- Margin target raised
- 1H bookings up 19%
- Strong cash generation
Shares in Trustpilot (TRST) jumped more than 30p or 12% to 284p in morning trading as the customer feedback platform upgraded its full-year margin guidance and delivered a strong first half.
The FTSE 250 firm said it expected to report first half bookings of $140 million, up 19% year-on-year and 17% on a constant currency basis.
STRONG BOOKINGS
The global review platform reported strong growth in bookings in the UK, Europe and ROW (rest of the world) and North America, up 15%, 19% and 18% respectively.
Investors were also impressed by the firm’s strong cash generation for the six months to 30 June of $67 million after carrying out $23 million in share buybacks and benefiting from FX (foreign exchange) tailwinds.
WHAT DID THE CEO SAY?
Chief executive Adrian Blair commented: ‘The broad nature of our SaaS business model continues to prove its resilience, enabling us to deliver good growth and retention, particularly in the enterprise segment, combined with strong cash generation and operating leverage.
‘We are pleased with our first half performance and as we continue to annualise the package migration which benefited last year's bookings, we now expect full year adjusted EBITDA margin to be 14%.’
MIXED REACTION FROM ANALYSTS
Despite an upbeat trading statement from Trustpilot, analysts at Panmure Liberum remain cautious.
They expect bookings growth to slow ‘significantly’ to 12.3% in the second half as the business laps a tougher comparison stemming from last year’s product repackaging.
‘Macro risk remains, and the company has indicated it is beginning to see signs of nervousness in the UK and US markets, which we think could lead to a further downside scenario in the second half,’ they added.
Analysts at Peel Hunt said: ‘Shares have been muted of late, with investor concerns over potential trading weakness given the backdrop. However, Trustpilot delivered solid bookings growth in the first half of 2025 - a positive trend we expect to continue.’
