(BFM Bourse) – The French specialist in cold logistics is doing well on the Paris Stock Exchange, driven by solid half-year results. With the sale of its maritime activities to CMA CGM, Stef begins its refocusing on its core business.
Stef displays unfailing resilience. Despite a continued decline in the volumes of food products transported in Europe, the French specialist in cold logistics published results on Thursday evening after the market that exceeded market expectations.
The “French Company of Transport and Refrigerated Warehouses” born in 1920, which simply became Stef, saw its turnover rise to 2.17 billion euros between January and June 2023, which represents growth of 11 % over one year. On a constant perimeter, the increase is contained at 3.5%.
The dynamic proved positive internationally, particularly in the countries of Southern Europe which make the strongest contribution to the group’s results, in particular to the operating result (Ebit). International profitability increased by 40% to 45.9 million euros in the first half.
The good performance of international activities thus offset the drop in profitability in France, with operating income contracting by 7% to 63.4 million euros compared to 68.3 million euros a year earlier. . Stef attributes this erosion of profitability in France to the drop in volumes in the fresh produce business due to inflation in the prices of food products. At group level, the company posted an operating profit up 8.9% to 113.2 million euros.
These results came out above TP ICAP Midcap’s expectations, and illustrate Stef’s ability to “cope with difficult situations”, judges the research office. These solid results published by Stef for the first half of 2023 are also appreciated by investors. The stock of the temperature-controlled transport and logistics specialist rose another 2.4%, around 3:30 p.m. in a hesitant Parisian market.
A Stef refocused on her core business
This half-year was notably marked by the sale of maritime activities to the shipowner CMA CGM. “The first half of 2023 marks an important strategic turning point for our group, which has refocused on its core business following the sale of its Maritime activities,” said CEO Stanislas Lemor.
For Stef, this sale proved very beneficial since it made it possible to eliminate a source of losses. The logistician’s maritime activity was severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic which affected all maritime transport. At the start of the year, the management of La Méridionale even took the decision to stop the Barcelona-Tangier connection to refocus solely on the Marseille-Tangier service, which itself constituted a source of losses for the company.
From a financial point of view, the sale also makes it possible to generate net income from discontinued activities of 15.6 million euros. This contribution thus boosted the group’s net profit to 94.8 million euros.
“Beyond the cash potential recovered by the group, the sale would be excellent news for the equity story (the stock market story, Editor’s note), making Stef a pure player (company operating on a single activity) in logistics and of temperature-controlled transport, eliminating a discount which was systematically applied to the stock due to the lack of visibility on La Méridionale”, indicated Florent Thy-tine, head of equity research at TP ICAP Midcap in February.
It is therefore a Stef relieved of her maritime activities who displays her confidence in the solidity of her “business model and its ability to adapt” to a context of lasting inflation. The group has not revealed quantified prospects for the whole of 2023, but claims to remain focused “on its strategy as a pure player in food logistics by continuing to enrich its value proposition, while preserving its capacity to carry out external growth operations.
For its part, TP ICAP Midcap reiterates its confidence in the file the day after the group’s half-yearly publication, with a price target of 131 euros. This target implies a potential progression of more than 15% for the title of cold logistician.
Sabrina Sadgui – ©2023 BFM Bourse
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