Dr Martens PLC (LON:DOCS) shares tumbled after the release of maiden financial results since its £3.7bn flotation in January.
The bootmaker said pre-tax profits fell by 30% to £70.9mln, after an £80.5mln charge related to the IPO. This included bonuses for all staff.
But revenues rose 15% despite store closures during lockdown, as it beefed up its sales online.
Chief executive Kenny Wilson said: "The pandemic presented challenges to our operations and ways of working, and our priority throughout was to keep our people and consumers safe... We continue to prioritise selling directly to our consumers, and, with retail severely impacted by Covid-19 restrictions, we focused our efforts on a step-change in ecommerce, achieving revenue growth of 73%, representing 30% of total mix.
"The investments and improvements we made in our supply chain in recent years, along with our multi-country sourcing model and close supplier relationships allowed us to quickly react to a rapidly changing environment, ensuring minimal disruption and maintaining good availability throughout."
He added that the guidance laid out at the IPO was unchanged: "Whilst the global trading environment remains uncertain, the strength of our iconic global brand means we look to the future with confidence."
But the shares have fallen 9% to 449p after the update, although this is still well up on the 370p flotation price.
AJ Bell financial analyst Danni Hewson said: "There may be some disappointment that, despite a robust sales performance, the outlook given by Dr Martens has remained unchanged. Newly listed firms often set the bar low on guidance so they can clear it early in their life as a public company.
“The company continues to push a strategy of increasing the amount of product it sells direct to consumers, something a lot of major brands are targeting as it gives them greater control over the way it engages with customers.
“The relationship with brand devotees is an important issue as Dr Martens continues to faces grumbling in some quarters over a deterioration in the quality of the product, particularly since moving its manufacturing base to Asia nearly two decades ago.”
At Peel Hunt, analysts said EBITDA was around £5m ahead of their forecasts and while there was no update on current trading or change to guidance, this was "unsurprising" at this early stage.
The broker is looking for circa 17% sales growth for the 2022 financial year and circa 15% EBITDA growth to £257mln.
"There’s lots to like about Docs, apart from the valuation. Trading on >20x EV/EBITDA and30x PER, the valuation is too rich for us to take a more positive stance," was Peel Hunt's conclusion.