16th Jun 2021 09:54
(Alliance News) - Shares in Best of the Best PLC took a dive after the online competition company said Tuesday it had seen a reduction in customer engagement recently, overshadowing stellar annual results.
Best of the Best shares plummeted 20% at 2,100.00 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
The London-based car and lifestyle competition company reported pretax profit of GBP14.1 million for the year ended April 30, more-than-tripled from GBP4.2 million the year before. Revenue multiplied to GBP45.7 million from GBP17.8 million.
Chief Executive William Hindmarch said: "In what has been an unprecedented and extremely challenging year for so many individuals personally, as well as many businesses, the company was fortunate to have made the strategic decision some time ago to exit its predominantly airport-based retail estate and to concentrate on a pure online strategy."
Best of the Best closed its last physical competition site at Birmingham airport in late 2019.
"As a result, I am pleased to announce strong revenue, profit growth and cash generation as the business continued to benefit from its transformation to a wholly online operation, combined with material increases in marketing investment and our broader product offering," he added.
Best of the Best bolstered its final dividend, which was increased by two thirds to 5.0 pence per share from 3.0p, with a special dividend of 50.0p.
However, the company noted that it has seen a reduction in customer engagement since the latest easing of lockdown restrictions in April, specifically relating to the long-awaited re-opening of hospitality outlets and non-essential retail shops.
"We are closely monitoring this, but with our flexible model, growth strategy and plans for the year ahead, we expect customer engagement to return to normal levels before too long. I look forward to updating shareholders in due course," Hindmarch said.
Best of the Best remains "excited" about the opportunities that the year ahead holds.
By Greg Roxburgh; [email protected]
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