Douglas - comment

Douglas have behaved as expected with sales and EBITDA back to 2019 levels. France a little softer, Germany a little stronger than expected. Total Sales were a touch higher at a slightly lower price point, resulting in EBITDA as modelled. Otherwise, the investment in working capital and CapEx were all within single-digit millions and Cash is as forecast. We were surprised by the goodwill write-off, although it seems justified. Regarding the more important Q1, management are optimistic but have not given much detail. We continue to hold Douglas on the book and predict a strong Q1 on the basis of continued low intake prices and relatively moderate inflationary pressure compared with other industries. Management pointed out that footfall is good and that customers are up-trading rather than downgrading with positive net effect.