Trustpilot Group PLC (LSE:TRST) had a strange rollercoaster day, with its shares jumping almost 15% in early trading as the company expanded its share buyback programme by £20 million alongside revealing that it broke into profit at the reported level last year and nudged up its outlook for 2025.
But by the close, despite some strong broker reactions, the stock finished down almost 10% at 303.5p.
The online customer feedback platform reported 23% growth in bookings and reviews for 2024 to $239 million and 301 million respectively, with the growth in reviews attributed to "momentum in network effects and enhanced consumer experience".
Revenue rose 19% to $210.7 million and underlying profit (EBITDA) rose 55% to $24 million, with a swing to a statutory profit before tax of £5.2 million from a £1.9 million loss a year earlier.
"On the back of strong 2024 bookings, we expect high teens 2025 revenue growth on a constant currency basis," the company said on its outlook, with adjusted EBITDA "slightly ahead of market expectations" and an improvement of two percentage points in adjusted EBITDA margin.
CEO Adrian Blair hailed record bookings, profitability and cash generation in the past year, returning $42.9 million of cash to shareholders through two share buybacks, with operational changes including a simplification of packages and updating pricing.
"Looking forward, we will continue to deliver product innovation to embed trust across commerce, as trust becomes even more important in the age of AI," he said.
Analysts at UBS said the results were ahead of consensus despite "a year of continual upgrades with each set of results", helped by North American bookings rising 26% in a "consistent acceleration" across the last six semesters and average annual contract value grew 17%.
** Update: Adds shares, broker comment **