By Paolo Laudani
(Reuters) -HelloFresh reported first-quarter revenue in line with expectations and confirmed its full-year outlook on Tuesday as the German meal-kit maker aims to reduce costs.
Shares rose 7% to the top of the German midcap index by 0723 GMT.
Its revenue measured in constant currency terms fell by 8.3% to 1.9 billion euros ($2.16 billion) in the quarter, in line with analysts’ average estimate of 1.90 billion euros in a company-compiled poll.
The Berlin-based company, which on Monday said activist investor Active Ownership Capital (AOC) will get a seat on its supervisory board, expects adjusted core profit (AEBITDA) at between 450 million euros and 500 million euros in 2025.
Revenue at its ready-to-eat (RTE) branch, on which HelloFresh is betting as it sees a shift from cook-at-home customers during the pandemic to those looking for ready meals, grew 10% in the quarter.
“We think the market might be slightly concerned around the slowing momentum in RTE (+10.5% in Q125 after +28% in Q424 and +39% in Q324),” JPMorgan analysts said in a note.
The second quarter at RTE will largely depend on how the company performs in the United States amid uncertainty over where consumers stand in the country, CEO Dominik Richter said during a call with analysts.
“You should be seeing reacceleration in the second half of the year on the back of the investments that we’re taking now,” he added referring to RTE.
During the company’s Capital Markets Day in March, finance chief said Christian Gaertner Hellofresh could see a U.S. tariff impact in the lower double-digit million euro range.
($1 = 0.8788 euros)
(Reporting by Paolo Laudani in Gdansk, Editing by Friederike Heine and David Evans)
