BIO UV: Strong growth in 2022 annual results – Outlook – 04/03/2023 at 18:15

Strong growth in 2022 annual results

• Turnover in
  
  growth of +53%
  
  of which +16% organic

• Sustained progression of +
  
  77% of EBITDA
  
  at €7.0 million

• Multiplication by x4 of operating income
  
  at €4.1 million

• Proposed distribution to shareholders of
  
  €0.06 per share
  

Outlook

• Goal of
  
  profitable growth in 2023
  
  : increase in revenue and further improvement in the EBITDA margin in 2023

During its meeting of April 3, 2022, BIO-UV Group (Euronext Growth

®

– FR001334549 – ALTUV)

, specialist in water treatment and disinfection systems by UV, ozone, salt electrolysis and AOP, approved the 2022 annual accounts, closed on December 31, 2022. The audit procedures on the accounts have been carried out and the certification report is being issued by the Statutory Auditors. The annual report for the 2022 financial year will soon be available on the BIO-UV website, www.bio-uv.com, Investors area, Documentation tab.

Annual income statement as of December 31

Corelec has been consolidated in the accounts of BIO-UV Group since 1

^er

November 2021.

1

EBITDA: Operating profit + Depreciation and provisions net of reversals.

In 2022, BIO-UV Group achieved consolidated revenue of €51.3 million, up sharply by +53% compared to 2021, confirming the group’s successful change in size during the financial year. At constant exchange rates and scope (excluding consolidation of Corelec), BIO-UV Group’s organic growth was +16%.

THE

Land activities

achieved growth of +69%, driven both by the successful integration of Corelec (+17% growth) in France with the implementation of commercial and industrial synergies, and the strong growth of activities abroad. export (+30% in 2022).

THE

maritime activities

recorded annual growth of +31% in 2022, with the marketing of more than 200 ships’ ballast water treatment systems over the year.

77% increase in EBITDA to €7.0m

EBITDA

[1]

amounted to €7.0 million in 2022, a sustained increase of +77% compared to 2021. This solid performance is linked on the one hand to the full-year integration of Corelec and on the other hand to the continued high profitability on historical activities.

The EBITDA margin thus shows a further improvement to 13.7% over the 2022 financial year, compared to 11.7% in 2021 and 10.3% in 2020. In addition, it includes the following items:

• for the Maritime division, additional costs of around €0.5 million on 2
  
  ^n/a
  
  semester consequence of the tensions on the supply chains which led to a significant increase in the cost of electronic cards, not passed on to the selling price of the ballast water treatment systems;

• for the Land division, a less favorable business mix in 2022, with in particular strong growth in the heat pump trading business, combined with the reinforcement of the Corelec subsidiary’s teams to support its development, impacted the EBITDA of the order of -€0.5 million;

• for the entire Group, an increase in fixed costs linked to the inflationary context (travel, energy, etc.).

Multiplication by 4 of the operating profit brought to 4.1 M€ in 2022

After taking into account net allocations to depreciation and provisions, virtually stable at €3.0 million, operating income amounted to €4.1 million in 2022, i.e. a multiplication by more than 4 compared to the previous financial year (€1.0 million).

The operating margin thus stood at 8.1% in 2022 against 3.0% a year earlier.

The financial result amounted to -0.8 M€, consisting mainly of interest charges on the financial debt.

After taking into account an exceptional result of -0.3 M€ and a corporate tax charge of 0.6 M€, BIO-UV Group recorded a net result group share of 2.4 M€, up +251%, representing a net margin of 4.7% versus 2.1% a year earlier.

2

^th

consecutive year of free cash flow
[2]
positive: €0.5 million

BIO-UV generated gross cash flow of €5.5 million in 2022, up +52% over the year (€3.6 million generated in 2021 and €2.4 million in 2020).

After change in working capital requirement (WCR), up to €2.9m mainly due to the increase in inventories (€19.7m of inventories at the end of 2022 compared to €14.8m at the end of 2021) in order to alleviate supply tensions, operating cash flow stood at €2.7 million (compared to €3.3 million in 2021). The change in WCR should normalize as the 2023 financial year progresses, returning to a level close to zero by the end of the current year.

CAPEX (acquisition of fixed assets) stands at €2.2 million in 2022, compared to €2.7 million in 2021 and €3.0 million in 2020. This trend should continue in 2023 with expected CAPEX below of €2 million.

Financing transactions consumed €2.5 million in 2022, broken down as follows: €0.5 million in payment of the issue premium to shareholders for the 2021 financial year, €2.0 million in repayments net of borrowings and share buybacks for the balance.

As of December 31, 2022, net financial debt

[3]

amounted to €24.9 million (compared to €27.6 million at the end of 2021) and shareholders’ equity amounted to €32.4 million (compared to €30.7 million at the end of 2021).

Proposed distribution to shareholders of €0.06 per share for the 2022 financial year

In view of the group’s operational performance in 2022, the improvement of its healthy financial structure and within the framework of the policy of regular distribution to shareholders, the Board of Directors of April 3, 2023 will propose to shareholders, during the general meeting General Meeting of May 26, 2023, a distribution of €0.06 per share in cash for the 2022 financial year.

Subject to the favorable vote of the shareholders at the general meeting, the detachment of this payment would take place on September 27, 2023 and its payment on September 29, 2023.

Order book at the end of March 2023: €7.7m

At the end of March 2023, BIO-UV Group’s order book stood at €7.7 million, including €6.7 million in orders to be delivered in 2023 (€4.1 million for the Maritime division and 3 €.6 million for the Terrestrial division).

Outlook 2023

The year 2023 began in a market context that is still turbulent, with short visibility and particularly volatile and heterogeneous activity depending on the business lines and geographical areas.

Within the

Land activities

exports continue to drive the division’s growth in the wake of the 2

^n/a

half of 2022, while sales in France for swimming pool activities (private and collective) suffered from a wait-and-see market.

On the

maritime activities

the business potential remains very high for the years 2023 and 2024. While the number of sales of ships’ ballast water treatment systems should be lower in 2023 than in 2022 (as a reminder, the 1

^er

half of 2022 had benefited from a postponement of activity from 2021), the ramp-up of new ranges and the return to a more normative situation in terms of supplies of electronic boards will make it possible to improve the division’s margin rate by compared to 2022.

In this context, BIO-UV Group has set itself the initial objective of continuing its profitable growth momentum in 2023, with an increase in consolidated sales, taking into account a strong base effect in the 1

^er

semester for the Maritime division, and a targeted further improvement in the EBITDA margin over the full year.

These objectives may be refined during the year, as commercial visibility improves.

Eligibility of BIO-UV Group shares for the PEA PME-ETI scheme

BIO-UV Group confirms that it meets the eligibility criteria for the equity savings plan (PEA) and the PEA PME-ETI specified by the provisions of Articles L. 221-32-2 and D.221-113-5 et seq. of the Monetary and Financial Code.

As a result, BIO-UV Group shares (Euronext Growth

^®

– FR001334549 – ALTUV) can be fully integrated into PEAs and PEA PME-ETIs, for holders who are natural persons domiciled in France for tax purposes.

Financial diary

All publications will take place after the closing of the Euronext Paris markets.

About BIO-UV Group


Created in 2000, BIO-UV Group designs, manufactures and markets innovative water disinfection systems using ultraviolet light, salt electrolysis, ozone and AOP (advanced oxidation process).

Listed on the Euronext market

^®

Growth in Paris (FR0013345493 – ALTUV), BIO-UV Group is labeled Innovative Company by Bpifrance and is eligible for the PEA PME-ETI scheme.

Detailed information concerning the company, in particular relating to its activity, appears as well as other regulated information and all of the company’s press releases, on the Investors area of ​​its website ( www.bio-uv.com ) .

contacts:

[1]

EBITDA: Operating profit + Depreciation and provisions net of reversals.

[2]

Free cash flow: operating cash flow – acquisitions of fixed assets (CAPEX)

^[3]

Net financial debt = borrowings and financial debts (excluding finance lease loans) + other financial debts – available cash

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