LACROIX Group

Annual results 2019-2020. Proven resilience in the face of the crisis. On course to making the most of recovery. - Seite 3

Strong resistance of results

EBITDA came to €34.6 million, up 19.7% on a reported basis, representing 6.1% of overall activity for the period.

On a reported basis, current operating profit came to €20.1 million, down by only 3.0% compared with 2018/2019. The current operating margin held up well with a limited drop of 70 basis points to 3.6%.

On a 12-month pro forma basis, current operating profit came to €14.4 million, down 1 point to 3.3% compared with 2018/2019. The measures immediately taken in the spring to protect the Group’s financial fundamentals, as well as the marked recovery of all activities from the fourth quarter, made it possible to limit the impact of the crisis on operational profitability.

This resistance is especially noticeable in LACROIX’s Environment Activity. The sharp rebound in activity recorded in the second half of the financial year, the tight control of the cost structure and the positive contribution of SAE IT Systems enabled the activity to maintain a high current operating margin.

Performance was more mixed for the Group's other two activities. The Electronics Activity showed a €6.9 million drop in current operating profit compared with 2019, which nevertheless remains positive at €2.5 million. The City Activity, for its part, showed a current operating loss of €1.8 million, entirely attributable to the effects of the health crisis.

Operating profit amounted to €19.1 million and included exceptional expenses that were significantly lower than those recorded for the 2018/2019 financial year (€1.0 million versus €4.4 million).

After taking into account financial income and tax expenses, the net income (Group share) remains positive at €11.0 million.

Strong Free Cash Flow generation of €30.8 million driven by the improvement in WCR

LACROIX posted a significant increase in its net cash flow from operations to €48.0 million compared to €6.3 million in 2018/2019. Beyond the extended duration of the financial year to 15 months, this strong performance comes from the improvement in WCR observed over the entire period, up by €21.7 million and which partly benefited from a recovery in fundamentals (deterioration of €15.7 million in the previous financial year) and an improvement in customer receipts at the end of the calendar year.