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Shares in Cettire (ASX: CTT) jumped 30 per cent in early trade this morning to $4.36 after the luxury fashion e-commerce group reported the "strongest trading half" since its 2020 initial public offering (IPO), almost doubling gross revenue alongside a 60 per cent uplift in net profit after tax to $12.8 million.
This temporarily added approximately $370 million to the company's market capitalisation to $1.57 billion, although by the time of publication shares were up 20.5 per cent, signifying a lower rise in value to $1.46 billion.
The news follows the first profitable year on a statutory basis in FY23 for Cettire, which listed in December 2020 - three years after it was founded by Dean Mintz via his tech innovator Ark Technologies.
After gross revenue increased by 90 per cent to $460.5 million in the December half with strong profit margins, Cettire had $100 million in cash at the end of the year - a balance that Mintz says gives the company flexibility to capitalise on growth opportunities and explore capital management initiatives.
"I believe this is the strongest trading half since Cettire went public several years ago and further demonstrates the uniqueness of our business model, the benefits of our proprietary technology platform and the strength of our execution," says Mintz.
"Our proposition is clearly resonating with both the demand and supply side of our platform as we continue to rapidly penetrate the global personal luxury goods market."
He says the company experienced broad-based momentum across both established and emerging markets during the period, with the "exceptional" result supported by localisation initiatives such as proprietary storefront software and multi-language localised payment options, as well as marketing execution.
"Notably, we observed an acceleration in growth in revenue and active customers through the December quarter, while continuing to deliver significant profitability and cash generation," Mintz says after active customers reached close to 576,000.
Following on from the December momentum, Cettire also notes gross revenue for January 2024 was up 80 per cent year-on-year while adjusted EBITDA profitability was maintained.
As part of its localisation strategy, Cettire plans to launch a direct channel to consumers in China as it continues to focus on readiness for the Chinese market. This has meant re-platforming the company so it can operate scalably and seamlessly inside and outside of China's firewall.
The company reports a current inventory value of more than $2 billion.
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