(Boursier.com) — Hard to believe in this anxiety-provoking climate. But the CAC40 continues a third consecutive week of increase with a new weekly gain of 1.74%, to 6,085 points this Friday evening. The further fall in bond markets (and hence the rise in yields) amid continued inflationary pressure and still ‘hawkish’ messages from Fed and ECB officials, the ongoing war in Ukraine and still high tensions between Beijing and Washington on the technological front will not have prevented the Parisian market from continuing to rebound.
Bargain purchases on scrap stocks, globally resilient quarterly publications, despite some disappointments, as well as the British government’s 180-degree turn (punctuated by the departure of Liz Truss) have supported the indices.
In this adverse environment, the greenback remained high with a dollar index at the highest level for 20 years (113 pts). As for the euro, it is still moving well below parity, around $0.979. Bitcoin is trading near $19,050 while a barrel of Brent is trading at $92.7.
In corporate news, quarterly publications have moved up a gear with strong performances from Hermès, Veralli, Bastide and GL Events. Conversely, Virbac, L’Oréal, Sartorius Stedim and Kering disappointed. The pace of publications will further accelerate next week with Michelin, Orange, Seb, Vinci, Remy Cointreau, Worldline, Atos, Carrefour, Elis, Nexans, Sodexo. To name but a few. In the midst of all this, the ECB’s monetary policy decision will be to watch on Thursday.
VALUES
*Orpea soared by 37.6%. No particular information seems to explain this renewed interest in the group, except that its valuation had fallen to very low levels against the backdrop of financial and health scandals. The rise of the action also leads to redemptions from short sellers (Blackrock notably reduced its short positions this week), which maintains the bullish phase of the title. Despite this bout of fever of the moment, Orpea, in turmoil since the end of January against a backdrop of shortcomings in the care of residents of its retirement homes and allegations of financial mismanagement, still shows a loss of around 80% since the first of January.
* country house climbed 14.2%. The specialist in medical equipment for home care improved its profitability during the last financial year, while its turnover reached 468.3 million euros, up by +5.5%, and above its objective of 460 ME. Despite the negative impact of the inflationary context and the 10% price reductions on the treatment of sleep apnea and diabetes since September 1, 2021 and January 1, 2021 respectively, the Ebitda margin shows an increase of 60 bps, at 20.3%. EBITDA thus came to 95 ME, up +7.6%.Despite an inflationary environment, management is aiming for a current operating margin of more than 8.3% thanks to strict control of its structural costs. .
* Veralia wins 15.3%. The food and beverage packaging company raised its adjusted EBITDA target for the year after reporting a 24% rise in the first 9 months of the year ( +24.3% at constant exchange rates and perimeter), to 654 ME. Over the period, revenue reached 2.518 billion euros, up 24.5% on a reported basis (+24.4% at constant exchange rates and perimeter), despite volumes down slightly in the third trimester. The adjusted EBITDA margin amounted to 26% over the 9 months, despite the mathematical dilutive effect of the sales price increases that have taken place since the beginning of the year.
* GL Events soars nearly 12%. The events specialist unveiled figures above expectations for its third quarter and also raised its annual guidance. It is now aiming for growth of more than 55% in its turnover and an operating cash flow of more than 100 ME, against ‘approximately’ 100 ME previously.
* Pierre et Vacances Center Parcs earns 10.8% after presenting its annual earnings. Over the 2021-2022 financial year, revenue accommodation amounted to 1.2 MdE, representing almost double the turnover recorded in the previous financial year and up 12.6% compared to the 2019 financial year. These performances confirm the relevance of the Group’s strategic orientations and the quality of its tourist offer meeting the new aspirations of customers for local tourism. The portfolio of tourist reservations to date for the 1st quarter of the 2022/2023 financial year confirms the continued growth in activity across all brands, driven by an increase in the average selling price. In a difficult macro-economic context, the Group nevertheless remains vigilant and carries out in-depth work on its structural costs.
* Alstom takes 8%, driven by the winning of several contracts.
Conversely, * Virbac stumbled 16.2% after a quarterly point marked by a slowdown in activity, a tightening of the annual revenue guidance and a slight warning on the margin. Management now anticipates growth in its annual turnover at constant rates and perimeter in a range of between 6% and 9%, against between 5% and 10% previously. The EBITA margin target is reduced from “around 15%” to “between 14% and 15%” (at constant exchange rates). The animal health group achieved a turnover of 304.9 million euros in the third quarter, up 5.8% over one year. At constant exchange rates, the evolution is more or less stable “in a context, as expected, of slowing market growth, and in comparison with a third quarter of 2021 which had been exceptional”.
* In addition to Virbac, Sartorius Stedim Biotech stumbles 10.7%, sanctioned after its quarterly point. The supplier of equipment and services for the biopharmaceutical industry has unveiled accounts with strong growth over nine months, but a little short compared to analysts’ expectations in the third quarter. The market is also mostly holding that annual consolidated revenue growth should be in the lower half of the 15-19% range forecast so far. Regarding profitability, management confirmed that it is aiming for a current EBITDA margin of more than 35%.
* L’Oreal makes 5%. The world’s number one cosmetics company reported strong sales growth in the third quarter, as demand in Europe and the United States offset disruption in China linked to health restrictions. L’Oréal, which owns consumer brands like Maybelline and other higher-end brands like Lancôme, thus achieved revenues of 9.58 billion euros, up 9.1% on a like-for-like basis. But analysts are concerned about the slowdown at L’Oreal Luxe, which only recently overtook the company’s consumer division to become the group’s largest, and has been driving growth in recent quarters.
* Pernod Ricard down 3% despite the announcement of quarterly revenue of 3.308 billion euros, internal growth of +11%. Alexandre Ricard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, declares: “Our growth should continue to be dynamic in the 2022/23 financial year with the pursuit of our strategy benefiting from the total commitment of our teams around the world”. Headline growth was +22%, with a very favorable exchange rate effect overall, mainly thanks to the US dollar and the Chinese yuan, against the euro.
* Fnac-Darty returns 2% after its quarterly point. The distributor recorded revenues of 1.849 billion euros, stable on a reported basis and down slightly by 1.3% like-for-like. The gross margin rate remained stable, excluding the dilutive technical impact of the franchise, despite a product mix impacted by a higher weight of telephony, mainly linked to the successful launch of the iPhone 14. Fnac Darty will focus on optimize its gross margin rate thanks to its ability to continue to pass on price increases while offering a wide range of products and services. The group will be vigilant about its control of operating costs in a context of particularly high inflation in the second half. The continuation of performance plans should make it possible to offset the impact of inflation as well as possible. The group is still targeting cumulative free operating cash flow of around 500 million euros over the 2021-2023 period and at least 240 million euros on an annual basis from 2025.