ADLPartner / ADLPerformance: PROGRESS WITH EARNINGS IN 2020
PRESS RELEASE
Paris, 26 March 2021 (6:00pm)
ADLPartner / ADLPerformance:
PROGRESS WITH EARNINGS IN 2020
- Net sales of €139.3m, up 0.5%
- Operating income up 21% to €9.3m, supported by the
development of a resilient model faced with the
crisis
- Proposed dividend of €0.81 per share
- 2025 ambition: continue moving forward with diversified
growth and become a European leader for cross-channel data
marketing
Bertrand Laurioz, ADLPerformance Group Chairman
and CEO: “Our results for 2020 reflect our Group’s sound
foundations, particularly during a crisis period. With net sales up
0.5%, and 24% growth in our net income after minority interests, we
are demonstrating the resilience of our diversified model. These
results also illustrate the success of the Group’s dynamic
transformation which, thanks to our new transversal commercial
organization, is helping drive the development of our subsidiaries
and the various companies joining us.
After acquiring three companies last year in the
digital marketing sector, we aim to continue moving forward with
our robust external growth in 2021 through acquisitions of
companies with complementary capabilities and expertise, as shown
by our recent acquisition of an interest in the integrated media
agency Grand Mercredi, specialized in the seniors segment.
We have embarked on a major development of our
activities with the ambition to become a European leader for
cross-channel data marketing by 2025. The strength of our financial
resources combined with the increase in our capabilities will
enable us to benefit from a significant leverage effect for the
development of our Group”.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Despite the health crisis and the end of sales
under the France Abonnements brand as announced, the Group
successfully maintained a slight level of net sales growth in 2020.
Specifically, the rollout of a new commercial organization around
business divisions has supported the development of offers for each
market.
In this context, the portfolio-based activities
showed their resilience and their ability to bounce back. Following
a second quarter significantly affected by the first lockdown, the
Magazines business recorded a marked upturn in partnership-based
subscription recruitment during the second half of the year,
enabling the active open-ended subscriber portfolio to stabilize at
2.7 million units. The Insurance business continued to grow (+9%),
helping drive the development of the policyholder portfolio,
generating recurrent revenues.
The Digital Marketing business (marketing
services and consulting), which represents 37% of consolidated net
sales, recorded 20% growth in its gross margin (€31m), linked
primarily to the robust development of the subsidiary Converteo, a
market leader for digital and data strategy consulting. The
marketing services business, held back by the impact of the health
crisis, was further strengthened with the integration of the three
acquisitions made during the year: i) in January, the acquisition
of the assets of Ividence, an adtech company specialized in
programmatic native advertising for media newsletters, ii) in July,
the acquisition of a majority interest in AWE, a BtoB digital
marketing agency, and iii) in August, the acquisition of the assets
of Pschhh, a strategic planning and creation agency.
EARNINGS
Consolidated net sales1 came to €139.3m, up 0.5%
from 2019, while the gross sales volume2 is stable at €287.5m.
Operating income came to €9.3m, up 21% from
2019, which was negatively affected by a provision for
restructuring linked to the realignment measures for the magazine
activities. In 2020, the progress with earnings for ADLPartner SA,
the further reduction in the loss of the subsidiary ADLP
Assurances, and the growing contribution by the subsidiary
Converteo made it possible to offset the Spanish subsidiary’s
stable results and the drop in performance for the marketing
services subsidiaries.
After factoring in a higher tax expense (€2.9m),
consolidated net income totaled €6.2m in 2020, up 19% from
2019.
After deducting minority interests, net income
(Group share) represents €6.5m, with a net margin rate of 4.7%,
versus 3.8% in 2019.
Consolidated data (€m) |
2020 |
2019 |
Change |
Net sales |
139.31 |
138.64 |
+0.5% |
Operating income % of net sales |
9.316.7% |
7.675.5% |
+21.4% |
Consolidated net income % of net sales |
6.216.7% |
5.235.5% |
+18.6% |
Net income (Group share) % of net sales |
6.494.7% |
5.243.8% |
+23.9% |
FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
Consolidated shareholders’ equity represented
€23.1m at 31 December 2020, up €0.5m from 31 December 2019,
primarily factoring in earnings for the year (+€6.5m), the
exceptional dividend paid in December 2020 (-€1.8m), the impact of
the takeover of AWE (-€4.8m) and the impact of changes in the basis
for consolidation (+€1.2m).
The Group’s net cash climbed €13m to €42.0m at
31 December 2020, compared with €29.0m at 31 December 2019. This
progress reflects the Group’s growth (organic and external), the
strong increase in the Magazines business at the end of the period,
and the specific features of its business model, which operates
with negative working capital requirements. Financial debt
represents €13.3m, compared with €6.8m at 31 December 2019,
primarily comprising commitments to buy out the minority interests
in Converteo and AWE.
Net asset value3 (Group share), calculated based
on shareholders’ equity and the value of the active open-ended
subscription portfolio, is up 1.8% to €130.9m at 31 December 2020
(€33 per share excluding treasury stock). It does not include the
portfolio of insurance policies.
OUTLOOK
The Group’s results for 2020 confirm the
relevance of its strategy to diversify its markets and continue
building on its robust growth. The Group is continuing to optimize
its commercial investments in its magazine and insurance activities
to further strengthen its portfolios generating recurrent revenues.
Alongside this, it is capitalizing on its significant financial
resources to sustainably strengthen its position as a major player
for digital marketing in Europe thanks to an aggressive external
growth strategy. Confident about its prospects, the ADLPerformance
Group aims to become a European leader for cross-channel data
marketing by 2025.
DIVIDEND
Taking into account the absence of an ordinary
dividend in 2020, the payment of an exceptional dividend of €0.45
per share on 18 December 2020, and its confidence in the future,
ADLPartner’s Board of Directors will submit a dividend of €0.81 per
share for approval at the General Meeting on 18 June 2021, to be
paid out on 25 June 2021.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The social and consolidated financial statements
for 2020 were approved by the Board of Directors on 26 March 2021.
The statutory auditors have completed the audit procedures on the
social and consolidated accounts. The certification report will be
issued once the necessary procedures have been finalized for
publishing the full-year financial report.
NEXT DATES
- 2020 annual financial report on 16 April 2021 (after close of
trading)
- 2021 first-quarter net sales on 28 May 2021 (after close of
trading)
ADLPartner /
ADLPerformance in brief
With its extensive cross-channel marketing track
record and deep data expertise, the ADLPerformance Group designs,
markets and implements customer acquisition, loyalty and
relationship management services on its own behalf or for its
partners across all distribution channels. The Group works with 50%
of the companies from the CAC 40 and large numbers of mid-market
firms. The Group recorded net sales of €139m in 2020 and employs
more than 500 people.
ADLPartner is listed on the regulated market
Euronext Paris – Compartment C.ISIN: FR0000062978–ALP - Bloomberg:
ALP:FP – Reuters: ALDP.PA
www.adlperformance.com
CONTACTS
ADLPartner / ADLPerformanceInvestor Relations
& Financial Informationtel: +33 (0)1 41 58 72
03relations.investisseurs@adlpartner.fr |
CalyptusCyril Combe tel: +33 (0)1 53 65 68
68adlpartner@calyptus.net |
1 Net sales (determined in line with the French
professional status for subscription sales) only include the amount
of remuneration paid by magazine publishers; for subscription
sales, net sales therefore correspond to a gross margin, deducting
the cost of magazines sold from the amount of sales recorded. For
acquisition and management commissions linked to sales of insurance
policies, net sales comprise current and future commissions issued,
acquired by the accounting reporting date, net of
cancellations.
2 Gross sales volume represents the value of
subscriptions and other products sold. It is equal to net sales for
the insurance business.
3 Net asset value represents the amount of equity plus the
discounted value of future net revenues generated by the active
open-ended subscription portfolio. It does not include the
portfolio of insurance policies.
- ADLPartner_CP_resultats_annuels_2020_E_def