Intermoney | Very positive results for the company, with a 2% growth in revenue (due to improved volumes) and exceeding estimates in EBITDA (up 6.7% compared to our estimate of 5.2% and the consensus of 5.3%) and EBIT (up 7.2% compared to our estimate of 5.6%) thanks mainly to improved margins. In the €26M improvement in EBITDA to €413M, 73% of the increase is due to improved margins and the remaining 27% to increased sales. The figure represents a new all-time high (despite the exit of the dry pasta business from the perimeter) and is above the target announced by the company last October (€402-407M).
Net profit increased by 11% (to €208 M), driven by the growth in operating results and the sale of assets (in Q3 warehouses in France were sold for €23.5 million and in H1 nearly another €9 million was collected from real estate sales and a plot of land in Jerez).
Despite the demanding comparison with the previous year, with very strong volumes, they have managed to continue increasing volumes in both businesses and accelerate revenue growth in both Rice (up 0.4% in Full Year, up 0.3% in Q4) and, especially, in Pasta (up 6.1% in Full Year and up 5.6% in Q4).
It closed with a net debt of €593 million (an increase of €23 million compared to December 2023 and €82 million in Q4). Of this debt, €330 million corresponds to minority puts (€60 million more than at the end of 2023 due to the improvement in business results) and €58 million to lease debt under IFRS 16; without these two items, net bank debt is €205 million (0.5x EBITDA).
The company has already announced that it will pay a dividend of €0.69/share (split into three payments of €0.23 each in April, June and October) charged to 2024 earnings. In the event that no acquisitions are made, the proposal of an extraordinary dividend in December has not been ruled out at the AGM in June.
Outlook: the start of the year has been good, with January figures above those of January last year in terms of both revenue and margins. Although the annual EBITDA target will not be announced until October, the positive dynamics of volumes, markets, market shares and costs should consolidate EBITDA figures above €400 million. Regarding capex, they believe that the investment figure this year could be around €150-160M.
We maintain our positive view on the stock and our recommendation to BUY.
