Highco: Q1 2022 Gross Profit
Aix-en-Provence, 26 April 2022
(6.00 p.m.)
HIGHCO: Q1 2022
BUSINESS GROWTH IN LINE WITH EXPECTATIONS (GP UP 1.1%);
2022 GUIDANCE CONFIRMED
Q1 2022 Business growth driven by digital
- Q1 2022 gross
profit1 of €18.8 M, up 1.1% on a reported basis and LFL2.
- Strong performance
of digital businesses (Q1 up 5.7% LFL) with very sharp growth in
Mobile; decline in offline businesses (Q1 down 6.6% LFL).
- Business growth in
France (Q1 up 1% LFL) and in International business (Q1 up 1.8%
LFL).
2022 guidance confirmed
HighCo Venturi Startup Studio:
First equity investment and development of projects under
way
2021 Annual Financial Report and Annual
General Meeting on 16 May 2022
(€ M) |
2022 |
2021 |
2022/2021Change |
Q1 Gross Profit 1 |
18.80 |
18.59 |
+1.1% |
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, “HighCo’s start to the year was in line with
expectations, with slight growth driven by two main trends. First,
growth in Mobile businesses picked up significantly
(up 21.2%). And second, the inflationary environment has led
to sharp growth in the volume of discount coupons, with purchasing
power a key concern for consumers. To support our clients in
accelerating the retail transformation, we will continue investing
in innovation in two key areas: the shift towards digital
promotions and the emergence of Web3 retail.”
Q1 2022 BUSINESS GROWTH DRIVEN BY
DIGITAL
As anticipated, HighCo showed slight
growth in Q1 2022 and posted a 1.1% increase in gross profit
to €18.8 M.This change is mainly due to:
- Double-digit growth in
Mobile (up 21.2%);
- Healthy performance of
coupon clearing with increasing volumes (up
9%);
- Slight drop in the management of
traditional promotions;
- Decline in marketing &
communication consulting businesses in France (down 14.2%).
These factors resulted in 5.7% growth in
Digital for Q1 2022. Its share in total Group gross profit
rose significantly, from 62.6% in Q1 2021 to 65.5% in
Q1 2022. Meanwhile, offline businesses fell 6.6% over the
quarter.
Growth in France and International
business
FRANCE |
Gross Profit (in € M) |
2022/2021 Change |
% Total gross profit |
2022 |
2021 |
Q1 |
16.14 |
15.98 |
+1% |
85.9% |
In France, Q1 2022 gross profit grew
slightly, by 1% to €16.14 M and accounted for 85.9%
of the Group’s gross profit. The main reasons for this growth are:
double-digit growth in Mobile businesses (up
20.8%), the substantial rise in volumes of coupons
cleared (up 11%), and the decline in the management of
traditional promotions and in marketing & communication
consulting businesses.Digital rose 6.9% in Q1
2022, representing two-thirds of total business
activities. Impacted by the loss of a marketing & communication
consulting client, offline businesses fell 9.1% over the
quarter.
INTERNATIONAL |
Gross Profit (in € M) |
2022/2021 Change |
% Total gross profit |
2022 |
2021 |
Q1 |
2.65 |
2.61 |
+1.8% |
14.1% |
In International business, Q1 2022 gross
profit grew 1.8% to € 2.65 M and
accounted for 14.1% of the Group’s gross profit.In
Belgium, gross margin increased 0.3%. Performance
was driven by growth in coupon clearing businesses
and the slowdown in promotion management. The share of Digital in
Belgian businesses represented 52.7% of gross profit.With
double-digit growth (up 13.5%), business in other countries (Spain
and Italy) was stronger and accounted for 1.9% of the Group’s gross
profit.
2022 GUIDANCE CONFIRMED
The Group points out that it is not directly or
indirectly active in the regions involved in the Russia-Ukraine
conflict. However, the ongoing war, on top of the Covid-19 pandemic
which continues to spread, is creating uncertainty.In this complex
and changing environment, HighCo remains watchful of the potential
impact on its brand and retailer clients, in particular the
consequences of the sharp rise in commodities prices and in
inflation.
Given the performance reported in Q1 and the
business growth outlook expected for Q2
(comparable to Q1 reported growth), the Group has confirmed
its guidance for 2022:
- Slight growth in gross
profit (2021 gross profit: €76.52 M);
- A rise in adjusted
operating margin (adjusted headline PBIT/gross profit) of
50 basis points (2021 adjusted operating margin:
20.3%).
HIGHCO VENTURI STARTUP STUDIO: FIRST
EQUITY INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF PROJECTS UNDER
WAY
Having radically changed the way we do things,
the Covid-19 crisis has accelerated the retail
transformation. Brands and retailers face
huge new challenges: the transformation of
physical points of sale, strong growth in e-commerce, development
of m-commerce and social media, and the emergence of Web3.
Through its startup studio HighCo Venturi,
HighCo continues to invest in innovation to
support its clients in accelerating the retail transformation in
two key areas: the shift towards digital
promotions and the emergence of Web3
retail.
Shifting towards digital
promotions
In an inflationary environment in which
purchasing power is a key concern for consumers, promotions are
central to the strategy of brands and retailers.Through its growth
stage startups and a first equity investment, HighCo invests in
creating solutions to:
- develop digital coupons, and
- provide retailers with a
technological platform for managing promotions.
1) DEVELOPING DIGITAL
COUPONSUniversal mobile discount coupons: HighCo
Nifty continues its development with the aim of simplifying access
to brand generosity. Developed in a first phase in pharmacy chains
(6,000 pharmacies will be covered by the end of 2022), this
solution will next be rolled out to food retailers.Smart
discount coupons: HighCo Coupon[AI] lets brands optimise
their generosity strategy using the artificial intelligence of its
decision-making and recommendation engines. Big-name brands such as
Danone and Blédina use this solution to optimise the ROI of their
relational programmes by industrialising campaign personalisation
based on their first-party data.
2) PROVIDING RETAILERS WITH
TOOLS FOR MANAGING PROMOTIONSHighCo announces its equity
investment in the launch of the very first
SaaS centralised
promotion management platform.In the context of
the increasing use of promotions, retailers are faced with a
growing need for automated management, campaign planning,
regulatory compliance, and so forth. This situation is what led the
startup
RetailTech
founded by Martin Rennert to develop its technological platform
Unipromo for retailers. HighCo has invested
€0.5 M in the first funding round, acquiring one-third of the
share capital.
Supporting the emergence of Web3
retail
Virtual commerce may still be
nascent, but HighCo is already guiding brands and retailers in
their first steps towards Web3 through a comprehensive
offering: creating a collection of non-fungible tokens
(NFTs), buying lands in the metaverse, developing interfaces with
e-commerce, and more.For example, HighCo has recently worked with
the French department store chain Printemps to create its very
first virtual and immersive shopping experience.
In the 3D digital shop, users can buy a selection of exclusive
items and participate in a drawing to win NFTs of art works.
2021 ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT AND 2022
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
HighCo’s 2021 Universal Registration
Document was filed with the Autorité des Marchés
Financiers (French financial markets authority) on 21 April 2022
under No. D22-0325. The document contains the annual financial
report and is available on HighCo’s website (www.highco.com), under
Investors > Regulated information > Annual Financial
Report.
The Annual General Meeting will be
held at the head office in Aix-en-Provence on 16
May 2022. A dividend of €0.32 per share for FY
2021 will be proposed at the meeting, representing a
substantial increase. Payment is scheduled for 23
May 2022 (ex-dividend date of 19 May 2022). The
cancellation of treasury shares equal to at least
8% of the share capital will also be proposed.
If measures are taken that would prevent
in-person attendance, the Management Board could decide to hold the
meeting under closed session. The shareholders would be informed
and are encouraged to check the Company website regularly at:
https://www.highco.com/investisseurs/assemblee-generale/.
GOVERNANCE
HighCo announces that Céline Dargent has
resigned from the Management Board today. The Supervisory Board has
noted the resignation and decided not to appoint a replacement. The
Management Board now has two members: Didier Chabassieu, Chairman
of the Management Board, and Cécile Collina-Hue, member of the
Management Board and Managing Director. HighCo reiterates that the
Management Board works closely with the Executive Committee, which
is made up of business unit managers and experts in strategy and in
overseeing the Group’s operations and management.
About HighCo
As an expert in data marketing and
communication, HighCo continuously innovates to work with brands
and retailers in meeting the retail challenges of
tomorrow.Listed in compartment C of Euronext
Paris, and eligible for SME equity savings plans (“PEA-PME”),
HighCo has more than 500 employees and has achieved Platinum
status from EcoVadis, meaning that the Group is ranked in the top
1% of companies in terms of CSR performance and responsible
purchasing.
Your
contacts
Cécile
Collina-Hue Cynthia
LeratManaging
Director Press
Relations+33 1 77 75 65
06 +33
1 77 75 65
16comfi@highco.com c.lerat@highco.com
Upcoming events
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Q2 and H1 2022 Gross Profit: Thursday, 21 July
20222022 Half-year Earnings: Wednesday, 24 August 2022Conference
call on 2022 half-year earnings: Thursday, 25 August
2022Q3 and 9-month YTD 2022 Gross Profit: Wednesday, 19
October 2022Q4 and FY 2022 Gross Profit: Wednesday, 25 January
2023
HighCo is a component stock of the indices CAC®
Small (CACS), CAC® Mid&Small (CACMS), CAC® All-Tradable (CACT),
Euronext® Tech Croissance (FRTPR) and Enternext® PEA-PME 150
(ENPME).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.
- HighCo CP T1 2022 MB_VDEF_EN
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