(BFM Bourse) – The company plans to raise up to 7 million euros via this IPO. The shares will be listed from July 19 on Euronext Growth.
It is a case that has come a long way that is presented to the Paris Stock Exchange. Vinpai, the specialist in natural ingredients for the food and cosmetics sector, announced on Thursday that it would go public on Euronext Growth, the compartment dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises.
In early June 2022, the company based in Saint-Dolay in Morbihan announced its plan to go public. It had not acted on it in the weeks that followed and had then changed its mind in the face of market conditions which had deteriorated considerably. Markets had suffered heavy selloffs on fears of a recession, linked to actions by central banks to try to calm inflation at its highest in decades.
Ironically, Vinpai launched its IPO in a still gloomy market environment, for the same reasons that prevailed a year earlier. The CAC 40 lost more than 3% on Thursday at the close, to post its worst session since March 15. Despite these headwinds, the Breton company intends to collect between 5.5 and 7 million euros, depending on the different terms of extension, to finance its growth prospects and its need for working capital.
More natural on the plate
Founded in 2011, Vinpai – for Verbeïa (Celtic goddess of growth) ingredients Intermediate food product (PAI) – is a company that designs, manufactures and markets for food industry professionals, the bases for everyday consumer products, composed of algae, plants, minerals or fiber plants. The company intends to hold its own as consumers pay more and more attention to the quality of the food they eat or the cosmetic products they put on their skin. And, that the actors of the food industry and the cosmetics understood it well.
These major trends are found in one of the markets where Vinpai is present: that of nutraceuticals, grouping together the market of foods with an effect on health claimed as well as food supplements, and that of cosmetics, where natural products occupy an increasingly important place.
Vinpai thus offers agro-industrialists complete solutions of functional ingredients, i.e. which “not only allow manufacturers to substitute chemical additives with natural formulations but also, associated with know-how in nutraceuticals, to increase the nutritional qualities of their finished products”.
Vinpai’s range of products includes turnkey preparations to which all you have to do is add water, or premixes when starting production at a customer’s site. The company also offers assistance with formulation, including advice on packaging the product until it is placed on the market. The company states that it has developed more than 3,500 formulas and recipes with multiple functionalities.
For example, its “Vin’fibra R50” product is aimed at biscuit factories and greatly reduces the rate of biscuit breakage on production lines. In cosmetics, the company markets algae-based peel-off masks as a white label, intended for the French and European markets.
Vinpai is present in more than 35 countries around the world and boasts nearly 160 active customers within its portfolio, with a customer retention rate of over 80%. According to the company, this recurrence of customers guarantees a constant increase in its turnover.
Average annual growth of 50%
Vinpai thus indicates that it has achieved an average annual growth of 50.2% between 2017 and 2022. Turnover exceeded 6 million euros last year, against 1.22 million euros five years earlier. . For its 2023 financial year, the company already posted a turnover of 4.1 million euros as of June 30 and an order book validated and to be delivered of 6.5 million euros. However, the company remains in deficit. It posted a net loss of 1.49 million euros in 2022, after 1.61 million in 2021.
She is also facing a strained financial situation. In its information document, Vinpai indicates that the IPO “constitutes the preferred solution for the company to obtain the financing necessary to meet its estimated need for cash and its development in view of its cash position”.
And it is partly to finance its need for current working capital, and the increase in the latter linked to the growth expected by the company, that Vinpai is soliciting the markets as part of this IPO. Still on this financial aspect, the funds raised will also be allocated to the repayment of the debt contracted before the IPO.
They will also be dedicated to financing the ramp-up of Vinpai’s production volumes to meet orders from its key accounts. The conquest of new international customers is also a development axis favored by the Breton company. Nearly 50% of its turnover in 2022 was generated from exports, most of which from major exports. The rest will be dedicated to strengthening the teams but also to accelerating the development of new ranges of ingredients.
Vinpai thus hopes to achieve a turnover close to 16 million euros in 2025 and to achieve at the same time an EBITDA margin (gross operating surplus) of more than 10% by this deadline, “driven by trends in strong and sustainable consumption and clear strategic axes to accelerate its commercial conquest.”
The company, which aims to accelerate its international growth and also relying on the “growth” cosmetics and skincare market, has set the price of its offer at 6.55 euros per share. It has been open since Thursday and runs until July 12, 2023 in the evening for individuals, institutions can participate in this fundraiser until July 13 at 12:00 p.m., a short week to look into the file.
The company indicates that it has already received subscription commitments for an amount of 4.9 million euros – including 1.6 million euros by set-off of receivables – representing 88.6% of the initial amount of the offer.
The operation is therefore secure for Vinpai, which intends to join Groupe Berkem, a benchmark player in plant chemistry that entered the stock market in December 2021.
The company also hopes to replicate the same success as Osmosun. The offer of the specialist in low-carbon water desalination using solar energy has been a “strong” success, particularly among individuals. The operation was oversubscribed 1.6 times, the theme promoted by the company has indeed hit the mark in a context of strong tensions on water resources.
Will these two operations revive an IPO market that is still not very active? Over the first half of the year, only three companies launched on the stock market, namely Lepermislibre, Florentaise and Mon courtier énergie, while the Verdemobil Biogaz and Planisware operations are still only at the project stage.
Sabrina Sadgui – ©2023 BFM Bourse