756 £3.09 43.1% Click here to see the full list of 59 stocks from our Undervalued UK Stocks Based On Cash Flows screener. Here we highlight a subset of our preferred stocks from the screener. Overview: AO World plc, along with its subsidiaries, operates as an online retailer specializing in domestic appliances and ancillary services in the United Kingdom and Germany, with a market capitalization of approximately £561.36 million. Operations: AO World plc generates revenue through its online retail operations, focusing on domestic appliances and ancillary services across the UK and Germany. Estimated Discount To Fair Value: 27.5% AO World is trading at £0.97, 27.5% below its estimated fair value of £1.34, suggesting it may be undervalued based on cash flows. Despite a drop in net income to £10.5 million from £24.7 million, earnings are forecast to grow significantly at 39.1% annually over the next three years, outpacing the UK market's growth rate of 14.5%. However, profit margins have declined and there has been significant insider selling recently. Our growth report here indicates AO World may be poised for an improving outlook. Get an in-depth perspective on AO World's balance sheet by reading our health report here. Overview: Phoenix Group Holdings plc operates in the long-term savings and retirement sector across Europe, with a market capitalization of approximately £6.60 billion. Operations: The company generates revenue through its segments, including Retirement Solutions at £4.46 billion and Pensions & Savings at -£562 million, while the Europe and Other segment contributes -£785 million and With-profits accounts for -£711 million. Estimated Discount To Fair Value: 14.4% Phoenix Group Holdings is trading at £6.62, below its estimated fair value of £7.72, highlighting potential undervaluation based on cash flows. Despite a forecasted revenue decline of 23.9% annually over the next three years, earnings are expected to grow significantly at 95.09% per year, surpassing market averages. The dividend yield stands at 8.27%, though it's not well covered by earnings, and return on equity is projected to be very high at 71.7% in three years' time. The growth report we've compiled suggests that Phoenix Group Holdings' future prospects could be on the up. Delve into the full analysis health report here for a deeper understanding of Phoenix Group Holdings. Overview: Deliveroo plc operates an online food delivery platform across several countries including the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France, with a market cap of £2.55 billion. Operations: The company's revenue is primarily derived from the operation of its on-demand food delivery platform, amounting to £2.07 billion. Estimated Discount To Fair Value: 43.1% Deliveroo is trading at £1.76, significantly below its estimated fair value of £3.09, suggesting potential undervaluation based on cash flows. The company is forecasted to achieve profitability within three years, with earnings expected to grow 67.37% annually and revenue projected to increase by 8.5% per year, outpacing the UK market average of 3.6%. Recent developments include DoorDash's proposed acquisition valued at approximately £2.7 billion, which could impact future valuations and shareholder decisions. The analysis detailed in our Deliveroo growth report hints at robust future financial performance. Click to explore a detailed breakdown of our findings in Deliveroo's balance sheet health report. Navigate through the entire inventory of 59 Undervalued UK Stocks Based On Cash Flows here. Hold shares in these firms? Setup your portfolio in Simply Wall St to seamlessly track your investments and receive personalized updates on your portfolio's performance. Simply Wall St is your key to unlocking global market trends, a free user-friendly app for forward-thinking investors. Explore high-performing small cap companies that haven't yet garnered significant analyst attention. Diversify your portfolio with solid dividend payers offering reliable income streams to weather potential market turbulence. Fuel your portfolio with companies showing strong growth potential, backed by optimistic outlooks both from analysts and management. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include LSE:AO. LSE:PHNX and LSE:ROO. This article was originally published by Simply Wall St. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AO World Full Year 2025 Earnings: Revenues Beat Expectations, EPS Lags
Revenue: UK£1.14b (up 9.4% from FY 2024). Net income: UK£9.70m (down 61% from FY 2024). Profit margin: 0.9% (down from 2.4% in FY 2024). EPS: UK£0.017 (down from UK£0.043 in FY 2024). Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period Revenue exceeded analyst estimates by 1.1%. Earnings per share (EPS) missed analyst estimates by 69%. Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 8.1% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, compared to a 3.4% growth forecast for the Specialty Retail industry in the United Kingdom. Performance of the British Specialty Retail industry. The company's shares are up 2.6% from a week ago. You should always think about risks. Case in point, we've spotted 3 warning signs for AO World you should be aware of. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
Daily Mail
18-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
AO World scores record profits despite loss-making mobile arm
AO World enjoyed record earnings last year despite a disappointing performance from the electrical retailer's mobile business, which were a 'drag on profits'. The online electrical retailer, which was founded as Appliances Online, saw like-for-like adjusted pre-tax profits soared by 32 per cent to £45million in the year ending March. Profits rose faster than turnover, which increased by 7 per cent to £1.1billion thanks to higher membership of its Five Star discount scheme. AO further benefited from its product range expanding by more than 1,500 to cover categories beyond domestic appliances, including drones, cameras, and health and beauty products. Consumer retail revenues grew by 11.9 per cent to £831.9million, offsetting mobile-related sales declining by 11.2 per cent to £94.4million. AO told shareholders the new contract mobile phone market shrank by around 13 per cent during the year, which it blamed on lower customer demand, a dearth of handset innovation, and a shift towards disaggregated contracts. As expected, balance sheet goodwill and intangible values of £19.6million relating to the mobile business have been written off. AO said: 'We continue to review our strategy in this area and will not continue to fund material losses going forward.' Analysts at Peel Hunt said AO's 'language on mobile is strikingly blunt', and 'the direction of travel' for the business will likely be known by autumn. They added: 'AO's future mobile strategy is based on its virtual network offer, which is about to launch, and handsets through the site. 'It is a strategically important category for but management is intent on either getting the non-core mobile sites back to profitability this year or shutting them down.' T he acquisition of MusicMagpie in December contributed £30million to overall sales. Chief executive John Roberts, who founded AO in 2000 following a bet in a pub, said: 'We've delivered a record profit before tax performance, significantly grown our sales, and continued to delight our ever-growing customer base with trusted, outstanding service.' But AO warned its operational costs will continue going up in the coming year due to recent minimum wage and national insurance hikes. In early April, the National Living Wage increased by 6.7 per cent to £12.21 per hour, while employers' NI contributions rose from 13.8 per cent on annual salaries above £9,100 per year to 15 per cent on wages exceeding £5,000. Nonetheless, AO World said it was 'confident in our ability to continue to grow revenue' and make adjusted pre-tax profits of between £40million and £50million. The Manchester-based group struggled with plunging sales and supply chain issues after lockdown restrictions ended in 2021, as cost-of-living pressures gripped consumers. AO World shares have plummeted by around three-quarters from their 2021 peak. They were 0.2 per cent down at 100.6p on Wednesday morning. Adam Vettese, market analyst for eToro, said: 'Many investors will want to see shares climb higher, and AO will have to fend off stiff competition from online peers. 'If profit growth is going to convince investors, they'll want some consistency in return. If the next few updates can validate an upward trajectory, then the previous highs of last year might not seem so far away.'
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AO World looking to automation and offshoring in face of wage cost surge
Online electricals retailer AO World has revealed plans to use artificial intelligence and to offshore more work overseas in a bid to slash costs after seeing its wage bill surge. The group revealed late last year that it was facing around an extra £8 million in costs a year from April's higher national insurance contributions and minimum wage rise. It said on unveiling results on Wednesday that wage costs are set to keep rising over the next few years, 'so we will increasingly look to mitigate these costs through automation, outsourcing and offshoring'. Founder and chief executive John Roberts told the PA news agency that the group had no plans to cut jobs and was recruiting staff, but said some of these would be likely to be outside of the UK. He said: 'We don't have any plans to get rid of people or have any plans for redundancies. 'We're on a recruitment drive across the business.' But Mr Roberts added that 'not all will be in the UK'. 'While the costs with legs walking into the business keep rising, then the motivation to invest more in efforts to try to offset that are increased,' he said. The group already offshores some roles abroad and said it was looking to increase this, though Mr Roberts stressed service would have to be 'at the right standard'. The chief executive warned last autumn when the extra costs were announced in the budget that prices would probably have to rise, but he told PA they had not risen significantly as the group looks to remain competitive. The comments came as AO World revealed record annual profits, cheering the success of its membership scheme and surging sales. The group reported a better-than-expected 32% rise in underlying pre-tax profits to £45 million for the year to March 31. Including its recently acquired Music Magpie business, underlying profits rose 27% to £44 million. The group saw like-for-like sales lift 7% to £1.11 billion and said it was 'confident' of another sales rise in the new financial year. Sales were boosted by the deal to buy Music Magpie last October for around £10 million, with AO World saying this added £30 million to revenues. It also hailed its membership scheme for helping drive sales, as well as moves to broaden its product range to about 9,000 items. AO World said: 'Despite the wider macroeconomic challenges, particularly employment cost increases, our objectives remain unchanged and we are confident in our ability to continue to grow revenue, alongside group adjusted pre-tax profit of £40 million to £50 million.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
