ASX Earnings Wrap: Redbubble sinks 11pc on outlook; QuickFee and Volpara gain momentum

It’s half-yearly season again as the ASX market announcements page becomes increasingly flooded with earnings lodgements.

To save you the trouble of trudging through it all, we’ve wrapped up the highlights from some of the reports that caught our eye.

Redbubble (ASX:RBL)

Highlights for H1FY23:

Q2 Marketplace Revenue (MPR) was up 3% on the pcp
H1 FY23 MPR was $289.3m, in line with the pcp
FY23 guidance revised for MPR to be broadly in line with FY22

Struggling online retailer Redbubble’s share price plunged 11% today after the company warned of more challenging times ahead.

The company reported its H1 results, with a disappointing revenue growth of just 3% driven by TeePublic.

TeePublic, a platform for custom apparel and designs owned by Redbubble, delivered double-digit MPR growth and its largest quarter ever, surpassing its previous high during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Redbubble says its investment in promotional activities to attract new and existing customers has impacted negatively on margins.

During the half, Redbubble also implemented cost reduction measures aimed at returning the company to cash flow positive by the end of calendar year 2023.

Redbubble CEO, Michael Ilczynski, said that looking ahead, he expects consumer demand to remain challenging in the near term.

“As a result, we have decided to reduce the cost base within the Redbubble marketplace to accelerate the group’s return to cash flow positive.”

“These are hard decisions and I am sorry for the impact this will have on our people.

“The steps we are taking, however, will put our business on stronger footing and position us to capitalise on the tremendous potential of the group as the consumer landscape improves.”

Quickfee (ASX:QFE)

Highlights for Q2 FY23:

US Pay Now Total Transaction Values (TTV) up 26% to US$306 million
Australian lending up 26% to $11.7 million
US lending up 20% to US$5.3 million

The payments tech company reported momentum in its professional services business, which continued through the second quarter of FY23.

The company says the streamlined business strategy that was implemented in Q1 FY23 is delivering results and has QuickFee on track to achieve run-rate profitability by the end of FY23.

Q2 FY23 was also QuickFee’s strongest quarter in three years for new customer acquisition, with 42 new clients signed up, 56% higher than the same quarter last year.

Following a renewed focus on the US Professional Services vertical, active merchant numbers grew 19% to 657, and active customers increased by 36% to 94,000, which is driving increased total transaction volumes.

The company however gave a warning, saying that the impact from global events will continue to affect the accounting profession and businesses in general.

“I am really excited about delivering against these priorities, and more broadly about the outlook for QuickFee to continue to grow its position as the market leader in helping professional services firms get paid faster,” said president for North American Operations, Jennifer Warawa.

Meanwhile, QuickFee also says it will continue to focus on the Australian BNPL market to take advantage of the growing traction the ‘Q Pay Plan’ product is experiencing.

Its BNPL TTV in Australia increased by 150% in Q2 FY23 to $0.5 million.

Telix Pharma (ASX:TLX)

Highlights for Q4 FY22:

Achieved positive cash flow from operating activities, $1.6m inflow
Revenue from sales of Illuccix in the US up 43% to $76.8m on prior quarter

Telix says its Q4 performance was evidence of a strong growth trajectory.

Revenue from US sales of its core Illuccix product was up 43% to $76.8m (US$50.5m) on the prior quarter.

According to Telix, 190 pharmacies are now routinely dispensing Illuccix across the US and Puerto Rico.

Telix says dose demand has been driven by new sites added throughout the quarter, combined with repeat orders from existing customers.

The company also sees wider adoption of PSMA-PET imaging and evolving patterns of use in routine clinical practice, which is continuing to drive market growth.

Q4 was the first quarter of net cash inflow from the company’s operating activities.

Looking forward, upcoming catalysts for Telix include continued growth for Illuccix as it embarks on a global rollout.

The company is also working on a new drug application (NDA) for brain cancer imaging.

Volpara Health Tech (ASX:VHT)

Highlights for Q3 FY23:

First positive net cash flow quarter on record
Net operating and investing cash inflow in Q3FY23 of NZ$1.3m, an improvement of 134% from a net outflow of NZ$3.8m in Q3FY22
Record quarterly cash receipts from customers of NZ$11.2m, up over 60% on the last quarter
Cash receipts from customers YTD are NZ$28.6m (unaudited), up over 39% compared to Q3FY22

The breast cancer diagnostics company sees its top lines increase in the quarter while cost base declined.

The company’s first ever net cash flow positive quarter leaves Volpara in a strong cash position at the end of Q3 with NZ$12m in the bank.

Contracted Annual Recurring Revenue (CARR) topped US$25.6m, up approximately US$1.5m on the prior quarter. This equalled the largest increase on record.

During the quarter, the company exhibited at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference, where attendance was up 61% from 2021 and lead count was up 80% from 2021.