Agripower: The order book stands at 16.7 ME at the end of March

(Boursier.com) — The company Agripower France, a player in the energy transition and integrator of methanization solutions, today announces its results for the first half of the 2023-2024 financial year ended December 31, 2023.
As announced, the 2023-2024 financial year is a transitional exercise, dedicated to the operational and financial upgrading of the company, under the aegis of the new General Management put in place at the end of 2023 with the arrival of Guillaume Labarrière, in order to relaunch the activity on healthy and solid foundations.

The “economic” net turnover amounts to €2.16 million for the first half of 2023-2024. The low turnover recorded over the half-year mechanically weighs on the results, especially since the cost reduction measures implemented during the half-year have still had only a very limited impact over the period.
External costs and personnel costs have thus begun to decline compared to the previous half-year. The workforce notably increased from 28 people on June 30, 2023 to 19 people on December 31, 2023. These measures will have their full effects in the second half of the year. The Group has recorded a provision for loss on completion of 0.2 ME in its accounts. Taking into account these elements, the EBITDA comes to -2.34 ME and the operating result to -2.58 ME for this first half.
After taking into account the financial result (+0.08 ME) and an exceptional result of -0.24 ME (error correction linked to the international project in Togo), the net result comes to -2.74 ME.
Available cash was 6.5 ME as of December 31, 2023 (3.3 ME net of financial debts). The order book stands at 16.7 ME at the end of March 2024.

The drastic review of all projects and associated costs, initiated by the new General Management and now completed, led to the cancellation of 52 on-farm methanization projects (including 11 in the first half of 2023-2024 and 41 in the 3rd quarter of 2023-2024), which have become economically unviable for clients and Agripower due to the general deterioration of the environment (inflation on material and production costs, increase in rates).
This has the consequence of reducing the order book at the end of March to 16.7 ME and reducing the 2023 2024 turnover, due to the cancellation or downward adjustment of the turnover recognized at progress during previous years.
This lack of income mechanically penalizes the results which appear clearly in deficit, especially since the measures to reduce operating costs, and in particular staff numbers, will really begin to have their effects from the second half of 2023-2024.

In this period of reorganization and overhaul, the Group can rely on a net cash position of €3.3 million as of December 31, 2023, which remains unchanged as of March 27, reflecting the absence of cash consumption since January 1. 2024. Agripower therefore intends to start the 2024-2025 financial year with a healthier base, an efficient organization and more efficient management tools. Commercial actions are continuing, notably with the strategic development of recurring maintenance services for large-scale anaerobic digestion.