With oil prices hitting multi-decade highs on the news that Russian oil company YUKOS has been ordered to stop exporting oil, and trips to the shopping mall becoming increasingly expensive, is there an opportunity to be found in e-commerce companies?
Motley Fool Hidden Gems recommendation RedEnvelope (NASDAQ:REDE) reported fiscal first-quarter results last night. This online retailer of upscale gifts for every occasion reported quarterly sales were ahead 19%. That good news was offset by a net loss of $0.11 a share. Investors are happy with what RedEnvelope's delivering, though, sending shares up a bit more than 2% today to nearly $7 a share. That's still significantly off the firm's 52-week high of $16.98, though.
RedEnvelope is a micro cap with an enterprise value of $36 million. When was the last time you saw a recommended Internet stock selling at 56% of its enterprise value to revenue?
The company tarnished its image last Christmas when it had distribution glitches and lacked the inventory to meet holiday demand. The company, trying to show it has fixed these problems, said that fulfillment accuracy was 99% during Mother's Day and Father's Day. Even better, orders were processed with 24 hours of receipt, and personalized items -- a key category -- were also turned around in one day.
Gross margins, an important metric, increased from 49% to 53%. The company's top seller is jewelry -- an extremely high-margin item. If Sharper Image (NASDAQ:SHRP) can manage gross margins of 58% with its mix of upscale items sold through retail stores and online, it is clear RedEnvelope can manage much higher margins than today's.
The company is projecting revenue for this fiscal year (when ends in March) of up to $97 million and a loss of up to $3 million. Considering that RedEnvelope has no debt and $29 million in cash and equivalents, it can afford the loss while it builds business rapidly. Ah, but the wait for profitability will be short. Analysts estimate the company will earn $0.31 the following year.
While Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) tries to dominate the Internet, RedEnvelope is taking a Tiffany-like (NYSE:TIF) approach and building a business that caters to upscale buyers with specialized services such as gift personalization.
RedEnvelope is a small but growing Internet franchise. Its stock is value-priced -- especially if buyers continue to find a trip via the Internet to be a better alternative than a trip to the mall.
The name RedEnvelope comes from an Asian tradition of presenting gifts in a simple red envelope -- a symbol of good fortune, love, and appreciation. How about trying a free trial to the Motley Fool Hidden Gems newsletter to increase your good fortune?
Fool contributor W.D. Crotty does not own stock in any of the companies mentioned.
