Just eat Takeaway has bought back its own shares for 150 million euros and has increased its profit forecast for this year from 225 million to 275 million euros. That is generally a good signal to investors, says stock market analyst of asset manager Actiam Corné van Zeijl. ‘That way money will return to the shareholders one day.’
It is sensible for Just eat Takeaway to think about making a profit instead of just expanding, says Van Zeijl. In addition, it is nice for the shareholders of the company to receive a positive message. They have had a difficult period. And that also applies to the CEO of the delivery service Jitse Groen. ‘He has therefore promised himself a salary increase of 37 percent,’ says Van Zeijl.
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It is striking that a company that is growing so fast buys back its own shares, because ‘to stand still is to fall behind’. The fact that this is happening now has to do with the fact that the share price has fallen sharply and that the company received 1.8 billion euros with the sale of the Brazilian iFood last year. This allowed debts to be paid off and then there was still money left over. Just eat Takeaway has promised to make a profit next year. ‘Not just accounting, but with a cash flow. With that positive outlook, the company can also return some money to shareholders.”
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Van Zeijl expects that the company’s price will mainly be determined by hedge funds, and those funds are still gambling on a price fall. A ‘small contribution’, such as the purchase of 150 million euros in own shares, will not really change anything, he says. A trigger up could be a collaboration or a sale of the American company Grubhub. At iFood we also had to wait a long time for this. Until then, we have to be patient until the cash flow comes next year.’
