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In Q3 FY23, Bic’s sales was below but the EPS was ahead of market expectations. The Group comparative revenue improved by 3.2% yoy, as the positive momentum in the stationary and shavers businesses (+1.2% and +13.9%, respectively) was partially offset by lighters (-1.3% yoy). Among the positives, the company gained market share in most regions and enjoyed a strong margin improvement in the Q3. We expect the margin progression to continue in the subsequent years. The management’s FY23 target is a
Companies: Societe B I C (BB:EPA)Societe BIC SA (BB:PAR)
AlphaValue
Bic hosted an Investors Day and shared the new financial targets of its Horizon strategic plan. We note management’s progress of the past 2-3 years and a credible roadmap through to 2025. The focus on all key levers (sales growth, margin progression and higher / sustainable FCF) are steps in the right direction. We will improve our financial estimates and target price. However, the stock’s valuation looks unattractive at the current levels.
Bic’s Q2 performance was stronger than the market expectations – sales were in line but the profitability was ahead. The company clocked +6.9% comparative sales growth during the quarter, led by positive contributions from all the business segments (Stationery: +6.7%, Lighters: +0.9% and Shavers: +16.8% yoy). All core geographies witnessed strong performances, except for North America which remained flat (+0.2% yoy). Despite this weakness, the NA business gained market share in all divisions, in
Bic’s Q1 FY23 revenue was in line but the adjusted EPS was 10% below the consensus. The Group’s revenue improved by 0.9% yoy (comparative basis), as the positive momentum in the human expressions and blade excellence divisions was largely offset by flame for life. Weakness is North America (-11.4% yoy) was the key headwind. We do not see any structural issues with the business and expect both sales and profitability to improve in H2 FY23. We will trim our financial estimates slightly but maintai
Bic’s Q4 FY22 performance was a mixed bag. Group sales grew 9.1% on a comparative basis (vs consensus: +7.7% yoy). However, the adjusted EBIT of €43.2m was 16.9% below the street’s expectations. For 2023, the management expects 5-7% sales growth (constant currency), an improvement in the adjusted EBIT margin and FCF of above €200m. While the sales growth in the Stationary business looks fragile, we expect its profitability (as for the overall group) to improve from 2023 onwards. We maintain our
Bic’s Q3 performance was a mixed bag – the comparable base was strong but EBITDA was below the street’s expectations. The group’s comparable revenue improved by 7.6% (vs consensus of +6.6% yoy), with strong momentum in two segments – Flame for Life (+11.0% vs consensus of +5.6%) and Blade for Excellence (+12.3% vs consensus of +8.3%). However, a c.20% slump in the group’s EBITDA and the management’s relatively cautious outlook on adjusted profit spooked investors. We maintain our cautious stanc
Bic’s Q1 FY22 performance was ahead of our as well as the market’s expectations. All business segments clocked double-digit growth. The adjusted operating margin benefitted from operating leverage, which was more than enough to offset the inflationary headwinds. Management now expects FY22 sales growth to be at the upper end of the 7-9% guidance. We expect the momentum to moderate in H2. Our positive stock recommendation is maintained.
Bic’s stock price has been under pressure for the past few quarters. This is despite the CEO (Gonzalve Bich) pressing ahead with a time-bound plan to turnaround the business. While the 2022 margins could witness some pressure, it is a non-structural issue in our opinion. The performance improvement plan is on track, plus management is potent enough to sustain top-line momentum during the mid-term. A cheap valuation (both fundamental and relative) also adds to the investment case.
The Q3 performance was ahead of AV and the market estimates. The top line momentum was largely led by the Stationery business. Geography wise, the US remained slightly soft, as other regions clocked positive growth. We expect FY21 to end with an overall improvement in profitability, despite the headwinds associated with rising raw material and freight costs. Our positive recommendation is maintained based on the valuation of the stock.
Benefiting from softer comps, organic revenue growth accelerated in Q2 with all three segments reporting double-digit gains. The profitability beat was also encouraging thanks to robust operational leverage. Based on these strong results, the FY21 sales outlook has been upgraded, though management still anticipates a deceleration in H2 given the challenging trading environment. Also, raw materials and freight costs are likely to remain high, due to the disruption of supply chains worldwide, and
FY21 has got off to a perfect start, led by strong growth in the US lighters market. Amidst weak market trends, shavers also reported decent numbers, thanks to value-added products and e-commerce. Nonetheless, within stationery, trading conditions worsened in developing countries, though solid demand for digital writing instruments provided some respite. FY21 sales are now expected to be at the higher end of the +5-7% range, though a volatile business environment refrained management from taking
Q4 20 was disappointing with all segments and geographies trading in the red – the stationery segment, particularly in emerging markets, was a key drag as online classes delayed back-to-school seasons. Given the continued weak underlying trends across segments, management anticipates a slow recovery in FY21, though new product launches, line extensions and strong commercial execution should keep the group afloat. In our view, investments into new avenues of growth (like Rocketbook, Djeep) could
Bic’s new strategic plan targets a sales acceleration towards the mid-single-digit rate by 2022 – driven by improved commercial excellence and entry into the faster-growing adjacent markets through M&A. Cost cutting is also on the agenda, particularly optimisation of the manufacturing footprint and the simplification of processes. The game-plan to return to 2014-15 sales growth levels seems impressive on paper and execution should be the key from here on.
Companies: Societe BIC SA
Organic revenue decline slowed in Q3 as lighters reported double-digit gains, benefitting from the replenishment of orders. Shavers also showed resilience in a declining market led by distribution gains and new launches. However, stationary was a drag due to a soft back-to-school season. Geographically, North America and Europe posted mid-single digit gains, though more than offset by a dismal showing from emerging countries. Given the challenging trading environment in Q4, particularly for stat
The weak underlying trends in Bic’s addressable markets worsened further with the pandemic, resulting in an organic revenue decline of 21.5% in Q2. However, effective cost management ensured that the dent in profitability was less severe than feared. To protect cash flow generation for the remainder of the year, Bic has announced action plans to manage opex, capex and inventory levels. Nonetheless, weak consumer spending trends and the impairment of Cello India (the second within two years) are
Research Tree provides access to ongoing research coverage, media content and regulatory news on Societe BIC SA. We currently have 0 research reports from 3 professional analysts.
The FY24 year-end update is very upbeat signalling trading being materially ahead of expectations, with a better-than-expected profit out turn and stronger cash generation. It continues to strengthen margins through efficiencies and investment in modern equipment. The order book remains close to record levels providing a robust view of future forecasts. In FY24E we upgrade EPS by 11% and in FY25E a significant upgrade of 27.6%. It looks capable of declaring a dividend in FY25 as well as manageme
Companies: Renold plc
Cavendish
Another Good Year of Diversified Growth with More to Come in 2024 CCapital have released their Q1 operating results. Overall, revenue has come in slightly lower than expected at $80.2m vs TamE of $85.9m but is largely tracking in line with our FY24 annual estimate and we note the company has maintained guidance. Drilling revenue for this quarter was impacted by a fall in utilisaztion rates as well as general remobilisation geographically but we expect a strong recovery throughout the year as k
Companies: Capital Limited
Tamesis Partners
FY23 results show very strong growth over FY22, driven by strong Structural Steel activity, with results slightly ahead of upgraded profit expectations, while stronger than expected cash flow resulted in an unexpectedly generous dividend of 33p (offering a FY23 yield of 7.0%). The group now has net cash of £22.1m and is debt free and is therefore in a strong position for potential M&A activity. Following the recent £90m of new orders to increase the order book to record levels we conservatively
Companies: Billington Holdings Plc
Companies: BILN ELCO NXQ CUSN ATG
Plant Health Care announced it has signed a distribution agreement with AMVAC, an American Vanguard Company, to support commercialisation of novel fertiliser products incorporating Plant Health Care's Harpinαβ in China starting in 2024. The novel product combines Harpinαβ technology with an AMVAC fertiliser and is expected to help growers improve crop quality and yield as part of an integrated and environmentally responsible crop production programme. AMVAC continues to evaluate Plant Health Car
Companies: Plant Health Care PLC
Companies: 88E RNO TRIN KRM EXR BOOM
discoverIE’s March year-end update confirms a strong operational performance in challenging markets. Following two years when sales increased by +48%, FY 2024 Group sales were +1% ahead of 2023 at CER (reported -3%) driven by a +2% contribution from acquisitions and organic -1%. As expected, organic growth returned in the later part of the year (Q4 +2%, +11% sequentially) and the order book has reverted to normalised levels of c.4.5 months’ sales, which – combined with a continuing strong pipeli
Companies: discoverIE Group PLC
Severfield’s trading update indicates that FY23 results are expected to slightly exceed market expectations and the company ends the year with a record UK and Europe order book. Furthermore, with a positive trading outlook and net debt coming in lower than expected, Severfield has announced a £10m share buyback, highlighting the cash-generative nature of the company and management’s confidence in its position. The stock trades on an FY25 P/E of less than 6x and yields 7%, which we believe appear
Companies: Severfield Plc
Edison
Companies: Iofina plc
Canaccord Genuity
Companies: PLL TLG HZM SAV KAV KP2 SVML
SP Angel
Acquisitions have been an important element of Severfield management’s growth strategy, with the aim of adding new products, sectors and regions to what we have identified as exciting long-term organic opportunities. In this Spotlight report, we focus on the group’s targeted M&A approach, highlighting three significant deals.
Progressive Equity Research
The focus of Hardman & Co Research is on the nine quoted Infrastructure Investment Companies (IICs) and on the 22 Renewable Energy Infrastructure Funds (REIFs): the stocks analysed are all members of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC). We are updating our publication of January 2023, assessing both the lacklustre share price performances during 2023 and the key issues, including interest rates, inflation and power prices. As a 31-strong group, its combined market capitalisation is no
Companies: AEIT ROOF DGI9 INPP GSF SEIT USFP HICL ORIT BSIF TRIG NESF SEQI HEIT GRP GCP FSFL 3IN AERI PINT RNEW BBGI GSEO DORE TENT GRID CORD HGEN AEET
Hardman & Co
Liberum
Invinity’s update on discussions with strategic investors reveals interest from multiple parties. While this has slightly delayed finalising an agreement it increases the potential for a better outcome. Although details are unknown at this stage, we think there is enough in the statement to be comfortable that any agreements will be consistent with the company’s strategy of growing market share in core markets and using a licencing and royalty model in other markets.
Companies: Invinity Energy Systems PLC
Longspur Clean Energy
Companies: ATOME PLC
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