THG woes continue after Moulding’s mother rides to his defence
Shares in embattled e-commerce group THG plummeted today after Citi Bank downgraded its profit guidance for the firm and it was revealed that boss Matt Moulding’s mother rounded on a journalist in defence of her son’s achievements.
Shares in the Manchester-based firm, which runs brands including MyProtein and Cult Beauty, plunged more than 19 per cent and are now trading at an 85 per cent discount of their initial flotation price.
Citi, one of THG’s brokers, revised its profit forecasts for the year down from £177m to £164m on the back of foreign exchange pressures and rising commodity prices.
But the share price plunge also follows reports over the weekend that boss Matt Moulding’s mother contacted Sunday Times journalist Oliver Shah to question the media negativity towards her son.
Shah wrote in his column on Sunday: “Matt Moulding’s mum emailed me last week (really).
“The Hut Group’s matriarch wanted to know why writers were not more appreciative of her son’s “outstanding” achievements. “You must lead very dreary lives in your dead-end jobs,” she remarked.”
The sharp fall today follows a difficult week for Moulding in which the firm said its 2021 profit margins would be squeezed beyond initial estimates and sales would see a slump in early 2022 compared to last year.
Moulding’s THG, formerly known as The Hut Group, has seen a disastrous slide in returns ride since its £4.5bn flotation last year.
THG held a capital markets day in October last year focused on the firm’s tech and logistics business in an attempt to shore up its share price, but the stock plunged by more than a third following the presentation to investors.