By Amir Orusov and Anastasiia Kozlova
(Reuters) – Shares in German beauty retailer Douglas slumped to all-time lows on Friday after the company trimmed its full year outlook, highlighting a slowdown in the European market, particularly in Germany and France.
Douglas shares were trading around 19% lower at 0939 GMT, marking the worst performance for the company’s stock price since its return to the Frankfurt stock exchange in March 2024.
Shares are down more than 40% year-to-date as a result of Friday’s slide.
Reporting after market close on Thursday, the company said that deteriorating customer sentiment since February has led to a decline in traffic in stores and online. It revised its forecasts for net sales and profit downwards for the 2024/25 financial year.
Deutsche Bank Analyst Adam Cochrane said that any dividend payout will now likely be pushed into 2027, after a disappointing first quarter and Thursday’s revised guidance.
“Investors viewed the premium category as more defensive and less economically sensitive than other retail categories but this does not appear to be the case,” Cochrane said.
Consensus expectations were already below the company’s new guidance, he said.
CFO Mark Langer, who was previously CEO and CFO of Hugo Boss, said in December that Douglas would not consider any dividend payments until it had reached a leverage ratio of two times its net debt to adjusted earnings. The leverage ratio stood at 2.3 at the end of 2024.
It expects to provide mid-term guidance on its leverage ratio with its second quarter results, scheduled for May 15.
($1 = 0.9231 euros)
(Reporting by Amir Orusov and Anastasiia Kozlova; Editing by Rachna Uppal and Tomasz Janowski)
