(News Bulletin 247) – The specialist in payment solutions in the world of work saw its growth reach 21.2% last year on a like-for-like basis, and generated record cash flow.

Edenred pushes its limits. The specialist in payment solutions in the world of work, present in employee benefits (gift cards, restaurant vouchers), fuel cards and inter-company payments, once again recorded vigorous growth last year.

“Edenred is flying from record to record, these are records both in absolute value and in rate”, rejoiced on BFM Business, its CEO, Bertrand Dumazy.

Its total revenue crossed the 2 billion euro mark for the first time to 2.031 billion euro, up 25% on a reported basis and 21.2% on a like-for-like basis.

Driven by inflation

Operating revenue, generated by the issue of prepaid vouchers, increased by 19.2% excluding currency and scope effects, while “other revenue”, which is generated via the investment of funds entrusted to Edenred before to be spent by the beneficiaries (e.g. funds from meal vouchers issued but not yet used by employees), almost doubled, to 87 million euros. “Other income” was driven by progressively rising interest rates in all regions in which the company operates.

The group benefited from a strong end to the year with an acceleration in the fourth quarter, during which operating revenue jumped 22.3% like-for-like to 569 million euros, exceeding the expectations of the consensus, which was around 540 million euros, according to Stifel.

“Growth was notably driven by a solid performance of year-end gift card campaigns, despite a high basis of comparison, and by the continued success of Beyond Fuel solutions. [les solutions d’Edenred dans la mobilité qui vont au-delà des cartes carburant, comme par exemple des solutions de gestion des paiements des péages ou des flottes d’entreprises]“, explained the company.

Throughout the year, Edenred benefited from the effects of inflation, which made all of its solutions more attractive, as they enabled employers to give employees purchasing power, while benefiting from tax advantages. .

“Inflation is cutting into the purchasing power of employees, so all the systems that make it possible to restore purchasing power are growing strongly, the restaurant ticket is an example of this”, explained Bertrand Dumazy.

The company also continued to activate its major growth drivers, particularly SMEs in employee benefits, an under-penetrated segment.

Of Edenred’s three major businesses (employee benefits, mobility solutions, and inter-company payments) between 70% and 90% of the market has not yet been penetrated, according to the group.

A record Ebitda

Gross operating income (Ebitda) reached a record in 2022, at 836 million euros, up 23.3% like-for-like over one year, for a corresponding margin of 41.2%. This figure is slightly higher than analysts’ expectations, at 830 million euros according to Stifel. Net profit amounted to 386 million euros, up 23.3% over one year.

Edenred also generated record cash last year, with free cash flow of 881 million euros, compared to 518 million in 2021, driven by the company’s activity as well as a regulatory change in Germany on the Ticket City (a kind of regional ticket, usable for shopping, food and fuel) which had a positive impact of 170 million euros.

Regarding its outlook, Edenred expects, in 2023, to generate like-for-like EBITDA growth of more than 12% and convert more than 70% of its EBITDA into cash flow, in accordance with its medium-term strategic plan for the 2022 period. -2025.

If Edenred has therefore exceeded 2 billion euros, the group intends to go much further. During the presentation of its last strategic plan in the fall, the company indicated that it was aiming for 5 billion euros in revenue by 2030, also through external growth operations.

Following these announcements, the Edenred title lost ground on the Paris Stock Exchange, losing 1.3% to 51.74 euros around 9:15 a.m.