All eyes will be on beleaguered THG on Thursday as it unveils its final results for 2021 alongside an update on trading so far this year.
It will be the online retailer’s first major update since appointing heavyweight chairman Charles Allen in an effort to win back the trust of the City.
Shares are hovering near all-time lows, 88 per cent shy of last year’s near-800p peak, closing this week at 95.14p. THG, which floated as the Hut Group, will be hoping a robust outlook for 2022 can put some spark back into its once-adored stock.
The Manchester-based business has suffered a stunning fall from being one of Britain’s most successful IPOs to a business dogged by corporate governance concerns. It has faced questions over boss Matt Moulding’s vice-like grip on the business and the value of its tech arm, Ingenuity.
THG brought in Allen, the former boss of ITV, last month to shore up support among investors and turn around the dramatic share price decline.
Moulding promised the appointment meant the business would ‘meet the highest standards of corporate governance’. Its update on Thursday follows guidance in January that sales for 2021 would be £2.2billion, a 37.9 per cent jump from a year earlier.
Retail analyst Nick Bubb said given its recent trading update, which gave detailed guidance for 2021’s figures, there would be ‘no surprises’ in the results.
He said: ‘The key will be the first quarter update and whether they back-track on their 22 per cent-25 per cent 2022 sales growth guidance, given the tough macro environment.’
