TheWorks.Co.Uk (WRKS)

Sector:

Retailers

Index:

FTSE Fledgling

 26.05p
   
  • Change Today:
      0.000p
  • 52 Week High: 41.05
  • 52 Week Low: 21.80
  • Currency: UK Pounds
  • Shares Issued: 62.50m
  • Volume: 111,319
  • Market Cap: £16.28m
  • RiskGrade: 389

TheWorks slashes FY23 outlook, shares tumble

By Michele Maatouk

Date: Monday 08 Aug 2022

LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - TheWorks slashed its outlook for FY23 on Monday, pointing to a deteriorating market outlook, low consumer confidence and rising inflation, sending shares in the arts and crafts and stationery retailer tumbling.
The company said it now expects underlying EBITDA for FY22 to be around £16.5m, mainly due to a lower-than-expected level of provisions related to stock, up from previous guidance of £15m. However, it "materially lowered" its expectations for FY23 results.

"The general market outlook has deteriorated since the beginning of the calendar year, with low consumer confidence and rising inflation being significant factors," it said. "It is not clear how long these market conditions will persist, which creates a heightened degree of uncertainty about how consumers will behave, particularly in the forthcoming Christmas shopping season, The Works' most important trading period.

"Whilst we still expect to be able to grow sales in the remainder of FY23, it is uncertain whether the level of growth will be in line with original expectations and that which is required to offset cost headwinds such as historically high freight costs, which are showing little sign of abating in the short term, as well as increases to the National Living Wage."

Updating on first-quarter trading, the company said a "resilient" store sales performance generated positive like-for-like sales, up 1.4%. Online LFL sales fell 28.6% but remain 40% higher than pre-Covid levels. Overall, total LFL sales dipped 2.5% and total sales in the first quarter were 1.3% lower than the prior year.

"At the beginning of the period, store LFL sales growth was also impacted by a strong comparative with May 2021," it said. "Store performance then improved progressively through the period, with July's store LFL sales up 7.6%."

This was driven by further improvements to the customer proposition, including an expansion of the company's front list adult book offering, enhancements to its children's book offer and refreshed outdoor play range.

"Whilst store performance was resilient, online was impacted by trends affecting the industry including channel shifting (as post-Covid shopping trends normalise) and the challenging consumer environment, which appears to be affecting online sales more than physical stores," it said.

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Note 1: Prices and trades are provided by Digital Look Corporate Solutions and are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

Note 2: RiskGrade figures are provided by RiskMetrics.

 

TheWorks.Co.Uk Market Data

Currency UK Pounds
Share Price 26.05p
Change Today 0.000p
% Change 0.00 %
52 Week High 41.05
52 Week Low 21.80
Volume 111,319
Shares Issued 62.50m
Market Cap £16.28m
RiskGrade 389

TheWorks.Co.Uk Star Ratings

Compare performance with the sector and the market.
more star ratings
Key: vs Market vs Sector
Value
35.54% above the market average35.54% above the market average35.54% above the market average35.54% above the market average35.54% above the market average
10.53% below the sector average10.53% below the sector average10.53% below the sector average10.53% below the sector average10.53% below the sector average
Price Trend
53.83% below the market average53.83% below the market average53.83% below the market average53.83% below the market average53.83% below the market average
70.73% below the sector average70.73% below the sector average70.73% below the sector average70.73% below the sector average70.73% below the sector average
Income
78.28% above the market average78.28% above the market average78.28% above the market average78.28% above the market average78.28% above the market average
88.89% above the sector average88.89% above the sector average88.89% above the sector average88.89% above the sector average88.89% above the sector average
Growth
88.51% below the market average88.51% below the market average88.51% below the market average88.51% below the market average88.51% below the market average
65% below the sector average65% below the sector average65% below the sector average65% below the sector average65% below the sector average

What The Brokers Say

Strong Buy 0
Buy 0
Neutral 1
Sell 0
Strong Sell 0
Total 1
neutral
Broker recommendations should not be taken as investment advice, and are provided by the authorised brokers listed on this page.

TheWorks.Co.Uk Dividends

  Latest Previous
  Final Final
Ex-Div 05-Oct-23 03-Nov-22
Paid 02-Nov-23 24-Nov-22
Amount 1.60p 2.40p

Trades for 28-Mar-2024

Time Volume / Share Price
15:55 50,000 @ 25.78p
15:40 8 @ 27.00p
15:40 36 @ 27.00p
15:40 5 @ 27.00p
12:37 40,000 @ 25.78p

TheWorks.Co.Uk Key Personnel

CEO Gavin Peck
CFO Rosie Fordham
Chair Carolyn Bradley

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