(Reuters) – Poland’s biggest e-commerce firm Allegro forecast slower growth at home in the second quarter as it braced for a slowdown in spending by inflation-squeezed shoppers.
Allegro said on Thursday it expects its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to rise 13-16% year on year at home, compared with the 29.7% rise it posted in the March quarter.
It also expects its gross merchandise value (GMV) growth in Poland to ease to 11-12% from 14% in the first three months of the year.
Allegro is focusing on keeping costs in check as it integrates Czech online retailer Mall, which it bought last year, and adapts to consumers spending less.
“I don’t think that we should be overly optimistic that consumer demand in Poland is going to recover rapidly,” CEO Roy Perticucci told a conference call.
CFO Jon Eastick said the consumers were trading down while discretionary spending is being delayed.
Allegro’s shares were down 6% by 1052 GMT, with Jefferies analysts pointing to possible profit-taking after the stock had risen 46% so far this year.
They also said second-quarter guidance looked “weak” compared with consensus. Trigon DM brokerage analysts said they viewed the expected GMV slowdown in Poland as “slightly negative” as they assumed growth would stay at 14%.
Allegro’s first-quarter adjusted EBITDA rose to 600.6 million zlotys ($145 million), topping the 560 million seen in a company-compiled poll, thanks to higher GMV and take rates, strong growth in advertising revenue, and tight cost control.
It said it saw no negative effects on churn rate or customer spend from hiking the price of its Smart! subscription programme.
Eastick said Allegro continued to manage very closely employment levels and capital investment. Staff costs fell 1% quarter on quarter.
He added that the “soft” launch of its marketplace in the Czech Republic earlier this month was very promising.
($1 = 4.1422 zlotys)
(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Christopher Cushing, Kirsten Donovan)
