Iceland - comment

Iceland will report their Q2 numbers tomorrow, the 12 weeks ending 9th September. Recent Kantar and Nielsen data point to Iceland growing slightly ahead of the market growth. In the period to 4th September Iceland won market share, with sales 5.8% higher than 2021.

Energy costs will impact EBITDA for Q2, with expectation that the impact will be slightly higher at £23m versus the £19m in Q1. This will wipe out any EBITDA for the quarter, despite our expectation of improving gross profit (pre-energy) margins.

The outlook for the coming Q3 quarter (16 weeks including the Christmas period) is more important. We remain optimistic for the remainder of the year, as energy prices have subdued and the expectation of a decent Christmas period as consumers migrate from premium retailers.

Call is tomorrow at 2 pm.