(BFM Bourse) – The research department has raised its opinion on the purchase of the hotel group led by Sébastien Bazin, expecting significant growth in activity in the first quarter.
In a session without much movement, Accor stood out. The French hotel group posted a 5% increase on Thursday, the largest increase in the SBF 120 index.
The company headed by Sébastien Bazin has received a boost from Stifel. The research department has revised its opinion on the action upwards, from “hold” to “buy”, with a price target raised to 35 euros against 32 euros previously.
In a sector note, the intermediary wants to be more optimistic on the hotel sector, which is making a good start to the year with recent reassuring indicators. In addition, the economic reopening of China and Asia should generate “significant growth in the coming quarters”, notes Stifel.
For Accor, the bank underlines better than expected trends in RevPar, that is to say revenue per available room, the major benchmark indicator of activity in the hotel sector. The design office expects Accor’s RevPar to grow by more than 50% over one year for the first quarter, compared to around 30% for its British competitor IHG, on which Stifel remains to be “held”.
Towards a sale of 30% in AccorInvest?
“Additionally, potential divestments as part of the completion of the shift to an asset light strategy should also provide some catalysts over the coming quarters, ultimately leaving more than €2 billion of profit margin. maneuver for the balance sheet over the next 18-24 months,” the bank added.
Accor launched this “asset light” strategy by creating AccorInvest in 2017, to house the walls of its hotels, thus separating the ownership of real estate assets from hotel management. He then opened the capital of this subsidiary to external investors, with the sale of 55% in May 2018, then gradually reduced his stake. But he still owns just over 30% of the capital. In 2019, the group had made a commitment to retain securities obliging it to remain above this threshold. A commitment that expires next May…
Before Stifel, the rating agency S&P Global Ratings had also been more optimistic for Accor. On March 24, she raised the outlook on the group’s “BB+” credit rating to “positive” from “stable”, which means that she could raise the company’s rating by one notch over the next twelve month. The agency estimates that Accor will generate revenues of between 4.6 billion and 4.8 billion euros in 2023, reflecting growth of between 11% and 13%. “We assume that business travel will continue to recover and that activity levels in China will recover moderately as Covid-19 restrictions ease,” S&P Global Ratings said.
Julien Marion – ©2023 BFM Bourse
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