Analysts at Berenberg lowered their target price on review website operator Trustpilot from 180.0p to 160.0p on Tuesday but said it still expects to see positive underlying earnings and cash flow in 2023.
Berenberg said Trutpilot’s 2022 bookings and revenue figures were in line with expectations, while adjusted underlying earnings came in approximately 50% ahead of its expectations as the company delivered positive EBITDA and free cash flow in the second half.
The German bank also highlighted that the group was expected to be EBITDA-positive in 2023, a year earlier than previously anticipated, on the back of higher operating leverage, and more prudent sales and marketing spend given “difficult macro conditions”.
“We think reducing sales and marketing dollars in current market conditions is the right strategy as businesses will naturally be more reluctant to pay for any new subscriptions. This means lower-than-expected top-line growth in FY23 but higher profitability,” said Berenberg, which stood by its ‘buy’ rating on the stock.
“As mentioned in our previous reports, we continue to think that Trustpilot has significant growth opportunities in the future and the risk-reward balance at the current valuation of c1.8x EV/sales is compelling.”
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
