Likewise Group plc share price, company news, analysis and interviews
Likewise Group PLC (LON:LIKE) is a distributor of floorcoverings and matting and has the opportunity to consolidate the domestic and commercial floorcovering markets to become one of the UK’s largest distributors in this sector.
Currently, the UK domestic flooring market is worth C:£2 billion. Although there are a number of larger industry competitors, the market remains fragmented with small local and regional companies accounting for c.50% of the UK market. Likewise PLC believes that, through a number of industry and macro factors, the market will polarise towards larger competitors, and that the Likewise Group can be well positioned to benefit from this trend.
Likewise PLC intends to utilise the expertise and industry knowledge of the Board, Executive Board and Advisors to develop an alternative to larger industry competitors. Management believe this can be achieved through a mixture of organic growth, operational leverage and where appropriate acquisitions.
Likewise Group pushes deeper into retail and contractor channels, underpinned by a rising sales run rate and fresh logistics investment as it steadies towards its medium-term ambitions.
Likewise Group plc announces strong financial results for FY24, highlighting a 7.4% sales increase and strategic investments driving growth and profitability.
Tony Brewer explains how Likewise Group’s people-first approach and targeted infrastructure investments are unlocking new growth horizons. Discover why 2025’s £4 million profit goal is well within reach.
Likewise Group plc (LON:LIKE) CEO Tony Brewer joins DirectorsTalk Interviews to discuss a record performance month with Total Sales Revenue of £14.0 million.
Tony shares his thoughts on the record performance, the factors contributing to the robust sales figures, outlines the company’s investment strategies for 2024, and shares three compelling reasons why investing in Likewise Group’s stock is not just a wise decision, but an exciting opportunity for investors.
https://vimeo.com/894028193
Likewise Group Plc are a Professional Flooring Distribution company formed to bring together some of the most professional businesses and people within the flooring industry.
Likewise Group plc (LON:LIKE) CEO Tony Brewer presents a summary of the company, its position and outlook.
In this interview with Likewise Group, CEO Tony Brewer provides us with an overview of the company, talks us through the key highlights from its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2023, shares his thoughts on the outlook for Likewise and lets us know what can investors expect from the company going forward.
https://vimeo.com/882048622
Likewise Group Plc are a Professional Flooring Distribution company formed to bring together some of the most professional businesses and people within the flooring industry.
Likewise Group’s Tony Brewer discusses a record performance in November, what’s driving continued growth and sales, plans for 2024 and three reasons why investors should follow the stock in this exclusive interview with DirectorsTalk.
Likewise Group Plc (LON:LIKE) this week provided a trading update in which it stated that that Gross Sales Revenue for the year ended 31 December 2023 increased by 13.6% to £140.2 million.
We caught up with Zeus Capital Analyst Andy Hanson for his view on the news.
Likewise Group plc has announced now published its trading update for FY23. What did you think of the news?
It has traded very strongly across FY 23 taking significant amount of market share.
With the focus on scaling up and growth, do you think it’s starting to pay off?
Yes definitely, lots of confidence in it being able to achieve the medium term £200m of revenue and operating gearing should see earnings grow more quickly than revenue.
How do you see the outlook for the company?
The macro backdrop is still difficult but I see no reason why Likewise can’t continue to take market share.
What newsflow do you hope to see from Likewise over the coming months?
I don’t expect further acquisitions in the short term but for it to now build out on what it has.
Likewise Group PLC (LON:LIKE) is a distributor of floorcoverings and matting and has the opportunity to consolidate the domestic and commercial floorcovering markets to become one of the UK’s largest distributors in this sector.
Likewise Group plc (LON:LIKE), provided an update for the 11-months to 30 November 2023. It said it remained on track to achieve current market expectations for the financial year ending 31 December 2023. Likewise reported a year-on-year increase in revenue of 13.3%, including a record £14.0m in November. It was notable that this increase was predominantly driven by increased volume rather than price inflation.
The Group continues to invest in Logistics, Sales Teams and Point of Sale to expand its geographical coverage and presence with existing customers and the Group’s medium term ambition is to exceed £200m annual sales revenue.
WHIreland analyst John Cummins said in his recent note that the update was ‘highly encouraging against what remains a challenging market backdrop’. He added ‘this level of growth undoubtedly represents meaningful market share gains for Likewise – testament to the effective operational and sales platform now in place, as well as excellent relationships with suppliers and independent retailers.’ WHIreland retains its fair value at 30p, providing c.80% upside to levels.
Likewise Group PLC(LON:LIKE) is a distributor of floorcoverings and matting and has the opportunity to consolidate the domestic and commercial floorcovering markets to become one of the UK’s largest distributors in this sector.
2021 was a transformational year for Likewise Group plc (LON:LIKE) as it gained scale and became the clear number two player in the floor covering distribution market. Revenue increased 28% to £60.5m (FY20: £47.3m) and, since it listed on AIM in August 2021, Likewise has successfully completed two acquisitions adding c. £40.0m of annualised revenue. Zeus forecasts assume a CAGR in revenue of 38% over the next three years, taking revenue to over £160.0m. Profit before tax of £1.6m is in line with forecasts and had been communicated to the market in December. The improvement in profitability has been driven by scale but also a 390bp in gross margin due to improved product and customer mix. A maiden dividend will be paid in FY22 and the Company, subject to gaining permission and the AGM, could undertake a buyback should accretive acquisitions not present themselves. Trading in the current year remains solid and is on track to meet FY expectations, Zeus estimates are unchanged.
Despite economic headwinds the business has structural growth
¨ Maiden year of profitability: Likewise has announced £1.6m of adj. Profit Before Tax (FY20: Loss Before Tax £1.5m) a maiden year of profitability since the business was created by Tony Brewer (CEO) and his team in 2018. A maiden dividend will be paid in FY22, fulfilling its commitment to instigate a progressive pay out policy.
¨ Growth in FY21 has created a business of scale: Revenue increased 28% to £60.5m (FY20: £47.3m) and over 100% on the £30.0m generated in FY19. The growth has been both organic and through acquisition. Businesses acquired have added scale, product, customers but also capacity and footprint, meaning the business has the infrastructure to support materially higher volumes. This is reflected in Zeus’ revenue estimate in FY23 being 125% up on FY21A. Already the clear number two player in the distribution market, Likewise remains materially behind the market leader Headlam in terms of market share.
¨ Acquisitions post period end underpin FY22 expectations: Zeus Revenue estimate for FY22 is £114.9m. a c.90% uplift on today’s reported FY21A. The acquisitions of Valley Wholesale Carpets (VWC) (Jan 2022) and Delta Carpets (Apr 2022) will add an annualised c.£40.0m of revenue. Organic growth will be double digit as site utilisation increases on the back of market share win. Cost inflation remains an issue, but price increases will be used to offset these, the most recent being introduced on May 1st.
¨ Valuation: Likewise offers best in class growth in a fragmented market with a single dominant player and a management team that has done it before. The current year earnings multiple of 25x falls to sub 12x in FY24. On an EV/EBITDA basis, including leases, the reduction in the rating is 11.1x to 5.5x over the same period.
Likewise Group plc (LON:LIKE) has released a trading update stating that performance in the first three months of FY22 was ahead of internal budgets. Valley Wholesale Carpets, acquired on 14 January 2022, is also said to be trading ahead of initial expectations. As a result, Management is confident that Likewise will meet market expectations in FY22 despite market uncertainty. Our forecasts are unchanged today. The Group is mitigating the impact of cost inflation by issuing a new price list on 1 May 2022. The announcement also includes the Group’s plans to expand capacity in logistics and distribution. By market share, Likewise is now the clear number two in the UK and we expect the Group to continue to grow strongly over the next few years.
¨ Expansion plans: The Birmingham logistics site is now operational, doubling the carpet capacity for Likewise branded businesses. Construction has begun on a distribution centre in Glasgow, the Newcastle site has moved to larger premises, and construction is due to commence on extending the freehold distribution centre in Derby. These initiatives are providing the capacity for the Group to continue its fast pace of growth.
¨ Acquisition strategy: The strategic acquisition of VWC in January 2022 added three new sites and over £30m of sales to Zeus’ FY22 forecasts. The smaller, bolt-on acquisition of Delta Carpets, announced last week, will add c. £5.0m of revenue in FY22 and £6.5m in FY23. In our initiation note in September 2021, we had forecast £83.1m of revenue for FY22, this forecast is now £114.9m due to the successful execution of M&A. These acquisitions improve cross-selling opportunities and capacity, which will augment the Group’s organic growth in future years.
¨ Outlook: Notwithstanding market uncertainty and cost inflation pressures, Likewise has traded ahead of internal expectations in the first quarter of FY22 and has well established infrastructure to continue to meet demand. Management expects the Group to meet market expectations for FY22.
¨ FY21 results: Likewise will release its FY21 results on 24 May 2022. As already communicated, FY21 revenue increased by 29% to c. £61m (FY20: £47.3m) and management expect that adjusted PBT will be c. £1.6m. Management has said it intends announce its maiden dividend (for FY22) alongside FY21 results and commence a progressive dividend policy going forward. We will revisit our dividend assumptions at that point.
¨ Valuation: Likewise’s valuation of 29.2x FY22 earnings reflects the growth of the business and strength of the management team. Forecast earnings increase 47.1% in FY23 from a combination of organic growth and the contribution from recent acquisitions, which brings the P/E down to 19.9x, based on Zeus forecasts.
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