UK's Moonpig forecasts slower annual earnings growth, announces CEO departure
(Reuters) -British greeting card and gifting retailer Moonpig on Thursday projected slower earnings growth for the year ending April 2026 and announced the departure of its longtime CEO Nickyl Raithatha, sending shares down more than 10%.
Consumer spending in the UK has remained volatile this year as households scaled back discretionary purchases, including holiday gifting, against a challenging economic backdrop marked by rising inflation and high cost of living.
CEO Raithatha, who has been at the helm for seven years, has overseen Moonpig through its public debut on the London Stock Exchange in 2021, and brought in artificial intelligence personalisation to its offerings.
Raithatha "has built a seasoned leadership team that will drive strong execution continuity during the transition. We are well prepared from a succession perspective," Chair Kate Swann said, adding that Raithatha will remain during the search for a successor.
Moonpig's stock, which has fallen 40.5% since its debut, was the top loser on the FTSE mid-cap index on the day. It dropped as much as 11.7% in early trade, after it forecast a rise of only 8% to 12% in its adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2026.
For the year ended April 2025, it reported an 18.1% growth to 15 pence per share. Overall orders, including those for personalised cards, gifts and flower bouquets, grew 4.1% for about 12 million active customers.
Still, its 2.6% rise in annual revenue to 350.1 million pounds ($480.41 million) fell short of a company-compiled consensus of 352.9 million pounds.
Moonping also said Greetz, its greeting card and gifting brand in the Netherlands, logged a softer start to the second half of fiscal 2025 - a crucial period for retail sales, driven by gifting for occasions such as Christmas and Valentine's Day.
The company said trading since the start of the year was in line with its expectations, with a notably strong performance around Father's Day.
(Reporting by Nithyashree R B in Bengaluru, writing by Pushkala Aripaka; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Sumana Nandy)
