By Adria Calatayud
HelloFresh shares fell sharply after the company warned that adjusted earnings for 2023 would be lower than previously anticipated due to weaker revenue growth in North America and higher costs.
At 0837 GMT on Thursday, shares in HelloFresh were down 21% at EUR16.18.
The German meal-kit maker said it was hit by lower-than-anticipated revenue growth and higher costs since the beginning of the fourth quarter after the ramp-up of its ready-to-eat production capacity got off to a slower start than planned. This slowed the growth in customer numbers and revenue, while adding to costs, the company said.
As a result, HelloFresh now expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for this year to be between 430 million and 470 million euros ($466.4 million-$509.8 million), down from its previous guidance of between EUR470 million and EUR540 million. This is also below consensus expectations of EUR495 million, according to a company-provided consensus.
The company expects revenue growth at constant currency of between 2% and 5% in 2023, down from its prior forecast of 2% to 8%.
HelloFresh doesn’t expect a meaningful impact on its outlook for next year.
While the issues are deemed to be temporary and have been largely solved by now, the news is likely to weigh on HelloFresh shares, Jefferies analysts wrote in a note to clients.
Write to Adria Calatayud at [email protected]
