It’s no longer a secret that cosmetics retailer Douglas is aiming to make a return to the stock market after more than 10 years, potentially making it the first major German IPO in 2024. The listing of a Douglas share is now getting closer – as the company has presented successful figures for the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

In addition to the numbers for the first quarter of 2023/2024, the medium-term outlook is also promising. With a strong holiday season behind them, Douglas has good momentum for an upcoming IPO. It is quite possible that the company will present a roadmap for the IPO in the coming days.

Douglas increases sales and profits in Q1 At Douglas, the fiscal year always begins with the months of October to the end of December, which also includes the crucial holiday season. In Q1, sales were 1.56 billion euros – 8 percent higher than the previous year. Both the online business (up 10.7 percent) and the store business (up 6.7 percent) saw growth.

The company was also successful in terms of profits in the first quarter: adjusted EBITDA increased by 12.6 percent to around 348 million euros, and the EBITDA margin rose from 21.5 percent in the previous year to 22.4 percent. Overall, Douglas recorded a net profit of around 125 million euros in Q1 – 10.6 percent more than in the first quarter of 2022/2023.

Douglas share getting closer Even the medium-term goals of Douglas are impressive: the company aims to continue growing and increase its sales from the previous 4.1 billion euros to 5 billion euros by 2026 – at the same time, the company wants to become even more profitable and use its omnichannel strategy (growth in both store business and online business) to its advantage.

A Douglas share could therefore be an exciting investment for investors, at least in the medium and long term. Whether the stock will be interesting at the IPO will depend mainly on its valuation and remains to be seen. However, it is highly likely that Douglas will go public soon. Only a significant deterioration in market conditions could now prevent the IPO.