Blingy results see Pandora raise guidance

LAURA MCGUIRE

PANDORA has raised its full year revenue guidance following a strong performance in the second quarter of this year.

The Danish jewellery maker, best known for its charm bracelets, said it expects organic sales growth for the year to be in the range of two to five per cent, up from a range of a contraction of two per cent to growth of three per cent.

CHALLENGER suppliers collapsed under the weight of higher wholesale costs during the energy crisis, and will suffer more from capital requirements for long-term hedging than incumbent energy firms with larger revenue streams and bigger customer bases. The debate over the price cap is part of a wider struggle over the future state of the energy market, with Ofgem seeking to strike a balance between financial discipline and allowing for new entrants. The Big Six now have a 90 per cent market share after 30 suppliers collapsed – this will only grow when one of the big players

The Bottom Line

eventually buys Shell’s retail arm –raising concerns over a closed shop.

Questions over the price cap are legitimate: Ofgem CEO Jonathan Brearley rightly pointed out the cap was intended to stop long-term customers being ripped off by suppliers hoping to lure in new business with ultra-cheap bills. Instead, it has now become a new minimum price for customers –which is expected to remain near £2,000 per year over winter, nearly double pre crisis levels.

NICHOLAS EARL

The updated forecast followed the group’s second quarter results, where it reported revenue of DKK 5.89bn (£6.8m) – a five per cent increase on the same period last year. However operating profit declined to DKK 1.18bn, down from DKK 1.24bn for the same quarter last year. But Pandora said this was expected due to planned investments.

In its UK market, where it has 241 stores, revenue growth during the quarter remained unchanged sitting at DKK 656m. Demand in Germany proved strongest with revenues rising 11 per cent.

In Asia, Pandora said it was making its first steps to re-launch the brand in China following three years of lockdown disruption.

“We will continue to push ahead with our strategic initiatives for the second half of 2023 and beyond, including the expansion of our assortment in diamonds and the ongoing roll-out of our new store concept,” CEO Alexander Lacik said.

NEWS BROKE this week that buyout giant CVC Capital Partners has revived its shelved listing plans and is lining up a blockbuster float on Amsterdam’s Euronext bourse.

While CVC has declined to publicly comment on the reports, City A.M. understands it is indeed dusting off its plans for a float, but no formal decisions have been made.

The Six Nations and PG Tips owner, fresh off the back of a record-breaking and downturn-defying €26bn (£22.3bn) fundraise, shelved its float plans last year among wild volatility that largely shuttered the IPO market globally.

While Amsterdam has long been the intended destination and fits as a home for the firm, given the euro denomina- tion of its funds and its EU HQ in Luxembourg, the revival triggers questions over whether London could tempt in the IPO of a similar buyout behemoth.

London’s public markets are not known for their public private equity pedigree. FTSE 100 member 3i has proved a hit with investors but CVC rival Bridgepoint, which floated in 2021 in the first London private equity IPO since 1994, has faced a torrid time.

Bridgepoint shares are trading at a 62 per cent discount to their IPO price.

Analysts say Bridgepoint’s performance is a sign London might struggle to attract another major private equity float –and point to why it would never really have been considered a serious option by CVC.

“If you look at the share price performance of other listed PE firms [listed in New York] over the same horizon, they are not down by this much,” Pitchbook’s Nicolas Moura said.

“If I were in CVC’s shoes [I’d consider] more regulation, more transparency, and higher costs to list in London,” he City A.M.

EY reported global IPOs plunged 36 per cent in the first half of the year, and investors are still skittish on the private equity industry amid a period of rising rates and stillsubdued deals.

Susannah Streeter of Hargreaves Lansdown said the recent travails of Bridgepoint would be a nail in the coffin to any faint and flickering hope that CVC would consider the capital.