(News Bulletin 247) – The manufacturer of motorhomes and leisure vehicles has certainly accelerated its growth in its third quarter from March to May. But logistical problems and a disappointment in the leisure equipment division tarnish the publication.

The Trigano share often reacts with significant volatility to the group’s publications. This is still the case on Tuesday, after the leisure vehicle specialist unveiled, Monday evening, its activity for the third quarter of its 2022-2023 financial year, i.e. from March to May. The action thus fell by 7.8% on the Paris Stock Exchange to 122.60 euros around 10:50 a.m., following this communication.

“The third quarter is mixed. The publication is positive because it marks an acceleration in growth compared to the first and second quarters”, underlines, initially, Emmanuel Parot, analyst at Gilbert Dupont.

The group’s revenues thus rose by 12.8% like-for-like, after 8.3% in the second quarter and -8.2% in the first, to reach 1.034 billion euros. The leisure vehicles division alone (motorhomes, caravans) grew by 15.6% like-for-like over the period.

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Driver issues

“The turnover is generally close to our expectations. The company suffered from logistical difficulties due to the major floods in Italy which disrupted deliveries to dealers”, notes Emmanuel Parot. “In addition, they also reported difficulties in recruiting drivers to deliver motorhomes to dealers,” he adds.

Bank Berenberg expected it a little more on the turnover of the third quarter (1.113 billion euros) due in particular to a more lenient basis of comparison for the period.

“Turnover is slightly below our expectations, which stood at 1.102 billion euros. In motorhomes, if the “price mix” effect is in line, production turns out to be lower than our expectations. due to delivery problems in Italy”, explains Arnaud Despré, analyst at Portzamparc.

The value specialist highlights a second subject “which concerns leisure equipment: we were expecting a marked turnaround in the second half, and therefore from this third quarter. However, activity is still down sharply over this quarter, nearly 18%”.

This division fell by 18.3% on a reported basis and 17.6% on a like-for-like basis, after drops of 28.4% in the second quarter and 29.8% in the first. The company indicates that leisure equipment was penalized by “the economic situation in Europe, in particular in France where the political climate did not favor sales”.

“Remember that this division posted almost zero margins in the first half, compared to 11% last year. To restore profitability, the company must catch up in the second half, which is not off to a good start”, adds Arnaud Despre.

A new acquisition

Note that if Trigano therefore encounters problems in the deliveries to dealers of its products, the supply of chassis, a long-standing problem for the company, is progressing, the group underlining “a gradual improvement in the reception of rolling bases”.

The group also remains confident about its prospects, although they remain very literary. “Management expressed optimism for next year, noting the favorable reception of its product line. It also indicated that it would maintain prices next year and make increasing production a priority,” emphasizes Emmanuel Parot.

The company also announced a new acquisition, strengthening itself a little more in distribution, which has been the mainstay of the group’s external growth policy in recent years. Trigano has entered into exclusive negotiations to buy 70% of the capital of ADS Loisirs, a distributor of motorhomes in the Rennes area, with a turnover of 32 million euros in 2022. “Given the level of Trigano’s sales to this company, the contribution of consolidated turnover resulting from this acquisition would be around 25 million euros”, indicates the company.

Since taking over Slovenian Adria in 2017, Trigano has achieved a market share in the production of motorhomes that prevents it from really pursuing acquisitions in the manufacture of leisure vehicles without triggering the opening of antitrust investigations by the Commission. European. Since then, the company has strengthened itself in other segments, in particular vertically, by acquiring distributors.