ABEO : ABEO: Good performance of 2022/23 half-year results in a complex economic environment – 12/06/2022 at 7:30 pm

• 23.2% growth in turnover
  

• 8% increase in current EBITDA
  [1]
  at €13.8 million, i.e. an EBITDA margin of 11.7%
  

• Increase in operating income (+15.2%) and net income Group share (+71.1%)
  

• Confidence in the outlook with double-digit organic growth expected in
  
  the 2022/23 financial year
  

ABEO, one of the world leaders in sports and leisure equipment, publishes its 2022/23 consolidated half-year results.

Consolidated results of 1

^er

semester 2022/23

(1

^er

April to September 30, 2022) reviewed – ABEO’s Board of Directors met on December 6, 2022 and approved the accounts for

^er

half of the 2022/23 financial year. The Half-Year Financial Report will be made available to the public and filed with the Autorité des marchés financiers on December 7, 2022 and may be consulted on the company’s website.

Olivier Estèves, Chairman and CEO of ABEO, comments: ”

The good performance of our results from 1

^er

half of 2022 in a difficult context, marked by inflationary pressures, the shortage of raw materials, and containment measures in China, reflects our ability to overcome the major challenges of the period and the daily commitment of our teams. Strengthened by our positioning in structurally buoyant markets, we reiterate our confidence in our ability to achieve another year of growth while maintaining a high level of operating profitability.

»

Sustained growth in the 3 divisions

At the end of this 1

^er

semester 2022/23, ABEO achieved a sharp increase in turnover of 23.2% (+17.6% organically) to €117.8 million, in line with its expectations. Growth is driven by all geographic areas and in particular in North America where the Group is recording market share gains.

Maintenance of a double-digit current EBITDA margin: 11.7%

The current EBITDA of 1

^er

semester 2022/23 amounts to €13.8 million

[2]

up 8% compared to 1

^er

half of 2021/22, i.e. a margin rate of 11.7% of revenue, a contained decline of 1.7 points compared to the 1

^er

semester 2021/22. Compared to the pre-crisis 2019/20 financial year, the current EBITDA margin rate for 1

^er

semester showed an improvement of 2.4 points thanks to the lasting effects of the performance plan.

The resistance of the EBITDA margin rate in an inflationary environment reflects:

• a limited decline of 2.2 points in the gross margin rate thanks to the rise in selling prices which partly offset the rise in supply costs;

• good control of operating expenses

  [3]

  (+17.7%) which decreased by 2 points as a percentage of revenue (42.5% vs 44.5% in H1 2021/22);

• an energy-efficient industry and controlled increases in energy costs.

The division

Sport

and the division

Cloakrooms

temporarily suffer inflationary effects while maintaining an optimized cost structure. Thus, the Sports division posted current EBITDA of €7.3 million, i.e. 12.6% of revenue (-1.2 points vs H1 2021/22) and the Locker Rooms division posted current EBITDA of 4.8 M€, i.e. 14.4% of revenue (-3.9 points vs H1 2021/22).

The division

Sportainment & Climbing

achieves a current EBITDA of €1.7 million, at 6.4% of sales, up 1.4 points compared to the 1

^er

semester 2021/22. The 0.8 point improvement in the gross margin rate and very good control of structural costs enabled the division to benefit from the full effect of the business rebound, particularly in North America.

After accounting for depreciation and amortization (-€5.7m, of which -€2.7m related to IFRS 16), current operating income stood at €8.1m at September 30, 2022 (€7.2m € a year earlier) up 11.6%, i.e. 6.9% of revenue (down 0.7 points compared to the 1

^er

half of the previous financial year).

Lastly, operating income amounted to €7.9 million for the 1

^er

semester 2022/23, a strong improvement of 15.2% compared to the same period of the previous financial year, and the net profit Group share for the period was up sharply at €5.4 million (+71.1 %).

Financial situation in line with the development plan

As of September 30, 2022, operating cash flow was negative at €11.8 million, resulting from a positive cash flow after tax of €13.9 million, an improvement of €2.4 million and an increase in the Working Capital Requirement of €22.2 million. This change in WCR is mainly due to:

• an unfavorable seasonality effect over the period;

• strong growth in activity (+€22.1 million in turnover);

• the constitution of preventive stocks in an inflationary context to deliver the order book;

• the catch-up of social charges shifted during the COVID.

As of September 30, 2022, ABEO has available cash of €37.8 million. Net financial debt amounted to €99.0 million (€67.5 million excluding IFRS 16) for shareholders’ equity of €115.5 million.

Trends and outlook

In an uncertain context on the evolution of the world economy, ABEO benefits from order intake

[4]

solid at the end of September 2022, which amounted to €113.8 million, up 9.0% (+4.3% in organic growth, +2.7% in external growth and +2.1% in change).

Significant improvement in free cash flow will be a priority for the 2

^n/a

half of the 2022/23 financial year, under the expected effect of a return to a more normative level of the Working Capital Requirement.

Finally, after the 1

^er

semester 2022/23, ABEO confirms its objective of achieving a solid level of operational performance in a context of expected double-digit organic growth.

Upcoming press releases

February 7, 2023 – Turnover of 3

^th

quarter 2022/23 (after market)

May 16, 2023 – Revenue for the 2022/23 financial year (after market)

Find all the information on www.abeo-bourse.com

contacts

For any questions related to this press release, or to ABEO, please contact

NEWS finance & communication

Investor Relations – Corinne Puissant

[email protected]

Phone: 01 53 67 36 77

Press relations – Serena Boni

[email protected]

Tel: 04 72 18 04 92

[1]

Current Operating Income + depreciation and amortization

[2]

H1 2022/23 current EBITDA excluding IFRS 16 of €10.9m, i.e. 9.3% of revenue

[3]

of which staff costs adjusted for government aid

[4]

non-financial data – to measure the commercial momentum of its activities, the Group uses, among other things, the valued amount of orders taken over a given period. This indicator of commercial dynamics represents the total of all orders recorded over the period mentioned and compared with the same period for the previous year.

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