22-23_Cardsharp.qxp_Layout 1 05/10/2024 13:19 Page 2
cardsharp
Biz Wiz of Oz A mega-wealthy and successful Aussie tycoon has recently taken an 8.1% stake in Cardfactory, and that was before the recent expansion news from the UK’s largest greeting card retailer was revealed in the group’s interim results. Cardsharp looks at the significance of all this for the PLC and the wider greeting card industry. Firstly, Cardsharp has a full disclosure to make. In April 2020 during that weird and surreal time of the first Covid lockdown and the world seemed to be going mad, Cardsharp observed the share price of listed retail chains drop through the floor and in particular that of Cardfactory. At one stage a few years before the share price had been over £3.00, but a series of operational problems and disappointing results had seen the share price drop by half before the pandemic. But then in the madness, and the retail lockdown, the share price went into free fall, dropping down as low as 28 pence. At that stage Cardsharp took a calculated punt and invested in some
22 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
Above: Brett Blundy, Cardfactory’s new significant shareholder is something of a business wizard of Oz. Below: Cardsharp does not feel that Cardfactory’s share price reflects its performance. Bottom left: Cardfactory’s trial with Just Eat for delivery will have piqued interest. Bottom right: Brett Blundy is understood to be planning a plunge back into the bra sector.
Cardfactory shares. This was a profitable company with a robust business model and a history of making good profits. Yet its share price was at little better than a junk stock. And amid the lockdown madness, Moonpig, which had never made anything
like the profit of Cardfactory, floated on the stock exchange at £3.20. Luckily for Cardsharp, post the lockdowns Cardfactory, with a much strengthened management team in place, started to make a steady recovery. It negotiated enough finance to see itself through the difficult times. The share price started to recover and a series of positive financial statements about performance started to emerge. This culminated in the announcement of a sparkling set of end of year results in April. In contrast to most of the high street, Cardfactory had a great Christmas trading period. Over the year to January, Cardfactory achieved double digit sales increase taking the turnover to over £half a billion. Like for like sales were up 7.7% and most impressively pre-tax profits were up 25% to £65 million, making nonsense of that earlier 28 pence share price. And shareholders were obviously happy with CEO, Darcy Willson-Rymer, reelected with a massive 99.9% of the votes cast. A dividend was even paid to shareholders for the first time in years. Cardsharp expected the share price to shoot up, but after settling at around the £1 mark for the previous year, very