HighCo

Q1 2020 Gross Profit

Aix-en-Provence, 22 April 2020 (6.00 p.m.)

HIGHCO: FIRST QUARTER DOWN 10.3% (GP) IMPACTED BY COVID-19

Update on current situation: Impacts of the pandemic on Group businesses

Business decline in Q1 2020 despite a position of slight growth at end-February (GP)

• Q1 2020¹ gross profit of €20.79 M, down 10.3% on a reported basis and LFL².
• Better resilience of digital businesses: Q1 LFL down 7.8%.
• Strong decline in France: Q1 LFL down 13.6%.
• Stability in International business: Q1 LFL up 0.5%.

More pronounced decline expected in Q2 2020 than in Q1

COVID-19: Update of measures taken by the Group

• Gross cash of €7.8 M at end-March 2020.
• Request granted for a €30 M government-backed loan.

Annual General Meeting of 11 May 2020 under closed session

§   

in € M	2020	2019 reported	2019 LFL2	2020/2019 Reported change	2020/2019 LFL2 change
Q1 Gross Profit1	20.79	23.17	23.17	-10.3%	-10.3%

¹ Unaudited data.
² Like for like: Based on a comparable scope and at constant exchange rates (i.e. applying the average exchange rate over the period to data from the compared period).

Didier Chabassieu, Chairman of the Management Board, stated, “After seven consecutive years of growth, and despite a good start to 2020, the Group’s performance has come to an abrupt halt with the COVID-19 health crisis. Given this unprecedented health and economic crisis, I’m proud of our managers and employees who have shown their great ability to adapt and respond to change. I’m confident in the organisational structure implemented that will enable us to continue supporting our clients. In this year of its 30^th anniversary, HighCo has grown into a healthy group, prepared to overcome this challenge.”       

UPDATE ON CURRENT BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

The pandemic is having a significant impact on the Group’s businesses, mainly due to:

• Closure of large non-food retailers, which account for approximately 20% of the Group’s business;
• The following factors affecting Group businesses that work directly or indirectly with large food retailers:
  • Decrease in brand promotions, and chain seasonal event campaigns postponed or cancelled, impacting drive to store businesses;
  • Difficulty for merchandisers to access stores and shutdown of printing services, limiting in-store media activities;
  • Saturation of click & collect and food e-commerce sites, causing a sharp decline in display media, which limits the better resilience expected from the Group’s digital businesses;
  • Relative good performance of the Group’s mobile businesses (push SMS, development of mobile apps).

The Group is maintaining the ad hoc organisational structure implemented at each subsidiary to continue supporting its clients in the best possible way.