PRESS RELEASE
Loudéac,
2023 FULL-YEAR RESULTS
Revenue up 5% despite the widespread fall in prices
Sharp fall in activity in the fourth quarter, which weighed on EBITDA
OUTLOOK FOR 2024
A difficult first quarter but gradual growth in business
Strict financial discipline to improve EBITDA
Commitment to reduce the Group’s debt
At its meeting on
Consolidated data, French accounting standards, Audited financial statements in €m | 2023 | 2022 |
Revenue | 137.6 | 130.9 |
Gross margin | 45.1 | 41.7 |
As a % of revenue | 32.8% | 31.9% |
EBITDA | 2.3% | 4.5% |
As a % of revenue | 1.7% | 3.5% |
Depreciation, amortisation, and provisions | (5.0) | (3.6) |
Operating income/(loss) | (2.5) | 1.1 |
Net financial income/(expense) | (0.4) | (0.2) |
Non-recurring profit/(loss) | (0.0) | (0.2) |
Corporate tax | (0.2) | (0.2) |
Share of net income of companies accounted for by the equity method | - | |
Group net income/(loss) | (3.0) | 0.6 |
After a strong inflationary effect in 2022, the Group had to deal with a widespread easing of prices in 2023. This concerned animal nutrition, hygiene products and, to a lesser extent, fencing and spare parts. After increases ranging from 10% to 20% in all these categories since 2021, representing one third of Winfarm’s revenue, prices fell by 15% to 20% over the year.
2023 also saw a sudden slowdown in demand in the fourth quarter, due in particular to disastrous weather conditions (floods in
After several years of average sales growth of between 15% and 20%, these factors naturally weighed on the Group’s revenue, which rose by just 5% versus 2022 to €137.6m, and on its profitability.
Increase in sales limited by the fall in prices and the slowdown in the market in the fourth quarter
In 2023, the Farming Supplies business (91% of revenue at
Given the negative price effect combined with an unfavourable calendar effect (four fewer invoicing days compared to 2022),
The Farming Production business (7% of revenue at
The “Other activities”, which include consulting and training services, marketed under the Agritech brand, and the operating activities of the Bel-Orient pilot farm, saw sales growth of 25%.
Increase in gross margin but operating expenses weighed on profitability
The rapid downward trend in prices forced the Group to act quickly and take immediate measures to protect its margins, by optimising inventories and focusing on references that make the biggest contribution. Over the full year, the Group succeeded in recovering its margin, which reached 32.8% of revenue compared with 31.9% in 2022.
However, revenue growth was not enough to offset the rise in expenses. The rise in wages, with the integration of the
The sharp increase in depreciation, amortisation and provisions of €1.5m related to the extension of the Alphatech production unit and the implementation of the new ERP system also impacted operating income, leading to an operating loss of €2.5m compared with operating income of €1.1m at the end of 2022.
There was a Group net loss of €3.0m versus a Group net profit of €0.6m in 2022.
A well-managed balance sheet structure
At
The measures to revitalise business and ensure stricter financial management should enable the Group to start deleveraging and rebuild its cash position as from the 2024 financial year.
Outlook for 2024: revitalisation of activity and strict financial discipline
In order to return to more profitable growth in 2024 and beyond, the Group has put in place several measures to revitalise business, optimise its organisational structure and limit the weight of operating expenses.
Commercially:
- The Group intends to continue rationalising its product offering and to favour references that represent the biggest contribution. With this in mind, it will prioritise the development of its own-brand references while supporting the efforts already made on the BTN de Haas and Kabelis catalogues;
- Strengthening of campaigns involving targeted outgoing calls in connection with the Group's historical expertise will be a priority for developing sales of the
Farming Supplies activity; - In 2024, the Group will also be able to count on an increase in revenue from the
Farming Supplies business following the launch at the end ofFebruary 2024 of version 2 of the Vital Concept website. An in-depth review of the general ergonomics of the site and optimised browsing speed have helped to enhance the quality of the user experience. On foot of these efforts, the Group has seen an increase in online sales of nearly 20% a week since this launch; - Finally, after the successful launch of “Au Pré”, its dairy recovery concept for a network of independent farmers, the Group has entered into contracts with hospital groups, a logistics platform, a high school and a group of nursing homes. A total of seven contracts with group canteens have already been concluded in the space of a few months.
In addition to measures to simplify its organisation, the Group should also benefit from continued synergies with Kabelis. The pooling of the new ERP system and the grouping of activities at the central warehouse in Loudéac should, for example, lead to a reduction in transport costs of around €400k.
Finally, cost control measures should enable the Group to increase its EBITDA. Alphatech, the Farming Production activity, which until now has had a negative export impact, should gradually improve. The efforts initiated in 2022 and 2023 in the
For the Group as a whole, operating expenses will remain under strict control with, in particular, a freeze on remuneration and hiring during the year.
Combined with strict financial discipline, these measures should help to bring about a gradual improvement in activity and profitability in 2024 despite expectations of a difficult first quarter from a commercial perspective.
To achieve this,
- Competitive and transparent pricing for customers,
- A vast catalogue that is continuously updated thanks to innovation,
- A solid business model combining an established historical activity and growth drivers,
- Demonstrated integration ability,
- An established positioning giving the Group a unique place in the ecosystem.
Next release:
Q1 2024 revenue,
A propos de
Fondé à Loudéac, au cœur de la Bretagne, au début des années 90, le groupe
Fort d’un un large catalogue de plus de 35 000 références (semences, produits d’hygiène et de récolte, …), dont deux-tiers sont composés de marques propres,
Pour plus d’information sur la société : www.winfarm-group.com
Contacts :
investisseurs@winfarm-group.com | |
SEITOSEI.ACTIFIN | |
Communication financière Benjamin LEHARI +33 (0) 1 56 88 11 25 benjamin.lehari@seitosei-actifin.com | Relations presse financière Jennifer JULLIA +33 (0)1 56 88 11 19 jennifer.jullia@seitosei-actifin.com |
Attachment
- WINFARM_CP_RA_2023_vdef_EN
© OMX, source