(BFM Bourse) – The specialist in low-carbon potting soils is booming on the stock market after receiving marketing authorization for Flormix, a biostimulant for plant growth.
It’s spring for Florentaise, whose shares are experiencing rapid growth this Wednesday on the Paris Stock Exchange. The action of the specialist in low-carbon potting soils increased by 43% to 3.15 euros, after Florentaise obtained authorization to market an innovative product intended for the horticultural industry and the agricultural world.
It concerns Flomix, the first biostimulant developed by Florentaise from specific strains present in Hortifibre, its patented wood fibers also marketed by the Nantes company.
This biostimulant consists of three microorganisms that are, according to the company, “beneficial for plant growth.” “Trichoderma and pseudomonas are the result of in-depth research on Hortifibre, which guarantees their compatibility with our substrates. They have complementary properties of biostimulation and resistance to abiotic stress. Their use combined with mycorrhizal fungi provides a starter effect with the bacteria and a longer-term effect with the fungi,” explains Florentaise.
A “revolutionary” biostimulant
Florentaise provides proof of the benefits of its biostimulant in several situations. In conditions of nutrient deficiency, the addition of the biostimulant Flomix to the potting culture medium made it possible to increase the number of flowers by 87% and the aerial biomass by 106%, that is to say the total mass of living organisms above ground. These results published by the company come from a test carried out at the Florentaise research and development center from May to July 2020.
During sowing, the addition of Florentaise strains (pseudomonas and trichoderma) also strongly stimulates the first stages of development of young plants, according to another trial piloted by Florentaise from July to September 2019.
This biostimulant, presented as revolutionary by Florentaise, will allow it to gain a foothold in biostimulation, a field which was until now unexploited by the company. “If for the moment we are mainly targeting the horticultural market, trials have already been carried out in large crops, with encouraging results, suggesting that conquering this market could be the next step,” hopes Florentaise.
The company also explains that its product, designed in powder form, is suitable for integration into its potting soils, and will also be available for sale alone.
Founded in 1973, the company already has more than 600 references of potting soils in its own brand or distributor brands, within the largest brands (Truffaut, Botanic, Système U, Lidl). In France, Florentaise sells nearly one in five bags of potting soil to the general public and covers 12% of the professional market (horticulturists, landscapers or nursery growers).
This market authorization comes a little over a month after the announcement of positive results for its peat-free potting soils, compared to conventional potting soils. Launched in spring 2023, this 6-month study carried out on choisya (under cover) and griselinia (outdoors) then showed that low-carbon potting soils favored significant water savings and better development of cultivated plants.
The stock then jumped more than 44% on February 23, the day of the announcement. Enough to restore color to a file which had suffered greatly since its first steps on the stock market at the beginning of April 2023.
A still tight cash flow situation
At the end of 2023, the share was worth 75% less than its entry price at 9.44 euros on Euronext Growth, a price which was already set at the bottom of the indicative range between 9.44 euros and 12.76 euros per share. title. The group founded in 1973 then paid the high price for a financial situation which had deteriorated significantly due to weaker activity in France, for its 2022-2023 financial year ending June 30.
Florentaise generated a proforma 2022-2023 turnover of 57.4 million euros, which is well below the 65 million euros announced at the time of the IPO.
Remember that the group was short of cash and heavily in debt when it arrived at the Paris Stock Exchange. And to make matters worse, he had finally painfully raised less than expected during his IPO.
In addition to these annual accounts, Florentaise had estimated its additional cash requirement at 4.8 million euros in December 2023, with a maximum additional requirement estimated at 7.5 million euros in August 2024. The company had thus warned the market that “the company’s activity forecasts for the twelve months following the date of closing of the accounts are therefore not sufficient to enable the company to meet repayment deadlines over this period”.
In other words, the cash flow situation is more than precarious for Florentaise. Its parent company Floreasy came to Florentaise’s rescue. It has undertaken to support its subsidiary by freezing a current account debt it holds on Florentaise and through additional current account advances. But these financial support measures are conditional on Floreasy’s ability to meet its own commitments by October 2024, an ability which depends on the implementation of asset sales and/or the opening of its capital. here spring 2024. The low-carbon soil specialist has also indicated that it is working to renegotiate bank credit lines and optimize the management of its supplies.
Despite everything, the company remains confident in its development and renewed its medium-term objectives at the end of last January. Florentaise still expects to generate revenues of 120 million euros and an operating margin of more than 20% by its financial year ending June 2027.
Sabrina Sadgui – ©2024 BFM Bourse
Are you following this action?
Receive all the information on FLORENTAISE in real time: