Zur Rose wants to break even in operations by 2023, a year earlier than originally planned. In addition, the company was quite confident about the ongoing topic of e-prescriptions in Germany: they are being used more and more.
According to traders, the news is also positive for sentiment at Shop Apotheke Europe NV as both companies compete fiercely in the German market. The fact that the Swiss presented a mixed interim report and also cut the sales outlook a little was of little consequence.
After gains that were initially clearer, the recently weakening title of Shop Apotheke as one of the SDAX favorites rose at times via XETRA by almost four percent to EUR 79.34 at midday. In the middle of the week they had fallen to their lowest level in over six weeks at EUR 76.32.
On the Zurich stock exchange, Zur Rose temporarily posted a plus of almost nine percent to CHF 60.10, after having reached a record low of CHF 55.15 the day before. The strong rise in prices could therefore also be partly due to so-called short covering. Investors who have been betting on falling prices have to buy back these shorted shares in the market, which gives the price an additional boost.
The fact that the adjusted operating result should already be positive in 2023 thanks to savings, increases in productivity and marketing optimization is the best news for analyst Volker Bosse from Baader Bank. Fortunately, this also means that at least the operative business does not have any additional capital requirements. Michael Heider from the analysis company Warburg Research also rated the planned earlier breakeven point as clearly positive. He also highlighted the opportunities associated with e-prescriptions in Germany.
Recently there had been repeated speculation at Zur Rose about a necessary capital increase. The capital requirement is limited to the refinancing of the outstanding bonds and a liquidity reserve, according to Zur Rose on Thursday. Various options would be examined for this purpose.
Other experts, however, take a much more critical view of this topic and emphasize that the situation remains opaque. “The potential for another capital increase at Zur Rose is great,” writes ZKB analyst Gian Marco Werro. Warburg expert Heider assumes that the share will remain under pressure in the long term as long as the financial uncertainties persist.
The analysts were not enthusiastic about the latest business development and the outlook for the Swiss. Baader expert Bosse spoke of a better-than-expected earnings trend for the second quarter, which was offset by a disappointing sales development – the dynamics of which looked better at the main competitor Shop Apotheke. He also pointed out that although Zur Rose confirmed the previous year’s target of an operating loss (Ebitda), it now no longer expects stagnating sales, but rather a slight decline.
The Warburg expert Heider complained that the operational development at Zur Rose was still disappointing. Without looking at the profitability targets, he definitely does not see any course drivers in the figures for the first half of the year.
Its longer-term development is unlikely to give shareholders much satisfaction: Zur Rose has lost around three quarters of its value since the beginning of the year. Competitor Shop Apotheke performed significantly better with a price drop of 30 percent – this places the share in the middle of the SDAX. The German small and mid-cap index fell by almost 21 percent.
The Shop Apotheke is also clearly ahead in the entire stock market history of both companies: Since the jump to the trading floor in 2016, the price of the paper has almost tripled. On the other hand, Zur Rose shares have lost more than two-thirds since the IPO in 2017. Both titles are currently miles away from their record prices of 249 euros and 514 francs a year and a half ago.
Baader Bank leaves Zur Rose on “buy” by numbers
Baader Bank has left the rating for Zur Rose at “Buy” based on figures for the second quarter with a price target of CHF 140. The profits of the online pharmacy have developed better than expected, analyst Volker Bosse wrote in a study available on Thursday. However, sales were disappointing. The positive news, however, is that Zur Rose now wants to break even a year earlier with the adjusted operating result (Ebitda).
Barclays leaves Zur Rose Group on ‘Equal Weight’
The British investment bank Barclays left the rating for Zur Rose at “Equal Weight” after half-year figures with a target price of CHF 68. Analyst Otto Sieber called the online pharmacy’s figures “solid” in a study published on Thursday. However, the reduced sales forecast implies a noticeable slowdown in the second half of the year. Reaching profitability earlier comes at the cost of growth.
MUNICH / LONDON / FRANKFURT / ZURICH (dpa-AFX)
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