THG boss Matthew Moulding seemingly compared himself and his company to David Beckham and Robbie Williams today as the ecommerce firm’s shares soared after breaking even in 2023.
Revenue declined slightly to £1.99 billion, as the business changed strategy to focus on higher-margin products. That meant underlying profit at the business, known for its protein and beauty lines, is set to rise to £117 million, a record high. In cash terms, the business broke even.
CEO Matthew Moulding said: “2023 was a year that threw up many challenges for all businesses, and I'm delighted in how the group not only responded to these challenges, but grew stronger through the year.”
This morning, Moulding took to LinkedIn to offer more comment on the year, alongside a video review. The video was made up mostly of clips from recent documentaries about David Beckham and Robbie Williams, interspersed with news headlines about THG.
A screenshot of a 2022 Telegraph article about how Moulding “needs a reality check” appeared immediately after headlines about Beckham’s 1998 World Cup red card against Argentina. A headline on today’s record results, was accompanied by headlines on Beckham’s “renaissance” and a 1999 goal against Aston Villa.
Moulding has regularly spoken out against negative media coverage of the firm he founded in 2024, especially as shares tumbled following a 2021 IPO, and UK listed firms in general. Last year, he bought London business freesheet City AM out of administration.
He has posted similar videos on LinkedIn in the past, such as one last year featuring clips from The Wolf of Wall Street and quotes from Nelson Mandela.
THG shares climbed by as much as 11% to 73.7p today. That’s more than double the lows reached in 2022, but still leaves them down 90% from the 2021 IPO price.
AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: “THG has spent a long time nursing its wounds after the bubble burst on the hype around its business. It became the laughing stock of the UK market, had to stomach large share price losses and then battled takeover interest.
“There are now tentative signs that THG is finding its feet again, which suggests braver investors might start to give it a second look. However, THG needs to show multiple consecutive periods of progress to properly win over the market and we’re still some way off that point.”
