The Booktopia Group Ltd (ASX: BKG) share price is catching a break on Friday with the release of its March quarter trading update.
Booktopia is the largest Australian owned online book retailer by market share. Its shares have drifted significantly lower in recent weeks after listing on the ASX on 3 December 2020 at a listing price of $2.30 and closing at a high of $3.00 on 7 December 2020.
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Booktopia March quarter highlights
The Booktopia share price opened 3.5% higher to $2.42 on Friday. The company delivered a solid set of March quarter results across all operational and financial metrics. Against the prior corresponding period, its quarterly revenue increased 53% to $65.0 million while underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) surged 267% to $4.2 million.
From a year-to-date perspective, its revenues have increased 50% to $177.8 million, underlying EBITDA increased 256% to $12.1 million with a total of 6.33 million products (units) shipped.
The company believes it is on track to achieve its upgraded full year revenue forecast of $217.6 million and underlying EBITDA of $12.9 million. This would represent a respective 31% and 115% increase on FY20 figures.
Management commentary
Booktopia Chief Executive Officer Tony Nash commented on the strong set of results:
The previous corresponding quarter (January to March 2020) was the first trading period impacted by widespread lockdowns and the rapid growth of e-commerce. It is promising to see the changes in consumer behavior that marked that period continue into the new year despite the absence of long-term lockdowns. Millions of Australians have now been introduced to the world of e-commerce and will continue to appreciate the convenience and value presented by online shopping. We expect demand to continue to grow for the foreseeable future as the overall market for online books grows and we continue to take more market share.
Booktopia share price snapshot
After its $2.30 listing price, Booktopia shares climbed as high as $3.00 before sliding to a record low close of $2.34 on Thursday.
But Booktopia isn't the only stock that's experienced the IPO boom-and-bust phenomenon. Other newly listed shares such as Credit Clear Ltd (ASX: CCR), Douugh Ltd (ASX: DOU), MyDeal.com.au Ltd (ASX: MYD) and Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY) have all experienced similar share price performances.
