(News Bulletin 247) – Shares of the American cosmetics giant began trading this Thursday at 3:30 p.m. on the Paris Stock Exchange and are currently falling.

It’s D-day. The American cosmetics giant began its double listing in Paris this Thursday. And Coty’s first steps proved hesitant.

Shortly after the start of the stock’s trading at 3:50 p.m., the share price fell by 1.6% to 10.284 euros compared to the reference price used by Euronext Paris which is 10.458 euros.

At the start of the week, Coty had filed a request for a dual listing on the professional compartment of the Paris market, the company already being present on the New York Stock Exchange.

Regarding the size of the issue, the company issued 33 million shares on this occasion, “to the public in the United States” and only to professional investors in the European Union.

The price of the private placement was set at 10.80 dollars or 10.28 euros per share, based on a euro/dollar exchange rate of 1.0509 dollars. The offer was largely oversubscribed, Coty said, with “strong demand from leading European institutional investors”.

Expand shareholder base and reduce debt

The proceeds of the issue will mainly be intended to reduce Coty’s debt but also to finance strategic investments in its activities. This double listing also aims to strengthen Coty’s presence in Europe and “to offer an additional means of reaching untapped investors in the market”, explained the company last May.

The Coty share trades under the ticker COTY and the ISIN code US2220702037.

Last week, the American group revised upwards its growth prospects for the 2024 financial year, due to the very good performance of the group in all of its markets and in particular in the perfume segment of the Prestige category. . The group notably benefited from the success of the launch of the Burberry Goddess perfume. Coty owns other licenses for major brands such as Gucci, Chloé, Marc Jacobs for perfumes and markets cosmetic and makeup products under the Bourjois, Max Factor or Rimmel brands.

In this context, Coty now expects growth at constant scope and exchange rates of its turnover between 10%-12% for the first half of the 2024 financial year (the company closes its accounts on June 30), compared to 8 %-10% as previously communicated. Revenue for the 2024 financial year is expected to grow at constant scope and exchange rates in a range of 8%-10%, compared to 6%-8% as previously communicated by Coty.

The forecast for adjusted Ebitda (gross operating surplus) was also raised. It is now established at a range of $1.075 billion to $1.085 billion for fiscal 2024, based on current exchange rates, compared to a range of $1.065 billion to $1.075 billion as previously communicated.