Australian baby products retailer Baby Bunting slumps 20% on bleak outlook

Trade School Go

09/05/2024 01:28

** Shares of Australia's Baby Bunting  BBN.AX  fall as much
as 20% to A$1.525, their worst intraday drop since June 2023
    ** BBN at its lowest level since Feb. 29
    ** Baby products retailer says expects FY24 pro forma NPAT
between A$2 mln ($1.32 mln) to A$4 mln, a sharp drop from last
year's A$14.5 mln and significantly below consensus estimate of
A$11.1 mln
    ** Jan-April sales down 7.7% vs consensus of a 2.6% drop;
YTD gross margin 36.9% vs VA consensus of 37.4% for FY24
    ** Citi says "turnaround likely to be longer and perhaps
more difficult than initially thought"
    ** Brokerage adds BBN is struggling to maximise benefits
from its scale and market position vs other retailers 
    ** BBN down 5% this year as of last close


($1 = 1.5207 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru)
 ((Sameer.Manekar@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: https://twitter.com/sameer_manekar))