Latest news with #NickylRaithatha
Times
26-06-2025
- Business
- Times
Moonpig boss unexpectedly steps down
The chief executive of Moonpig, the online greetings cards business, has stepped down after seven years, catching the City and his leadership team unawares. The company's share price dropped by 9 per cent on Thursday as the market digested the unexpected news of Nickyl Raithatha's departure, which was delivered alongside the annual results. Raithatha will serve out his 12-month notice period to ensure a smooth transition. 'It has been a great time in a business that I love and I want to leave on a high,' he said. 'I feel like I'll be able to do that with good momentum, good trading and a rock solid team. I'll miss it, but it should be a really strong platform for someone to come in and build on.' The card retailer's reported profit before tax dropped 93 per cent to £3 million because of a £56.7 million charge representing a loss in value for its experiences division. It bought the Buyagift and Red Letter Days businesses from Otium Capital for £124 million in 2022 to cash in on what it saw as a shift from physical gifts towards experiences such as afternoon tea at Harrods or a day driving supercars on the Top Gear test track. The unit, which marked the company's first acquisition since its £1.2 billion IPO in 2021, struggled as lower consumer confidence and economic challenges pushed down spending on gifts. The company's ebitda earnings were £96.8 million, up 1.3 per cent, slightly above analyst expectations of £94 million. Its revenue of £350 million, up 2.6 per cent from the year before, was at the bottom end of the guidance, due to a slower second half with consumers less willing to pay for extras, such as choosing a larger card or adding a more expensive gift. After the end of the financial year, sales growth bounced back with Moonpig's strongest Father's Day yet, the company said. • Moonpig launches AI-driven handwriting tool 'There's a lot of uncertainty in the world so people are holding back,' Raithatha said. 'The good news for us is that we have managed to start growing gifting meaningfully, despite that consumer pullback, which we're really proud of internally.' Moonpig was founded in 2000 by Nick Jenkins, a former commodity trader who named his company after his school nickname. Raithatha launched Moonpig on to the London stock market during the pandemic, one of a clutch of companies that went public in 2021, at a price of 350p with a £1.2 billion valuation, only to see its share price plummet when the lockdowns ended. It has never quite recovered. On Thursday, the shares retreated another 22½p, or 9.2 per cent, to close at 221p. Analysts at Peel Hunt described Raithatha's departure as 'more of an eyebrow raise than a shock. Nickyl has been an impressive figurehead and Moonpig has progressed well under his leadership'. RBC said: 'Whilst the resignation of Raithatha will be a key talking point, we focus on the business's performance. The group has delivered a 6 per cent adjusted PBT [profit before tax] beat in 2025, with growth at the core Moonpig brand now back in double-digit growth.' Reflecting on his tenure, Raithatha said: 'If you live and die by share price, you can become very depressed very quickly. I look back at the last seven years and we have quadrupled revenues, we have quintupled profits, the workforce is six times bigger and we have entered new countries. 'The fact that we've got 12 million customers, they're more loyal, they're more engaged. It means the strategy has worked pretty consistently over that time. The IPO was obviously a pretty big highlight which put Moonpig on the map. 'We've obviously come off the highs from a share price perspective. But the business is bigger, more profitable and faster growing than it was at the IPO. From our perspective we're delivering for customers and that should translate to delivering for shareholders.' On Thursday morning when Nickyl Raithatha explained to Moonpig staff in a company 'all-hands meeting' that he was leaving, they were taken aback by the news. His leadership team are, by all accounts, still processing it. Heart emojis filled the screen on the video call as staff expressed digitly that they were genuinely sorry to see him go. After celebrating Raithatha's seven-year 'Mooniversary', as it is cloyingly called internally, with a Moonpig card, he felt it was time to explore pastures new. Those who know him are not surprised. At just 42, the young chief is extremely ambitious and was unlikely to be celebrating Mooniversaries for the rest of his life. His parents were among the Ugandan Indians forced to flee Idi Amin's regime in 1972. Raithatha grew up helping in his father's pharmacy. After a degree at Cambridge, he went on to cut his teeth at Goldman Sachs and then, while the financial crisis took hold, left to do an MBA at Harvard. This planted the seed of working in business, which is where his career swerved away from the more staid world of banking, into tech and start-ups. He founded Finery, a fashion retail business, which he sold to Touker Suleyman of Dragons' Den. Moonpig was not an obvious next step and growing the business has not been straightforward. The share price has not kept pace with the growth of the company and been a constant disappointment to investors. However, he has gained a lot of experience along the way and quite a network: his chairwoman is Kate Swann, the former boss of WH Smith. While he has not decided what he wants to do next, it will be related to the worlds of tech and digital. 'I'm still early in my career, I've got plenty of time and capacity to take on new challenges and try new things,' he said. In this rapidly accelerating era of AI there is no shortage of tech excitement in the business world. No doubt the headhunters are already knocking. And it'll be the end of people singing 'Mooooooonpig dot com' at him.
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Moonpig shares plunge as boss plots exit amid experiences impairment
Moonpig shares fell sharply on Thursday after the online greeting card seller's profits were almost wiped out by a painful impairment in its experiences division. The group's reported pre-tax profits plummeted from £46.4million to just £3million last year after the business took a £56.7million impairment charge related to the unit. It came as the group also told shareholders chief executive Nickyl Raithatha is standing down after seven transformative years in charge. Nickyl Raithatha joined Moonpig in 2018, following stints running the womenswear brand Finery London and the German venture capital business Rocket Internet. During his tenure, the company bought Dutch rival Greetz and separated from online photo printing firm Photobox Group, which had acquired Moonpig in 2011 for £42million. The Covid-19 pandemic then sent Moonpig's sales soaring as restrictions on physical stores spurred more people to buy their cards online. Moonpig went public in February 2021 on the London Stock Exchange with a £1.2billion valuation, netting Raithatha a reported £8.3million payout. However, trading slowed considerably after lockdown curbs ended, people returned to purchasing cards on the high street, and mounting inflation dampened consumer spending. Yet the London-based business, which has increasingly invested in its AI offering, remains the largest online cards retailer in both the UK and the Netherlands. Kate Swann, chair of Moonpig, said: 'Under [Raithata's] leadership, the group has reinforced its position as the category-defining online platform for greeting cards and gifting. 'Nickyl leaves the group in a strong position, with the group's FY25 results showcasing another year of strong earnings growth and high free cash flow. Moonpig shares were down 9.7 per cent to 220p by midmorning, making them the FTSE 250 Index's biggest faller. But Moonpig revealed its adjusted pre-tax profits jumped by 16 per cent to £67.5million in the year ending April, thanks to solid trading and lower net finance costs. Turnover increased by 2.6 per cent to £350.1million, with an 8.6 per cent uptick in Moonpig brand sales offsetting weaker performances by its Greetz and Experiences divisions. The value of an average Moonpig and Greetz customer order tipped up by 2.1 per cent due to higher postage prices, better targeting of promotional activity and rising gift attachment rates. Meanwhile, the company's revenue in Ireland, Australia, and the United States shot up by a combined 36.1 per cent to £11.8million. Moonpig noted trading had been in line with forecasts since May, helped by Father's Day sales surpassing their lockdown-era heights in 2020. Following the performance, it has announced an inaugural dividend of 3 pence per share and a £60million share buyback programme. 'Looking ahead, Moonpig Group's clear market leadership puts us in a strong position to capitalise on the long-term shift to online,' said Raithatha. For the current financial year, Moonpig expects its adjusted earnings before nasties to expand at a mid-single-digit percentage rate. Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: 'The group is maintaining an upbeat outlook on guidance, but the Experiences write down has taken centre stage with the shares falling sharply at the open. 'The exit of the CEO is not an immediate concern, but generally hopes have been slightly dashed with these results and the market consensus of the shares as a buy could now come under some downward pressure.'
The Independent
26-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Moonpig boss set to bow out after seven years in role
Moonpig has revealed that boss Nickyl Raithatha plans to leave the firm after seven years in the role. The online greetings card firm said Mr Raithatha has a year's notice period and will continue to lead the firm while it hunts for a successor. Chairwoman Kate Swann said: 'I would like to thank Nickyl for his service and contribution as chief executive, including leading the group to a successful initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange in 2021.' She added: 'Nickyl has built a seasoned leadership team that will drive strong execution continuity during the transition. 'We are well prepared from a succession perspective and will continue to work closely with Nickyl as we look to appoint his successor.' Mr Raithatha joined the online retailer in 2018 after having founded and led womenswear brand Finery as chief executive. He said: 'After seven years as chief executive, I am proud to leave the group in a strong position.' He added: 'As today's full-year results show, the business is in excellent shape, with strong momentum, an experienced senior leadership team and significant growth potential. 'Until I hand over to my successor, I remain focused on executing our strategic priorities.' Details of his departure plans came as the firm reported a 16% rise in underlying pre-tax profits to £67.5 million in the year to April 30 and said more recent trading saw it enjoy record Father's Day demand. It notched up a 2.6% rise in revenues to £350.1 million. On a reported basis, the group saw profits slump to £3 million from £46.4 million a year earlier. It took a £56.7 million write-down in the group's first half on its experiences division, but said it was 'taking proactive steps to reposition the Experiences proposition against a challenging market environment'. On the current financial year, Moonpig said: 'Since the start of the year, trading across the group has been in line with our expectations, including strong Father's Day trading.' Mr Raithatha said the group had enjoyed its biggest ever Father's Day, with sales outstripping records seen at the peak of lockdown in 2020. The firm expects underlying earnings to grow at a 'mid-single digit percentage rate' in 2025-26.
Reuters
26-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
UK's Moonpig forecasts slower earnings growth in fiscal year 2026
June 26 (Reuters) - British greeting card and gifting retailer Moonpig (MOONM.L), opens new tab said on Thursday it expects an 8% to 12% rise in adjusted earnings per share in 2026 and announced the departure of its CEO Nickyl Raithatha after seven years with the company. The adjusted earnings per share grew 18.1% to 15 pence in 2025.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Moonpig Group Plc - Transaction in Own Shares
Transaction in own shares Moonpig Group plc (the "Company") announces that on 9 April 2025 it purchased for cancellation the following number of its ordinary shares of 10 pence each pursuant to its up to £25m share repurchase programme, details of which were announced on 5 November 2024. Description of shares: Moonpig Group plc - ordinary shares of 10 pence Number of Shares repurchased: 125,000 Shares Date of transaction: 9 April 2025 Average price paid per Share: 208.5018 pence Lowest price paid per Share: 206.0000 pence Highest price paid per Share: 211.0000 pence Broker: J.P. Morgan Securities plc Following the purchase of these shares, the remaining number of ordinary shares in issue will be 335,320,407 (excluding Treasury shares), and the company holds no ordinary shares in Treasury. The figure of 335,320,407 may be used by shareholders (and others with notification obligations) as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the Disclosure and Transparency Rules. In accordance with Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (the Market Abuse Regulation), detailed information about the individual purchases is attached to this announcement. For further information, please contact: Moonpig Group plc investors@ pressoffice@ Nickyl Raithatha, Chief Executive Officer Andy MacKinnon, Chief Financial Officer About Moonpig: Moonpig Group plc (the "Group") is a leading online greeting cards and gifting platform, comprising the Moonpig, Red Letter Days and Buyagift brands in the UK and the Greetz brand in the Netherlands. The Group is the online market leader in cards in both of its markets and is also the UK market leader in gift experiences. The Group's leading customer proposition includes an extensive range of cards, a curated range of gifts, personalisation features and next day delivery offering. The Group offers its products through its proprietary technology platforms and apps, which utilise unique data science capabilities designed by the Group to optimise and personalise the customer experience and provide scalability. Learn more at Group plc - Trade Fills - 09 04 25
