2 top small cap ASX shares that might be buys

The 2 top small cap ASX shares in this article could be buys for investors looking for businesses with smaller market capitalisations.

| More on:

You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services. Become a Motley Fool member today to get instant access to our top analyst recommendations, in-depth research, investing resources, and more. Learn More

There are some small cap ASX shares that have much smaller market capitalisations compared to the typical blue chips. They could be opportunities worth thinking about.

The below two businesses are ones that are capitalising on the shift to online shopping by customers.

They have long-term growth plans and could be worth thinking about:

ASX shares COVID winners

Source: Getty Images

City Chic Collective Ltd (ASX: CCX)

City Chic is one of the world's leading retail ASX shares that sells plus-size clothes, footwear and accessories for women.

It now has a large market presence in three regions. In the local market, the City Chic brand is well-known and has a large retail store network. In the US it has a large market presence through the ownership of the Avenue website. Recently it acquired the Evans business in the UK which added a lot of northern hemisphere exposure.

In the 12 months to August 2020, the Evans website had 19 million visits and generated approximately £23 million of sales. The Evans wholesale business, which City Chic also acquired, made £3 million of sales over that same 12-month period.

City Chic is currently rated as a buy by the broker Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) with a price target of $5.20.

The FY21 half-year result saw a lot of growth and operating leverage starting to emerge. The first six months of FY21 saw online sales growth of 42%, with 73% of total sales coming from the online channel. Sales revenue increased 13.5% to $119 million, underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 21.8% to $23.3 million and statutory net profit rose 24.8% to $13.1 million.

The small cap ASX share continues to experience "strong positive comparable sales" as well as customer base growth. City Chic's gross profit margin has recovered and shipping and logistics costs are falling.

According to Macquarie, the City Chic share price is valued at 35x FY22's estimated earnings.

Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY)

Adore Beauty was Australia's first beauty e-commerce website. It has a broad and diverse portfolio of over 260 brands and 10,800 products. The business currently operates in Australia and New Zealand.

Broker UBS currently rates Adore Beauty as a buy with a price target of $5.60. It thinks the business can benefit from a long-term growth runway, grow customer numbers and increase customer loyalty. The broker thinks that Adore Beauty can achieve $366 million of sales in FY25.

In the third quarter of FY21, Adore Beauty's revenue jumped 47% to $39.4 million and active customers went up 69% to 687,000.

The small cap ASX share revealed that there has been strong retention and re-engagement rates for new customers acquired during the COVID-19 period. To help these metrics further, a loyalty program was launched in March, with sign-ups ahead of expectations.

It's on track to achieve full year FY21 revenue growth of between 43% to 47%. This would be faster than the pre-COVID revenue growth of 38.6% in FY19.

Adore Beauty said that given the predominately fixed nature of the business' cost base, management expects scale benefits to increase operating leverage and deliver EBITDA margin expansion in the longer-term as the company continues to grow revenue. However, the company is focused on growing its market share with disciplined investment.

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Adore Beauty Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

More on Share Market News

Broker written in white with a man drawing a yellow underline.
Broker Notes

Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week

Brokers gave buy ratings to these ASX shares last week. Why are they bullish?

Read more »

A golden egg with dividend cash flying out of it
Opinions

Why I just invested $2,000 into this ASX share for dividend income

This business is delivering excellent dividends year after year.

Read more »

a man inspects a capsicum while holding an eco-friendly green string bag in a supermarket produce aisle.
Share Market News

ASX 200 consumer staples shares outperformed again last week

Woolworths, Coles, Metcash, and Treasury Wine shares had some of the best gains last week.

Read more »

a woman wearing a sparkly strapless dress leans on a neat stack of six gold bars as she smiles and looks to the side as though she is very happy and protective of her stash. She also has gold fingernails and gold glitter pieces affixed to her cheeks.
Share Gainers

If I'd invested $10,000 in this ASX 200 gold stock 3 years ago I'd have $101,538 today!

Investors have sent this ASX gold stock surging 915% in just three years. Let's see why.

Read more »

Person stacking rocks in their hand with water in the background.
Share Market News

ASX ETFs to target this month that focus on undervalued sectors

It could be time to pounce on these undervalued sectors.

Read more »

Business man marking buy on board and underlining it.
Broker Notes

10 ASX shares given buy ratings this week

Brokers are bullish on these shares. Let's see what they are recommending.

Read more »

Buy and sell keys on an Apple keyboard.
Opinions

Brokers say these 2 ASX shares are highly undervalued — here's why I agree

I believe these ASX shares could deliver great returns.

Read more »

Two men celebrate while another holds his head in his hands, after watching the race.
Share Gainers

Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

It was a pleasant end to the trading week today.

Read more »