UK online greetings card firm Moonpig said demand had soared in the Covid pandemic as store closures drove shoppers onto the internet, resulting in orders, revenue and earnings more than doubling in its first results as a listed company.
But shares in the firm dropped more than 8% today, after it warned demand would slow in its new financial year as shops reopened.
Moonpig accounts for more than 60% of the online greetings card market in Britain and the Netherlands.
Moonpig said revenues leapt 113% to £368.2m in the year to the end of April, while adjusted core earnings jumped 107% to £92.1m.
Chief executive Nickyl Raithatha said it sold about 60 million cards and 10 million gifts and flowers during the year, including a very strong Valentine's Day, which coincided with a Covid-19 lockdown, and an even bigger Mother's Day.
"The long term growth opportunity for this business remains fast, with the majority of the card and gifting markets still offline," he told reporters.
But Moonpig's shares, which soared 25% on their first day of trading in February after listing at 350 pence, were down 8.6% today.
Moonpig forecast group revenue would be £250-260m this financial year, down on last year but up 45-50% on the year ended April 2020.
Raithatha said its customers in Britain tended to react more slowly to changes in lockdown policy than in the Netherlands, but trading was ahead of expectations in both countries.
