ABEO posts excellent full-year 2021/22 results   (08/06/2022 18:00)
  • Revenue up 18%
  • Strong increase in recurring EBITDA[1] of 38% with record margin[2] of 12.8%
  • Positive free cash-flows of €20.4m
  • Confidence in the outlook with double-digit organic growth forecast for 2022/23

ABEO, a leading global supplier of sports and leisure equipment, today announces its consolidated results for the 2021/22 financial year.

  • Consolidated 2021/22 results (1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022) – audited. ABEO's Board of Directors met on 8 June 2022 to approve the 2021/22 financial statements. The statutory auditors have conducted their audit and the certification report will be issued once the procedures required for the publication of the 2022 Universal Registration Document have been completed.
€ million 31.03.2020 31.03.2021 31.03.2022 Change
2022 vs 2021
Revenue 235.7 174.0 205.3 +18.0%
Current EBITDA1 22.2 19.1 26.4 +37.8%
% revenue 9.4% 11.0% 12.8% +1.8 pp
Recurring operating income 10.0 8.0 15.1 +88.6%
Operating income 8.6 3.9 14.2 +266.8%
Net income 0.5 -0.6 7.1 +7.7 M€
Net income – Group share 0.7 -0.6 7.2 +7.8 M€


ABEO Group CEO Olivier Estèves said: “The Group had a very strong year, posting excellent performances both in terms of business momentum across all business lines and profitability, enabling us to accelerate our debt reduction. With the support of our committed teams amid a challenging global economic and health environment, these results, the best since our IPO, vindicate the performance plan strategy initiated at the start of the crisis, from which we have emerged stronger. Positioned in structurally buoyant markets, the Group is entering a new growth phase while keeping high operating margins.”

  • Strong growth across all three divisions

ABEO posted a strong performance in FY 2021/22 with revenue up 18% (16.5% organic growth) to €205.3m, marking a significant rebound compared to the previous year hit hard by the health crisis. Boosted by the upturn in business, all three divisions – Sports, Sportainment & Climbing and Changing Rooms – posted double-digit growth of 18.9%, 26.1% and 11.1% respectively.

  • Record operating performance 2 : recurring EBITDA margin of 12.8%, up 1.8 percentage point

Driven by the upturn in business and the ongoing impact of the previous year's performance plan, which reduced the breakeven point by over 20%, 2021/22 recurring EBITDA amounted to €26.4m[3], up 37.8%, pushing the EBITDA margin up 1.8 percentage point to 12.8% of revenue. Compared to the 2019/20 pre-crisis financial year, the Group recurring EBITDA margin improved by 3.4 percentage points.

This performance was driven by steady margin levels, despite inflationary pressure on raw material prices, and tight control of cost structure against a backdrop of strong growth.

Accordingly, in line with the previous financial year, the Group continued its rigorous management policy, resulting in a limited increase of 12% in operating expenses, down 2.6 percentage points in proportion to revenue.

The Sports division posted recurring EBITDA of €15.6m, or 15.4% of revenue, up 0.4 percentage point versus the previous year driven by gross margin resilience amid an inflationary environment and tight control of cost structure.

The Sportainment & Climbing division posted recurring EBITDA of €1.7m and an EBITDA margin of 3.8%, up 5.6 percentage points from the previous year. The full impact of the performance plan enabled the division to return to a positive operating margin.

The Changing Rooms division posted recurring EBITDA of €9.0m giving an EBITDA margin of 15.4%, up 2.1 percentage points from the previous year. The 0.5 percentage point gross margin improvement and tight control of overheads enabled the division to benefit from the full impact of the business recovery. 

After depreciation of fixed assets (€11.2m, including €5.2m related to IFRS 16), recurring operating income amounted to €15.1m (versus €8.0m the previous year), up 88.6% and representing 7.4% of revenue, up 2.8 percentage points.

2021/22 operating income amounted to €14.2m, a sharp €10.3m improvement compared to the previous year, while net income Group share came to €7.2m compared to a €0.6m loss the previous year.

  • Robust financial structure

2021/22 cash flow from operations before change in working capital and tax was largely positive at €24.9m, which allowed the Group to generate strong free cash-flows of €20.4m, mainly driven by tight control of working capital amid strong growth and a challenging supply situation.

Cash and cash equivalents amounted to €65.9m at 31 March 2022. Net debt stood at €80.5m (€47.6m excluding IFRS 16), down €10.4m (-€11.3m excluding IFRS 16) and Group shareholders' equity amounted to €105.8m at 31 March 2022 (€106.7m excluding IFRS 16). Accordingly, excluding IFRS 16, gearing[4] was under control at 0.5 and the leverage ratio[5] fell sharply to 2.3.

  • Proposed dividend payment of €0.40 per share for the 2021/22 financial year 

Noting the Group's strong performance and excellent financial position, the Board of Directors decided to propose a €0.40 dividend per share in respect of 2021/22 financial year at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting scheduled for 19 July 2022.

  • Trends and outlook 

With order intake[6] well on track at €222.5m for the year ended 31 March 2022, up 30.1%, ABEO is confident that it will continue to develop its business at a sustained pace in 2022/23. As such, given the improvement in the market environment and despite the impact of geopolitical tensions on the global economy, the Group is aiming for a further year of double-digit organic growth. In addition, thanks to the lasting effect of the measures adopted during the health crisis, the Group will focus on achieving a solid operating performance against a backdrop of growth.

Furthermore, generating free cash-flows remains a priority and the Group plans to focus on tight control of working capital, costs and capital expenditure while remaining vigilant regarding developments in the pandemic and cautious in the face of global inflationary pressure.

Finally, backed by a solid financial structure, the Group is proactively pursuing a new value creation cycle combining organic growth with targeted acquisitions to consolidate mature markets, expand the brand portfolio and penetrate new segments.


Next releases

19 July 2022 - Annual Shareholders' Meeting (Rioz)

21 July 2022 - Q1 2022/23 revenue (after close of trading)

Find more about www.abeo-bourse.com



ABOUT ABEO
ABEO is a major player in the sports and leisure market. The Group posted turnover of € 205.3 million for the year ended 31 March 2022, 74% of which was generated outside France, and has 1,413 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 C.

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] Since IPO on 11/10/2016 - annual basis

[3] Excluding IFRS 16, 2021/22 recurring EBITDA was €20.7m or 10.1% of revenue

[4] Net debt to equity ratio (excl. IFRS 16)

[5] Net debt to recurring EBITDA ratio (excl. IFRS 16)

[6] Non-financial data – to measure the sales momentum of its business activities, the Group uses, among other things, the quantified amount of its order intake over a given period. The sales momentum indicator represents the aggregate value of all orders booked over the relevant period, as compared to the same period for the previous financial year.


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