Boss Julian Dunkerton believes that his iconic Superdry (LON:SDRY) brand now has real momentum and he was delighted by how the group’s retail trading had continued to strengthen.

However, in the first half year, covering the 26 weeks to 29^th October, the group was let down by the poor performance of its wholesale operations.

The interim results reported a 3.6% increase in group revenue to £287.2m (£277.2m) with the adjusted pre-tax loss coming out at £13.6m (£2.8m loss).

Including the nine weeks to end December the group saw stores revenues rising 14.3% to £117.7m as its customers returned to the high streets, with the group seeing strong demand for its womenswear, denim and jackets.

The wholesale side suffered from the lagged recovery after Covid combined with shipment timing.

The group is known globally for its distinct collections of affordable, premium quality clothing, accessories and footwear. There are 219 physical stores, around 450 franchisees and licensees, with the group selling in over countries across the world.

Boss Julian Dunkerton stated that:

“The Superdry brand has real momentum and I’m delighted by how our retail trading continues to strengthen. We’ve done this against a difficult macroeconomic backdrop by delivering well-designed, affordable, and responsibly sourced products which have resonated well with customers. 

Our coats performed really well in the run up to Christmas, and womenswear continues to be a highlight for us. Stores continued to recover strongly and online had its biggest ever week over Black Friday, helped by our new ecommerce platform which is delivering real benefits.

Despite the underlying brand recovery, our profits in the first half fell short of expectations mainly due to the underperformance of Wholesale.

Whilst we did trade well through November and December, the outlook for the remainder of the year is uncertain and as a result, we are moderating our profit outlook to broadly breakeven. We don’t expect market conditions to become easier any time soon, but with a new financing package in place and the brand in great health, we approach the year ahead with optimism.”

Analyst Wayne Brown at Liberum Capital has reiterated his view that Superdry shares are cheap and offer significant long-term value. 

For the year to end April 2023 he is estimating £604m (£610m) group revenues, with a £5.8m pre-tax loss (£21.9m profit), but with net debt falling by £20m to £198m.

The coming year sees Brown looking for £645m sales, £8.8m profits and earnings of 8.2p per share.

He has a Buy rating on its shares looking for 500p in due course.

The FTSE 100 extended gains on Thursday afternoon after the United States grew more than expected in the 4th quarter and US tech stocks continued to rally. US GDP grew 2.9% on an annualised basis, compared to estimates of 2.6% growth.

US GDP figures released on Thursday provided the cue for investors to buy risk assets on hopes the damaging recession predicted last year may not come to pass.

After the release of US GDP today, attention will quickly shift to tomorrow’s instalment of US personal spending and housing data. These data points will influence the Federal Reserve’s next decision on interest rates due next month. 

The FTSE 100 was gaining 0.3% at the time of writing.

Despite a raft of updates from UK companies, the focus has largely been on the United States this week and UK equities have broadly been ebbing and flowing in line with markets over the pond.

In addition to key economic data, the US tech sector has been a major factor driving sentiment as giants such as Microsoft and Tesla update investors.

Tesla beat earnings expectations overnight and jumped over 10% on Thursday as US trade began.

Diageo

FTSE 100 stalwart Diageo disappointed markets on Thursday and dragged on the index after the alcoholic drinks company said they saw weaker organic growth. Nonetheless, reported net sales in the six months ended 31st December grew 18.4% in a challenging environment.

“It’s glass half empty time for Diageo, which poured out some resilient results showing a surge in super-premium brand drinks, but disappointed in its outlook for the all-important American market,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“Shares fell as investors eyed up the lack of cheer ahead as Americans tighten their belts amid the downturn. Diageo has been benefiting from ongoing pandemic habits, when people turned to favourite pricier tipples, including the likes of Johnnie Walker and Tanqueray, for lockdown distraction.”

A sharp increase in net asset value (NAV) helped 3i Group shares rally 9% on Thursday. The private equity and infrastructure group enjoyed a 26.8% increase in NAV for the nine months to 31 December 2022.

CLIQ Digital (ETR:CLIQ) sell subscription-based streaming services that bundle movies & series, music, audiobooks, sports and games to consumers globally and are now creating shareholder value through increased revenue.

CLIQ Digital have produced consistent revenue growth since the beginning of 2019 and in the most recent quarter recorded a bumper 91% increase in sales. 

CLIQ shares are up 54% over the past year to €28.50 and analysts see additional upside to their median fair value price target of €70.

The company is due to report next week and results will be closely watched for further progress in their key profitability metrics to support their already attractive valuation.

Established market position 

CLIQ’s success lies in their approach to marketing by sparking the interest of the online consumer in numerous streaming services via a well-designed banner, followed by a membership offer which includes a free trial period. To gain traction in a market with a number of incumbent streaming competitors, CLIQ have taken a more personalised approach to securing memberships.

The strategy has been a two-pronged approach in the targeting of individuals with direct personalised marketing and the creation of services appealing to different groups of media consumers. 

Their approach has gained them 1.8 million paid memberships and €8.3m operating free cash flow.

CLIQ Digital have carved out a niche in the streaming market

CLIQ licences its streaming content from partners across those multiple categories. The company stores, bundles and curates digital content in its digital content warehouse. Within the CLIQ Tech Hub data-driven marketing and business knowledge is combined with the company’s digital content warehouse. This enables CLIQ to create attractive streaming services.

Over the years, CLIQ have become experts in online advertising and currently have 1.8 million paid memberships on numerous streaming services across 30+ countries.

CLIQ’s strong track record in building streaming services has brought it closer to achieving its dream: cliq.de – the company’s most advanced all-in-one streaming service for the mass market, which makes streaming content accessible to everyone in Germany.

CLIQ Digital recognises the power of targeted advertising 

The mass marketing approach is not appropriate for specialised streaming service. This is one of the reasons CLIQ is selling a bundled streaming service which includes movies & series, music, audiobooks, sports and games. The all-in-one streaming service enables CLIQ to target a wide variety of consumers with the streaming content they like. Direct marketing focuses on effective cost per acquisition as opposed to expensive brand building. 

To facilitate their long-term growth ambitions, CLIQ have developed an intricate marketing strategy that focuses on converting customers in a cost-effective manner from online advertising campaigns.

Consistently increasing revenue

CLIQ is debt free and have supported their growth through significant increases in revenue. Sales grew 91% in Q3 2022 compared to the same period a year ago. EBITDA grew 68% over the same period.

The company will report 2022 preliminary results 31^st January. 

Tate & Lyle have combatted rising input prices by increasing their food prices driving which drove group revenue higher by 16% in the three months ended 31st December.

Their Food & Beverage Solutions unit was the standout performer with revenue increasing 19%. Due to the timing of orders earlier this year, the Sucralose unit saw revenue fall 8%, as expected.

Tate & Lyle says they see revenue increasing in the coming year and are confident in maintaining cost discipline. The group says profit will be broadly in line with expectations.

Tate & Lyle shares were 4% higher at 755p at the time of writing.

“Third quarter trading was robust at Tate & Lyle, with double digit revenue growth showing resilient demand in the face of a round of price hikes and broader economic uncertainty. It’s pleasing to see no material growth slowdown in North America, despite ongoing supple chain troubles, and volumes across the Food & Beverage Solutions business look to be holding up despite the higher prices,” said Matt Britzman, Equity Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

We expected a slowdown in sales from the Sucralose division, as Tate pushed orders through the first half of the year – effectively front-loading performance there. The Primient joint venture looks to be benefiting from planned price hikes and we’d expected to see performance continue to improve as we move through the second half and margins recover – it’s good to hear that’s progressing as expected.”

The FTSE 100 outperformed US indices significantly in 2022 as US tech stocks cratered while the FTSE 100’s defensive sectors provided support during economic uncertainty.

However, a recent tech rally has started to lift global equity sentiment and provided support for the FTSE 100. Layoffs by major tech companies combined with relatively upbeat earnings has helped spur investment into a tech sector which is responsible for large proportion of the returns in broad global equity indices.

News last night Microsoft – 3.2% of the MSCI World Index – were concerned about the outlook for 2023 has raised questions about the ability for US tech to ignite a global equity rally.

“Microsoft has proved one of the more durable names in the tech sell-off over the last year so its gloomy outlook will do nothing to improve weak sentiment towards the sector. It also sets an uncomfortable tone ahead of updates from its tech rivals,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

Wait and see mode

US futures were falling while the FTSE 100 was broadly flat at the time of writing, as investors digested the implications of Microsoft’s comments, and whether a recent global equity rally can be sustained.

Investors will be in wait and see mode and looking forward to US GDP figures tomorrow to judge how far the Federal Reserve will go with additional rates hike in early 2023.

“Thursday’s fourth quarter GDP figures for the US could either reinforce or blow-up expectations for a soft landing for the American economy, with core inflation numbers on Friday helping to provide some insight into the Federal Reserve’s decision making ahead of its crunch meeting next week,” Mould said.

Wetherspoons fared better than most of their competitors during the second half of 2022 as sales grew 13.1% in the period 25 weeks to 22 January 2023, compared to a year ago.

Despite sales rising 13.1%, trading for the period was still 0.7% lower than before the pandemic.

During the 12 week Christmas trading period, Wetherspoons like-for-like sales were 17.8% higher than the same period a year ago, but were 2% lower than the pre-pandemic trade.

The jump in sales reflects the absence of fears around coronavirus, as well as drinkers choosing the more cost effective Wetherspoons offering.

However, Wetherspoon feel the cost-of-living crisis capped sales gains as consumers chose to purchase alcohol from supermarkets and stay at home to save money.

“Supermarkets pay zero VAT in respect of food sales, whereas pubs and restaurants pay 20%. This tax benefit allows supermarkets to subsidise the selling price of beer,” said Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin.

Wetherspoons estimate supermarket have taken around half of pub beer sales since 1979.

“Naturally, pub chain Wetherspoons did better in the Christmas just gone than the Omicron-marred festive period in 2021 – that’s not really news. It would have been difficult to do worse given restrictions are no longer in place and the fear factor associated with going about normal life has receded,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

Mould went on to explain why investors could be disappointed with today’s update and reasons for today’s 2.7% drop in Wetherspoons shares.

“What is damaging for Wetherspoons is that trading is still behind where it was pre-pandemic. Wetherspoons has always had a model of prizing volume over margins, so when you consider how fast costs are rising it is not surprising profitability is under pressure.

“Outspoken chair Tim Martin points to the threat posed by supermarkets, with people buying booze in stores and drinking at home – a situation he notes is exacerbated by the disparity in tax treatment.