ABEO, a world leader in sports and leisure equipment, today announces its consolidated results for the 2018/19 financial year.
| €m | 31/03/2018 12 months |
31/03/2019 12 months |
Change |
| Revenue | 187.9 | 230.4 | +22.7% |
| Recurring EBITDA1 | 17.9 | 17.7 | -1.0% |
| % revenue | 9.5% | 7.7% | -1.8 pt |
| Recurring operating income | 13.6 | 12.4 | -9.1% |
| Operating income | 12.0 | 10.5 | -12.4% |
| Net income | 7.0 | 7.1 | +0.9% |
| Net income, Group share | 7.0 | 7.2 | +2.5% |
Robust external growth
ABEO posted 2018/19 full-year revenue of €230.4m, a sharp increase of 22.7% from the previous year, driven by robust external growth of 19.2%. 2018/19 organic growth amounted to 3.5%, an increase versus the previous year. On the basis of full-year consolidation of Fun Spot Manufacturing, revenue would have amounted to €260m2.
Varied performance across divisions
Full-year recurring EBITDA amounted to €17.7m, compared to €17.9m the previous year. The EBITDA margin3 amounted to 7.7%, down 1.8 bp versus the previous year reflecting varied performance across divisions.
The Sports division with 16.9% growth in activity (1% organic growth) posted recurring EBITDA of €7.2m and an EBITDA margin of 6.2%, both down compared to the previous year reflecting a slower-than-anticipated integration of two acquisitions, an adverse mix variance, the impact of a repositioning in China and fourth quarter revenue falling short of Group forecasts.
The Sportainment & Climbing division with 40.7% growth in activity (13.2% organic growth) posted recurring EBITDA of €4.1m, up €0.9m, and a margin of 7.8%, down by just 0.8 bp, primarily due to the strengthening of the teams to support the division's strong growth momentum and the non-recurring impact of its participation in the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.
Finally, ongoing optimisation initiatives in the Changing Rooms division enabled to generate 20.8% growth in activity including 1.2% organic growth and to confirm the upward trend in its EBITDA margin, which improved by 1.7 bp with recurring EBITDA of €6.4m, up €2.0m.
Accordingly, recurring operating income amounted to €12.4m versus €13.6m last year. Operating income amounted to €10.5m, including restructuring charges and expenses related to acquisitions, compared to €12.0m the previous year.
Finally, after taking into account the cost of debt of €2.1m, a foreign exchange gain of €1.5m, other net financial expense of €0.4m and a tax charge of €2.5m, net income Group share for the year ended 31 March 2019 amounted to €7.2m, up 2.5%.
A solid financial structure to support the development plan
In December 2018, ABEO signed a €125m loan agreement with its banking pool to support its strategic development plan. This loan agreement provides for the refinancing of a large part (€55m) of the existing bank loan, the implementation of CAPEX facility (€50m), and financing for Group general expenses (€20m).
With cash and cash equivalents of €28.5m at 31 March 2019, net debt stood at €80.2m compared to €28.3m at 31 March 2018, including a €20m EuroPP-type bond issue. This change mainly reflects Fun Spot Manufacturing acquisition in November 2018.
ABEO is also in the process of acquiring the remaining 20% minority interest in Cannice.
With equity of €99.7m, ABEO posted a solid gearing ratio4 of 0.8 and covenants under the credit agreement and the bond issue were met as at March 31, 2019.
ABEO, maintains the necessary financial leeway to continue its development, including its external growth policy.
Proposed dividend of €0.32 per share
ABEO will propose the payment of a dividend of €0.32 per share in respect of 2018/19 fiscal year at its Annual General Meeting on July 17, 2019.
Composition of the Board of Directors
Jean Ferrier, Deputy CEO was co-opted to the Board of Directors to replace Gérard Barbafieri, who resigned from his position. His appointment to the Board of Directors will be submitted to the shareholders for approval at the next General Meeting.
Successful in all deals for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games
For this global sporting event, ABEO's brand involvement covers 3 disciplines: Schelde Sports, for basketball equipment, Spieth Gymnastics, for the supply of artistic and rhythmic gymnastics equipment, and Entre-Prises, for the supply of climbing structures. Making its Olympic debut, Entre-Prises' 30 years of expertise and global leadership will be showcased at climbing events.
The Group's expertise, perfectly tailored to highly demanding competitions in terms of both quality and installation, has been recognised once again. ABEO successfully won all of the contracts it could have tendered for.
Strategy and outlook
Over the next 12 months, ABEO will continue to implement its growth strategy aimed at generating revenues of €300m by 20205, by combining organic growth with acquisitions.
2018/19 business was very strong and generated an order intake of €237.1m, up 21.3% (4.6% organic growth) compared to the previous year. ABEO is therefore confident that business development will remain strong in the 2019/20 financial year, which will benefit from the full-year consolidation of Fun Spot Manufacturing.
Finally, ABEO aims to return to a current EBITDA margin closer to historical performance. Under-performing areas are clearly identified, and measures have already been taken to control margins and expenses, while stepping up organic growth.
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23 July 2019 before start of trading Q1 2019/20 revenue
18 November 2019 before start of trading H1 2019/20 revenue
12 December 2019 before start of trading H1 2019/20 results and presentation meeting (Paris)
Find out more at www.abeo-bourse.com
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ABOUT ABEO |
| ABEO is a major player in the sports and leisure (“sportainment”) market. The Group posted revenue of €230.4 million for the year ended 31 March 2019, 77% of which was generated outside France. At year-end it had over 1,700 employees. ABEO is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of sports and leisure equipment. It also provides assistance in implementing projects to professional customers in the following sectors: specialised sports halls and clubs, leisure centres, education, local authorities, construction professionals, etc. ABEO has a unique global offering, and operates in a wide variety of market segments, including gymnastics apparatus and landing mats, team sports equipment, physical education, climbing walls, leisure equipment and changing room fittings. The Group has a portfolio of strong brands which partner sports federations and are featured at major sporting events, including the Olympic Games. ABEO (ISIN code: FR0013185857, ABEO) is listed on Euronext Paris – Compartment B. |
Contacts
For any questions relating to this press release or the ABEO Group, please contact ACTUS finance & communication:
Investor relations – Corinne Puissant [email protected] Tel: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 77
Press relations – Serena Boni [email protected] Tel: +33 (0)4 72 18 04 92
1 Recurring operating income + depreciation of fixed assets
2 Unaudited
3 Recurring EBITDA/revenue
4 Net debt/equity
5 This target, which was set at the time of the 2016 IPO, aims at annual organic growth of 7% and external growth of 12% between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2020, without accounting for potential future currency effects.
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