HelloFresh is raising its forecast for the fourth time this financial year. Turnover will easily double this year, according to the mealbox delivery service.
Corona effect persists
In the second quarter, during the lockdowns and shortly after, HelloFresh sold twice as many meal boxes. Also now, in the third quarter, the favourable ‘corona effect’ continues and the German company expects to perform better than predicted. Over the year as a whole, the mealbox supplier now expects to double its turnover.
The summer was better for HelloFresh than anyone would have dared to think: on the basis of preliminary figures, turnover ends between 968 and 971 million euros, which is more than double than last year’s 440.6 million euros and considerably higher than the 836 million euros analysts expected earlier. Operating profit is also likely to be between 112 and 117 million euros, which is almost a tenfold increase compared to 15.5 million euros a year earlier. The analysts’ consensus was 73 million euros.
Given this strong performance, and the fact that growth continues at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the company is once again raising its annual forecast for 2020. Now the meal service company expects to realise a 95% to even 105% growth in turnover without exchange rate effects, where the company assumed a 75% to 95% growth this summer. At constant exchange rates, that would mean a 91% to 101% higher turnover. HelloFresh’s operating margin increased by between 11.25% and 12.75%, compared with an earlier growth forecast of 9% to 11%.
