(News Bulletin 247) – The French spirits group welcomed another “record” year in 2022-2023 but still expects a stabilization of its turnover for the current financial year, due to normalization demand, particularly in the United States. Rémy Cointreau is taking advantage of this annual publication to reaffirm its objectives for 2030.

For the second consecutive year, Rémy Cointreau announces “record” results, the group has become a master in the art of raising prices without losing its customers.

Over its staggered 2022-2023 financial year (ending at the end of March), the group which owns the Rémy Martin or The Botanist brands had already published its turnover (1.55 billion euros over the year, i.e. +17.9 % compared to 2021-2022). He just released the rest of that financial data. The group thus saw its current operating profit climb by 28.5% in published data (+16.2% in organic data), to reach the record figure of 429.6 million euros over the past year.

Another “record” year

The current operating margin also took the same path to also come out at a “historic level” of 27.7% of sales, up 1.4 points. It is above the expectations of TP ICAP Midcap, which was counting on a margin of 27% and the consensus quoted by the design office (27.7%), thanks to a strong organic improvement in the gross margin to a record level of 71%. .3% and strict structural cost control.

Thus, Rémy Cointreau saw its net profit jump by 38% to 294 million euros at the end of its 2022-2023 financial year. The group took advantage of the price increases. “This performance reflects the strong increase in the price-mix effect”, that is to say the increase in selling prices, volumes being stable in parallel, Rémy Cointreau had indicated.

The French spirits group has thus beaten market expectations, including those of Stifel, and says it is ahead of its 2030 strategic plan. However, Rémy Cointreau anticipates a lackluster 2023-2024 due to the normalization of its activity , especially in the United States.

A drop in consumption in the United States

The company thus confirms that it expects “stability” in its turnover for the current year, excluding scope and exchange rate effects. These prospects, which were announced during Rémy Cointreau’s annual update last April, include a “marked decline” in sales in the first half, due to a “very sharp fall in turnover in the United States and high bases of comparison”. The group only sees a “resumption of growth” in the second half “in the wake of a sharp rebound in activity in the United States” from the third quarter.

These prospects had disappointed the market since “the consensus compiled by the company predicted organic sales growth of +6% and a margin increase of 0.4%”, explained Stifel in a previous note.

The sanction on the stock market had then been up to the disappointment, the Rémy Cointreau title had fallen by 11.8% while the Euro Stoxx rose by 0.2%, on April 28, the day of the announcement. For Stifel, the reaction on the stock market was completely “consistent with the consensus revision of -12% for adjusted operating income 2023-2024”.

2023-2024 will therefore be a year of transition for Rémy Cointreau, which does not prevent it from confirming its outlook for 2029-2030. The spirits specialist is still aiming for a gross margin of 72% and a gradual improvement in the current operating margin of the group’s brands to reach 33% in 2029-2030. Remy Cointreau’s ambitions are considered “credible” for Sarah Thirion of TP ICAP Midcap.

Given these growth prospects and the “very good” results achieved in 2022-2023, Rémy Cointreau will propose the distribution of an ordinary dividend of 2 euros per share in cash. Better still, the group also intends to reward the loyalty of its shareholders with an exceptional dividend of 1 euro per share, which will also be paid in cash.

On the Paris Stock Exchange, Rémy Cointreau is moving down slightly by 0.3%, around 10:20 a.m. in a Parisian market relieved by progress on the thorny issue of American debt. The title progressed by 3% in the first exchanges, the investors had welcomed this new record year as well as the absence of bad news for the current financial year.