(AOF) – The turnover of the communication consulting and events group Hopscotch Groupe reached 108.84 million euros, against 56.19 million in the first half of 2021. Its gross margin was 38.16 million euros against 25.75 million at the same time last year. Net income group share was 2.91 million, compared to 588,000 euros in the first half of 2021. In this first half of 2022, activity was boosted by event activities in the first half. This is back to 2019 levels.
In addition, Sopexa, its international communications and marketing agency specializing in food, beverages and the art of living, also experienced strong growth over this half-year.
Consulting activities continued their steady growth, so that the group as a whole posted a record volume of business over the half-year. Event activity in the first half of 2022 was particularly high with many events linked to the French presidency of the European Union.
On the June 30, 2022 balance sheet, bank debt amounted to €9.67 million, excluding PGE. The PGE of 20 million euros is added to the liabilities of the debt balance sheet, and to the assets of the cash balance sheet, because it was not used for the group’s financing needs. Repayments of the PGE will begin in the second half of 2022, and will therefore not weigh on the cash flow itself.
Hopscotch Groupe hopes for a second half comparable to this first half of the year. The companies acquired in July will be consolidated in the second half and will help maintain the momentum. The group is preparing major events and is notably organizing the return of the Paris Motor Show from October 17 to 23.
It will publish its revenue for the third quarter of 2022 on Thursday, November 3, after the markets close.
AOF – LEARN MORE
French players well positioned in audiovisual production
Among the independent players, the Frenchman Banijay is the world leader with an expected turnover of 3 billion euros in 2022 in a market which represents 100 billion in revenue. Mediawan (backed by the KKR fund), whose turnover amounts to 1 billion euros, is the other main French player in the sector. The market is still very fragmented because according to the European Audiovisual Observatory, the top twenty production groups were responsible for only 38% of titles created in 2020. However, experts believe that the sector has entered a phase consolidation. Thus Banijay’s stock market listing aims to enable it to better participate in this movement.