NoHo Partners: Q2 fell behind high expectations due to Finnish operations - Nordea

NoHo Partners reported Q2 EBIT of EUR 9.7m (-9% y/y), 17% below Vara Research consensus and 20% below our estimate. Q2 net sales were up 15% y/y at EUR 107m, but fell 5% below consensus and 6% below our estimate. We believe the miss was mainly attributable to Finnish operations, which fell 28% below our expectations on EBIT, while International was 8% above. The domestic market remained challenging, and we note the exceptionally strong comparison period thanks to the Ice Hockey World Championships organized at Nokia Arena. However, the company expects demand to recover during H2 and notes a good number of event reservations for H2. Guidance for 2024 was reiterated: NoHo expects around EUR 430m sales and around 9.5% EBIT margin, implying a 15% sales growth y/y and slight pressure on EBIT. Mathematically, the Q2 results would imply a 5% cut on 2024E consensus EBIT, but given the back-end loaded revenue and profit recognition in 2024 and as the pre-Q2 Vara consensus is forecasting revenue and margin in line with the reiterated guidance, we expect consensus estimate revisions to be muted.