Watchlist Investing

Watchlist Investing

Issue 41: Creightons, PLC Update

A turning point for the UK-based beauty products company; Subscriber meetup 9/20 at 11AM Eastern

Sep 17, 2024
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Disclosure: Long CRL (LSE)

Meetup: Join me on Friday at 11AM Eastern to discuss this issue and more (link at the end).


UK-based Creightons, PLC reported results for their fiscal year ended March 31, 2024.

The Quick Summary

  • The Board chose Pippa Clark (head of sales/marketing) to succeed Bernard Johnson as Managing Director (CEO). Longtime Chairman, William McIlroy stepped down from his role and significantly reduced his holdings. Other positions turned over, too.

  • Management shrunk the business to adapt to lower sales volumes, including bringing certain functions in-house and eliminating a shift.

  • The reduced topline reversed economies of scale leading to lower margins, although certain actions have created a leaner organization

  • The business remains profitable on a core basis but lost money after a £4.5MM charge against the value of its Emma Hardie subsidiary (acquired in July 2021).

  • H2 results were better than H1 indicating a possible positive reversal of fortunes.

  • Shares trade at 30p or about a £23MM market cap

Operating Results

Digging deeper reveals some important figures and considerations, including changes to the product lineup.

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