(BFM Bourse) – The group announced on Friday that it had signed a preliminary agreement to sell its promotion activities in the country for a price of 100 million euros.
Nexity is solidifying its refocusing on France, with a first step. The real estate developer thus announced Thursday evening that it had signed a preliminary agreement with the Polish developer Develia with a view to selling it its development activities in Poland.
The agreement will be finalized after obtaining the approval of the president of UOKIK, the Polish office for the protection of competition and consumers.
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“This sale, the price of which has been set at 100 million euros, is part of the schedule announced by Nexity in February 2023 during its annual results and will contribute to the group’s debt reduction”, explains the company.
On the occasion of the publication of its 2022 accounts, the company indicated that it had begun the sale of its activities in Poland and Portugal, which have been reclassified as activities held for sale. The operations in Germany, Belgium and Italy have been placed in “extinctive management”.
Debt reduction
The group’s refocusing on France should allow it to reduce debt by around 200 million euros, knowing that its net debt stood at 820 million euros at the end of December.
“This first sale to come is good news for the group insofar as it is carried out under the price conditions initially expected even though the market context is extremely complicated”, appreciates TP ICAP Midcap in a note published this Friday.
The market, however, appreciates the announcement rather little, the Nexity title taking 0.5% around 4 p.m. to 18.66 euros, while the SBF 120 rose by 1.6% at the same time.
In terms of its activity, the promoter had warned that the current year would be a year of “transition” due to difficult market conditions and “many uncertainties”.
Already in 2022, sales of new homes had suffered with a 36% drop in the second half. “The fall in the new housing market in France should continue in the first half of 2023 before an expected stabilization in the second half, with tension on selling prices”, explained in February the CEO of the company, Véronique Bédague.
A difficult context
The company expects stable turnover (excluding international activity) this year, at more than 4.5 billion euros, and an operating result of more than 300 million, which would reflect a margin of around 6 .7% against 7.8% in 2022.
“In France, the situation is still very difficult with an unprecedented combination of unfavorable factors, between the continuing shortage of permits issued, the inflation of construction costs, land prices which are not falling and the impact of the increase in rates on the financing conditions of buyers and individual investors”, underlines TP ICAP Midcap.
Announcements to support the housing sector in France are expected next week “but professionals in the sector remain pessimistic for the moment”, continues the research office.
In this deleterious context, TP ICAP Midcap nevertheless believes that Nexity “should nevertheless resist better than its main competitors given its status as the undisputed leader and its significant range of services which gives it a cushion of safety in times of crisis”.
The financial intermediary considers the valuation of the group “too severe” and reiterates its recommendation to buy with a price target lowered to 30 euros against 34 euros previously.
>>The CEO of Nexity, Véronique Bédague, will be the guest of BFM Business on Tuesday June 6 at 8:15 a.m.
Julien Marion – ©2023 BFM Bourse
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