Paris, 24 January 2017
(6pm)
HIGHCO SHOWS
REMARKABLE GROWTH IN 2016: GROSS PROFIT UP 11.8% LFL
Very strong growth in
2016
-
Q4 2016 gross profit1 of
€20.66 M, up 6.2% on a restated basis2 and 5.5%
LFL3.
-
2016 gross profit1 of
€81.06 M, up 12.6% on a restated basis and 11.8% LFL.
-
Strong growth surge for digital businesses: Q4
up 12.9% LFL, 2016 up 23.6% LFL.
-
Substantial growth in France: Q4 up 11.3% LFL,
2016 up 15.7% LFL.
-
Good annual performance in Belgium, despite an
unfavourable comparative base in Q4 (growth of 21.6% in Q4 2015).
Q4 down 6.8% LFL, 2016 up 3.6% LFL.
Disposal and investment
Guidance confirmed for improved
profitability in 2016
Gross Profit (in € M)1 |
2016 |
2015
restated2 |
2015
LFL3 |
2016/2015
Change restated2 |
2016 / 2015
LFL3
change |
Q12 |
19.51 |
16.99 |
17.05 |
+14.9% |
+14.4% |
Q22 |
21.76 |
18.50 |
18.68 |
+17.6% |
+16.5% |
Q3 |
19.13 |
17.01 |
17.18 |
+12.5% |
+11.4% |
Q4 |
20.66 |
19.47 |
19.60 |
+6.2% |
+5.5% |
Annual total |
81.06 |
71.97 |
72.51 |
+12.6% |
+11.8% |
1 Data
currently being audited.
2 In
application of IFRS 5 Non-current Assets Held for Sale and
Discontinued Operations, the businesses in the United Kingdom were
classified and presented as discontinued operations as of the third
quarter of 2016. For reasons of consistency, the data reported for
2015 and the first half of 2016 have been restated to account for
the impact of the UK businesses. Net income and the loss on the
sale of these businesses will be presented net of tax as a single
item in the consolidated income statement under Net income from
assets held for sale or discontinued operations.
3 Like for
like: Based on a comparable scope (i.e. including CapitalData over
11 months in 2015 and 2016) and at constant exchange rates
(i.e. applying the average exchange rate over the period to data
from the compared period).
4 Headline PBIT
before performance share plans: Profit before interest, tax and
restructuring costs and before the cost of the new performance
share plans. Headline operating margin before performance share
plans: Headline PBIT before performance share plans/gross
profit.
Didier Chabassieu, Chairman of the
Management Board, stated, "I'm very proud of the
work our teams have accomplished since 2013. It has made the
strategy to digitise our offers and businesses pay off. Digital now
represents 46.6% of the Group's gross profit and drove the Group's
like-for-like growth to a historic level of 11.8% in 2016. This
high growth has also brought a significant improvement in
profitability. Moving forward with our strategy to refocus our
International business on the digitisation of our solutions, we
expect - following the disposal of our UK subsidiary in
October 2016 - to wrap up the sale of our stake in POS Media
in Central Europe by the end of the first quarter of 2017."
STRONG GROWTH IN
DIGITAL BUSINESSES IN 2016
With
like-for-like growth of 12.9% in Q4 2016, Digital has
enabled the Group to maintain its strong quarterly growth. The
share of digital business increased from 45.8% in Q4 2015
(restated for the United Kingdom) to 49.4% in Q4 2016. Offline
businesses fell slightly over the quarter (down 0.9% like for
like). As a result, the Group posted further business growth in
Q4 2016, up 6.2% on a restated basis and 5.5%
like for like to €20.66 M, for a 15th consecutive quarter
of organic growth for HighCo.
In 2016, digital
businesses grew 23.6% on a like-for-like basis, and the share
of Digital increased from 41.7% at the end of 2015 (restated for
the United Kingdom) to 46.6% at the end of 2016. HighCo has therefore met its target of Digital businesses
representing a share of more than 45% of the Group's total business
in 2016 and remains on track to reach a share of 50% in 2017.
Offline businesses showed like-for-like growth of 3.2% over the
year. The Group's gross profit totalled
€81.06 M for 2016, up 12.6% on a restated basis and 11.8% like
for like, for a fourth consecutive year of organic growth for
HighCo.
Revenue for 2016 amounted to
€155.5 M.
Driven by Digital, France posts
robust growth for 2016
Up 11.3% like for
like in Q4 2016, France continued its double-digit growth with
gross profit of €14.67 M, representing 71% of the Group's
gross profit. This gain was again driven by Digital, which rose
19.6% like for like over the quarter, with the significant
expansion of In-store businesses and the strong performance of
fully digital Drive to Store businesses.
In 2016, gross
profit totalled €56.22 M in France, rising 15.7% like for
like. Digital businesses grew 28.9% like for like over the
year, and their share in gross profit reached 55.4%.
International: Strong performance
in Belgium
Despite a like-for-like drop of
6.8% in Q4 2016, due to the essentially unfavourable
comparative base (growth of 21.6% in Q4 2015), gross profit in
Benelux for this period totalled €5.77 M, representing 27.9%
of the Group's gross profit. With like-for-like
growth of 3.6% and gross profit at €23.86 M, Benelux turned
another positive performance in 2016.
Businesses in Southern Europe (Spain and Italy) remain strongly
positioned, with annual like-for-like growth of 9.5%, representing
1.2% of the Group's gross profit in 2016.
DISPOSAL AND
INVESTMENT
Planned sale of POS Media
currently being finalised
After announcing in
October 2016 that it had sold MRM in the United Kingdom and
entered into exclusive negotiations to sell POS Media, which
operates in Central Europe, the Group states that this deal is
still in progress. It expects to finalise the disposal by the end
of the first quarter of 2017. As a reminder, the deal would involve
selling all shares owned in the Dutch company POS Media BV,
representing 47.55% of its share capital. The Group expects the
impact of this sale on attributable net income for 2016 to be
practically zero and a slightly positive impact on the figure for
2017.
Yuzu USA: Increase in HighCo's
stake from 20% to 33%
HighCo announces that it has
invested in another capital increase in Yuzu USA, an innovative
French-American start-up specialised in targeting solutions. Yuzu's
exchange platform offers shoppers high-quality, value-added deals
that are targeted and adapted to their shopping habits. The capital
increase, reserved exclusively for HighCo and the company ZTP
(Mulliez family), has led to HighCo's additional investment in the
share capital of Yuzu USA, now reaching a 32.9% stake. This deal
brings the Group access to a team of experts specialised in
distributing ultra-targeted, customer-segmented offers to shoppers
while strengthening its expertise in targeting, following the
acquisition of CapitalData in early 2016.
CONFIRMATION OF
IMPROVED PROFITABILITY FOR 2016
Based on the 2016 year-end closing
in progress, HighCo projects headline PBIT before performance share
plans4 of more than
€14 M, i.e.:
- an increase
of equal to or more than 25% based on reported 2015 headline PBIT
of €11.15 M;
- an increase
of equal to or more than 30% based on restated 2015 headline
PBIT2 of
€10.71 M.
Estimated headline operating
margin before performance share plans4 is expected
to rise sharply to equal to or more than 250 bp, i.e. equal to
or more than 17.3% (14.8% reported for 2015).
Estimated net cash5, including
working capital resources from the Data businesses, totalled more
than €49 M at 31 December 2016 (€40.77 M at
31 December 2015).
The 2016 annual earnings will be
released on 21 March after market close. A financial analysts'
meeting is scheduled for 22 March at 2.30 p.m.
5 Net cash:
cash (asset) minus gross financial debt (liability).
About HighCo
Since its creation, HighCo has placed innovation at the
heart of its values, offering its clients - brands and retailers -
Intelligent Marketing Solutions to influence shopper behaviour with
the right deal, in the right place, at the right time and on the
right channel.
Listed in compartment C of
Euronext Paris and eligible for the "long-only" DSS, HighCo has
more than 700 employees and since 2010 has been included in
the Gaia Index, a selection of 70 responsible Small and Mid
Caps.
Your contacts
Cécile
Collina-Hue
Géraldine Myoux
Deputy Managing
Director
Press Relations
+33 1 77 75 65
06
+33 1 77 75 64 67
comfi@highco.com
g.myoux@highco.com
Upcoming events
Publications take place after market close.
2016 Annual Earnings: Tuesday, 21
March 2017
SFAF financial analysts meeting: Wednesday, 22 March 2017 at 2.30
pm (location TBC)
Q1 2017 Gross Profit: Wednesday, 26 April 2017
Q2 and H1 2017 Gross Profit: Wednesday, 19 July 2017
2017 Half-year Earnings: Wednesday, 30 August 2017
Conference call on 2017 half-year earnings: Thursday, 31 August
2017
Q3 and 9-month YTD 2017 Gross Profit: Wednesday, 18 October
2017
Q4 and FY 2017 Gross Profit: Wednesday, 24 January 2018
HighCo is a
component stock of the indices CAC® Small (CACS), CAC®
Mid&Small (CACMS) and CAC® All-Tradable (CACT).
ISIN: FR0000054231
Reuters: HIGH.PA
Bloomberg: HCO FP
For further financial information and press
releases, go to www.highco.com
This
English translation is for the convenience of English-speaking
readers. Consequently, the translation may not be relied upon to
sustain any legal claim, nor should it be used as the basis of any
legal opinion. HighCo expressly disclaims all liability for any
inaccuracy herein.
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Source: HIGHCO via Globenewswire
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