(AOF) – In 2023, Bolloré generated a net profit of 268 million euros compared to 3.4 billion euros a year earlier. The industrial group’s adjusted Ebita stood at 994 million euros, down 6% and its annual turnover amounted to 13.68 billion euros, down 5% at exchange rate. and perimeter constant. Bolloré Energy recorded a decline of 24% to 2.79 billion euros, mainly impacted by the drop in prices and volumes of petroleum products, after the sharp increase in 2022 (+45%) in an international context strongly disrupted by the war in Ukraine.
The group will pay a dividend of 7 cents per share for the 2023 financial year compared to 6 cents for 2022.
Including Vivendi, the group’s net debt stands at 1.46 billion euros compared to positive cash flow of 1.20 billion euros as of December 31, 2022.
Bolloré has indicated that it will record a net capital gain of 3.7 billion euros in 2024 linked to the sale of Bolloré Logistics to CMA CGM.
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Key points
– Family holding company created in 1822 with strong positions in three activities: transport and logistics – its historic business –, communication and electricity storage solutions;
– Revenues of 20.8 billion including 34% in transport and logistics, communication (46% with Vivendi and its subsidiaries Canal +, Havas, etc.), energy storage (17%) then industry and systems ( Blue Solutions and Blue Applications brands), 71% made in Europe, 13% in the Americas, 22% in Asia and 5% in Africa;
– High market value of the portfolio of listed securities -€16.1 billion at the end of 2022)
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– Business model aimed at revenue resilience through the diversification of professions combining international development and innovation;
– Capital locked by the family holding company Compagnie de l’Odet (+67.8% of shares and nearly 80% of voting rights), Cyrille Bolloré being chairman and CEO of the board of directors of 13 members, Yannick Bolloré and Cédric de Baillencourt being vice-presidents;
– Almost debt-free balance sheet at the end of June with shareholders’ equity of €37.3 billion, net debt of €82 million and liquidity of €7 billion.
Challenges
– Innovation strategy rich in 780 patents and deployed in 3 parts from the Paris and Singapore centers:
– participation in the energy transition via clean energy transport and storage activities,
-mastery of lithium batteries, status granted by the French State as a network operator of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles,
– in logistics: sustainable logistics via alternative products (biofuel evolution) in energy, the integration of LMP (lithium metal polymer) batteries, regulation of flow management, etc.,
– securing information systems, hence the global partnership with the Chinese Alibaba on the cloud, digital transformation, innovation and data storage;
– Environmental strategy “innovate in the face of environmental challenges”:
– carbon neutrality in 2050 and a 30% reduction (vs. 2019) in CO2 emissions in 2030:
– more than €150 million invested over the next 3 years in the energy transition – LMP, Blubus and Bluestorage batteries,
– preservation of biodiversity and use of renewable energies;
– Relaunch of LMP batteries, already used by buses, for private vehicles, in partnership with the Canadian Li-Métal, whose mass production will begin in 2026.
Challenges
– Complex group difficult to value: several self-control structures, cross-shareholdings and frequency of arbitrations between shareholdings;
– Speculation on a strengthening of the position in the depots and distribution of petroleum products, in particular the bio-fuels Koolza and Izipure;
– Strengthening of the family holding company Cie de l’Odet in the group’s capital;
– Questions about future revenue growth, with communication and electricity storage showing lower performance than African logistics;
– After a decline of 2% in revenue and 80% in net profit in the first half
– Mixed success of the simplified takeover bid for its own shares (3.36% of the capital instead of the targeted 9.78%).
– Dividend maintained at the same level since 2014), with deposit paid in September;