(BFM Bourse) – The half-yearly accounts of the specialist in digital transformation for SMEs and mid-sized companies are freshly received at the Paris Stock Exchange. Margins deteriorated in the first half. Visativ also announces a new strategic plan for the period 2024-2028.
Investors do not fail to sanction any mishap on the stock market. At the start of the week, the new objectives of Societe Generale’s strategic plan received a frosty reception when SMCP collapsed on Tuesday by 29% after having reduced its ambitions for 2023 against the backdrop of a purchasing power crisis.
And this Wednesday, it’s Visiativ’s turn to be in the market’s sights. The specialist in digital transformation and innovation for SMEs and mid-sized companies, lost even more than 14%, around 10:50 a.m. after having plunged 16% in the first exchanges. The stock had not experienced such a decline since the end of July 2018 when Visiativ published a heavy loss for its first half.
The latest publication from the company based in Charbonnières-les-Bains disappointed, particularly on the operational profitability front. In the first half, Visiativ’s gross operating profit (Ebitda) fell by 10% to 8.3 million euros after 9.2 million euros in the same period of 2022.
The company explains the drop in this indicator by an adaptation of the sales force’s incentives to new sales models, the implementation of its All Visiativ program and marketing investments made internationally intended to standardize the subsidiaries’ brands. . The Ebitda margin also fell from 8.3% in the first half of 2022 to 6.8% in the first half of 2023.
In France, the margin holds
If in France, Visiativ’s Ebitda margin only showed a slight decline to 7.0%, compared to 7.2% in the first half of 2022, internationally, however, it suffered significantly. Profitability stands at 6.5% Ebitda margin compared to 10.5% in the first half of 2022, taking into account the marketing investments made by Visiativ. Already published, Visiativ’s turnover increased by 11% to 122.6 million euros between January and June.
A little further down in the accounts, operating income also fell by 18% to stand at 3.7 million euros between January and June 2023. In terms of net income, Visiativ benefited from net proceeds from the sale of 3.1 million euros corresponding to the partnership concluded with Xefi on the transfer of 100% of the capital of Visiativ Managed Services, IT infrastructure and hosting manager, to Xefi’s Nexeren data center subsidiary.
Thanks to the contribution of this exceptional product, Visiativ’s net profits were propelled to 3.4 million euros in the first half of 2023, compared to 1.2 million euros a year earlier, showing an increase of +183 %.
On the outlook front, Visiativ does not provide any figures. The group indicates that it will continue its growth dynamic in the second half, driven in particular by the acceleration of SaaS (Software as a Service) subscriptions. The company also intends to increase its profitability, citing “a seasonality which is always more favorable to it in the second half of the financial year”.
SHIFT5 strategic plan
On the sidelines of this half-yearly update, Visiativ revealed the outlines of its strategic plan for the period 2024-2028. Called SHIFT5, this new plan succeeds the previous strategic programs AUDEO, NEXT100 and CATALYST.
“Evolving in a buoyant market context, Visiativ aims, through SHIFT5, to further increase its position as a privileged and trusted partner of companies by supporting them on all of their critical issues linked to their transformation, both technological but also business”, explains Visiativ.
On a financial level, Visiativ intends to double in size and thus increase its turnover to 500 million euros by 2028. This objective will involve an acceleration of its international activity, but also through a transformation plan of the Visiativ’s subscription model to reach 100 million euros in annual recurring revenue – SaaS subscription ARR – by this horizon. On the other hand, Visiativ is not committing to profitability objectives, which could also explain the sell-offs observed on the stock this Wednesday on the Paris Stock Exchange.
Sabrina Sadgui – ©2023 BFM Bourse
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