(AOF) – “LeShuttle transported 193,609 passenger vehicles in May 2023, an increase of 14% compared to May 2022”, announces Getlink. The group specifies that with “nearly 796,000 passenger vehicles transported since January 1st”, LeShuttle Shuttle traffic continues to experience strong growth, at “+19% compared to the same period last year”. “In May 2023, LeShuttle Freight transported 101,401 trucks” adds Getlink, specifying that “since January 1, more than 522,000 trucks have crossed the Channel aboard Shuttles”.
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Key points
– Rail carrier operator of the cross-Channel line under concession until 2086, providing 70% of Channel crossings by car and 40% by truck, diversified in rail freight and logistics under the Europorte brand and the electrical interconnection under the Eleclink brand;
– Group revenue of €774 million organized into 3 branches: Fixed Link for the Channel concession (88% of revenue), Europorte for rail freight (12%) and Eleclink, future electrical interconnection between France and Britain ;
– Business model based on the recurrence of results by:
– the generation of additional turnover in the cross-Channel link for a minor marginal cost, the infrastructures having already been completed and profitability constantly increasing for 13 years,
– complementarity with rail freight in France and Eleclink;
– Open capital (Effage being the leading long-term shareholder with 18.79% of the shares ahead of Atlantia with 15.5%), Yann Leriche being CEO and Jacques Gounon chairman of the 15-member board of directors;
– Debt still high with a duration of 18 years but €597 million in cash available at the end of September.
Challenges
– “Ambitions 2022” strategy with confirmed objectives of an operating profit of €735 million and an annual increase of €0.05 in the dividend;
– Innovation strategy reinforced by the creation of the “engineering and projects” department and based on 2 pillars:
– data analysis to optimize predictive maintenance and equipment,
– a global platform ensuring collection, visualization, prediction and cybersecurity…;
– 2025 environmental strategy validated by the SBTi, with 3 challenges – energy transition & climate, preservation of natural environments and waste & circular economy:
– 30% reduction in direct emissions in 2025 (vs 2019) and carbon neutrality in 2050, with an intermediate objective of -15% in 2023,
– almost 100% energy consumption without CO2 emissions,
– after the creation of 37 natural hectares, improvement of air quality and objective of reducing drinking water use by 10%,
– towards 3 partnerships or service offers in the circular economy:
– issues of green bonds to finance Eleclink;
– Rapid deployment of Eleclink, operational since May: 2.3 TWh of electricity transfer via the tunnel.
Challenges
– Stock market catalysts: new Eurostar destinations (expectation of a Bordeaux-London line), strengthening in port logistics, obtaining contracts by Europorte, interest rates;
– Negative impact of the rise in interest rates on debt service (€134m at the end of June vs operational self-financing of €283m);
– Energy sobriety: objective of a 9% reduction in electrical commissions in 2024 and participation in the EcoWatt charter with RTE;
– After a 71% increase in revenues at the end of September (and a doubling in the 3rd quarter), the desire for 2022 to continue improving financial, operational and environmental performance.
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Greater disparities between utilities
The World Energy Markets Observatory highlights a wide disparity in retail energy prices in Europe. Suffering from both the effect of the rise in wholesale prices and high volatility in selling prices to end consumers, the profitability of players is under pressure. While the sixteen largest European energy suppliers benefited last year from a significant increase in their turnover (+47% compared to 2020), their gross operating margin (Ebitda margin) , deteriorated from 20.2% to 19.6%. Those who had to resort to purchasing electricity on the market had to pay these additional volumes much more expensive than the level of sale prices already fixed and therefore saw their margins deteriorate.
Faced with the lower availability of its nuclear fleet, EDF, renationalised, should post an annual loss of 29 billion euros in 2022. Engie is doing better because it succeeded in reducing its imports of Russian gas in the first half while benefiting from high electricity prices and its increased exposure to renewable sources.