(AOF) – On November 10, 2023, the Derichebourg group suffered a cyberattack which did not interrupt its operational activities but nevertheless disrupted their progress. “This cyberattack, however, disrupted the progress of activities due to the temporary unavailability of the main operating software, in particular during the months of November 2023, December 2023 and to a lesser extent January 2024,” specifies the group.
Thus, due to the lack of an adequate activity management tool, there appeared on the one hand, losses in purchasing volumes and a delay in the computer entry of flows and on the other hand, when the administrative delay was caught up, that the margins generated in the months of November 2023 and December 2023 were lower than usual.
As a result, the financial impact of the cyberattack turns out to be greater than initially anticipated. It is estimated between 15 and 20 million euros.
Furthermore, like all players in the sector, the Derichebourg group faced a deteriorating economic situation during this half-year in the markets in which it operates (production of long steel in particular, whose level of activity is correlated to that of construction).
As a result, purchases of metal scrap from the Recycling activity fell by around 5% over the first six months. On the other hand, the group’s community services activity continues to progress.
In this context, Derichebourg should generate a current Ebitda of between 140 and 145 million euros over this first half, down by around 35 to 40 million euros compared to last year.
The results for the first semester will be published on the evening of Wednesday, May 29.
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Key points
– Global operator of environmental services, created in 1956 under the name Cie Française des Ferrailles;
– Turnover of €5.3 billion organized into 2 businesses: environmental services for 82% (collection & processing of scrap metal & non-ferrous metals and leftovers) and multi-services (cleaning, industrial cleaning, public lighting, temporary solutions and human relations);
– High weight of France (72% of revenues), followed by Europe (22%) and the Americas (6%);
– Business model:
– a complete range of services for businesses and communities – collective catering, soft facility management (cleaning, reception, green spaces), hard facility management (energy efficiency, public lighting), security, aeronautical subcontracting, HR and temporary work,
– a dense network, vertical integration for the environment and the digitalization of the digital offer;
– Capital locked by the Derichebourg family (41.5% of the capital and 57.8% of the voting rights), Abderrahmane El Aoufir taking over as general manager and Daniel Derichebourg chairing the board of directors of 9 members;
– Solid balance sheet: €653 million of net debt compared to €924 million of equity and 0.71 leverage.
Challenges
– Growth strategy:
– consolidation and commercial restructuring of the environmental and cleaning services offered within Elior Group, 48.31% owned,
– strengthening in the non-ferrous metals sector,
– deployment of the collection offer to local authorities,
– Innovation strategy integrated into environmental issues;
– Benefits of the partnership with Saur in water-related services for local authorities;
– Balance between the two activities: short cycles in the environment, with strong price variations, and long cycles secured by multi-year contracts in multiservices.
Challenges
– Exposure to scrap metal prices, affected by weak demand;
– Two major projects:
– achievement of expected synergies (€21 million) from the integration of Ecore -€1.3 billion in revenues in waste treatment, 78 sites in Europe, with a recovery rate of 80%,
– creation, through the contribution of the multiservices branch to Elior Group, of an offer combining biocleaning, hygiene and cleanliness services on the one hand, environmental services on the other hand, with the objective of at least €30 million of synergies at the end of 2026.
Sector sheet – Business services
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