Aubay's Board of Directors, which met on September 13, 2023 under Chairman Christian Aubert, approved the consolidated financial statements for the first six months of 2023. The financial statements have been reviewed by the company's Statutory Auditors who will shortly issue their reports.

Aubay posted good results in the first half of 2023, driven by organic growth of 6.3% despite a demanding basis for comparison.

Half-year operating margin from ordinary activities of 8.9%

Operating margin from ordinary activities remained at a healthy 8.9%, compared with 10.3% in the first half of 2022. This expected change was attributable to a utilization rate of 92.3% versus 95.2%, and to an unfavorable calendar effect in terms of working days. Aubay has demonstrated resilience in the face of inflation, always maintaining a good ratio between the evolution of its sales prices and its average salary.

Operating profit of €22.7 million

Operating profit was down 8.4%, after taking into account the cost of performance shares for €0.7 million and a net expense of €1.1 million under "Other operating income and expenses", primarily comprising restructuring expenses. 

Slight decrease in net income attributable to owners of the parent (6.2% of net margin)

Net income attributable to owners of the parent was virtually stable at €17.0 million, compared with €17.3 million in the first half of 2022. The tax expense of €6.1 million resulted in an average tax rate of 26%, compared with 29% for the same period of the previous year.

Net cash (excluding rental liabilities) stable at €83.5 million, after dividend payment

Cash flow stood at €28.1 million or 10.2% of revenue, compared with €29.1 million in 2022. The change in WCR amounted to a negative €6.6 million compared to a negative €17.5 million for the same period of the previous year. After taking the €9.3 million dividend payout in May into account, net cash was stable at €83.5 million at June 30, 2023, and should significantly increase during the second half of the year, as is the case each year.

Proposed interim dividend of €0.50

In light of the good level of net income and the Group's excellent financial position, the Board of Directors has decided to pay an interim dividend of €0.50 per share in respect of 2023. The interim dividend will be paid on November 10, 2023.

Outlook for 2023

Although customer demand remains strong, it is lower than last year's record levels. This return to normality is taking place uniformly across all countries and sectors. Customers are showing restraint and caution in their investments, given the uncertain macroeconomic context. While this wait-and-see attitude was particularly noticeable over the summer months, sales performance in early September seems to be showing encouraging signs of improvement.

In light of this, Aubay expects its full-year results to be in the lower end of the range of its annual targets, which are:

• organic growth of between 5% and 7%, i.e., annual revenue of between €540 million and €550 million;
• operating margin from ordinary activities between 9.5% and 10.5%.

Aubay will publish its 2023 third-quarter revenue on Wednesday October 18, 2023 after the close of trading.

Glossary

Organic revenue growth: This refers to growth calculated for a constant scope of activity for a given period, excluding revenues from companies that were acquired or sold during the period. As Aubay conducts most of its business in the euro zone, any impact from changes in exchange rates is minimal.

Operating profit from ordinary activities: this indicator corresponds to operating profit before the cost of free shares and other income and expenses that are unusual, abnormal or infrequent and that are booked separately in order to facilitate understanding of an entity's recurring operating performance.

Operating margin from ordinary activities: this indicator, which is expressed as a percentage, is the ratio of operating income from ordinary activities to revenue.

Net debt or net cash (excluding rental liabilities): this indicator represents the difference between an entity's cash and debt. If the result is negative, it is referred to as net debt. If it is positive, it is referred to as net cash.

About Aubay

Aubay is a digital services company working alongside some of the biggest names in the Banking, Finance, Insurance, Manufacturing, Energy, Transport and Telecoms sectors. With 7,841 employees in seven countries (France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom) at June 30, 2023, Aubay generated revenue of €513.5 million in 2022.

Euronext, Compartment: B - ISIN FR0000063737-AUB - Reuters : AUBT.PA - Bloomberg AUB:FP

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Contacts

Amaury Dugast – Actus Finance – Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 74 - adugast@actus.fr

David Fuks – Co-Chief Operating Officer – Finance Department – Tel.: +33 (0)1 46 10 67 67 – E-mail: dfuks@aubay.com

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