(News Bulletin 247) – The Isère specialist in the import and wholesale of fittings displays a more than cautious outlook at the end of a third quarter marked by an organic decline in its activity. Thermador prepares to face a “particularly difficult” 2024

The landing of the activity is confirmed for Thermador Groupe, which augurs a complicated year 2024 for the Isère group. The specialist in building fluid equipment fell by more than 10.4% to 64.5 euros around 11:45 a.m. – i.e. a one-year low – after the publication of third quarter turnover in fallback.

The company indicated the decline in its activity, which had already begun in the second quarter of 2023 (-2% in organic data), was confirmed this summer with a drop in turnover of 6.4% on a like-for-like basis.

Thermador Groupe had already lost 5.7% on Thursday evening, investors had perhaps anticipated this lackluster publication. With this Friday’s decline, the share’s decline since the start of the year increases to more than 23%.

A difficult economic situation

Since March, the company has noticed a clear slowdown in demand due to the drop in new construction starts, which has a particular impact on the activity of its subsidiaries PBtub and Thermacome (heating-cooling surfaces and piping systems). ) which market equipment intended almost exclusively for this market.

In addition, the performance of Thermador – the oldest of its subsidiaries, which gave the name to the group – was hampered in the second quarter by the blocking of the MaprimeRenov’ system due to long payment deadlines from the National Agency for habitat (ANAH).

“The MaPrimeRénov’ financing mechanism seems to be blocked. We have this information from some of our agent clients who are having the greatest difficulty obtaining financing from the ANAH, an organization charged by the State with monitoring the regularity of the work undertaken and release the funds,” Thermador indicated last July.

This blockage seems occasional but still weighed on Thermador’s activity this summer. “Although the payment times for investment amounts eligible for the MaPrimeRénov’ system seem to be shortening for certain players considered virtuous, our customers engaged in the sale of equipment for the energy renovation of buildings have generally lowered their order levels with our Thermador subsidiary”, underlined the group. As a result, the markets for solar water heaters and air-water heat pumps “are experiencing a very sharp slowdown”.

The company is also having difficulty passing on price increases to its customers. “The average over nine rolling months of price increases passed on to our customers amounts to 7.2% whereas we had estimated it at 8.2% at the end of June,” specifies the company which anticipates a price increase of 6% over the whole of 2023, much less than the 10.8% increase in its prices in 2022.

No questioning of the dividend

And for the future, the prospects are not very encouraging. The Isère company expects a drop in activity on a like-for-like basis in the fourth quarter. Above all, Thermador anticipates a “particularly difficult” year 2024. “We have already gone through this type of period and remain confident in our ability to emerge strengthened,” the Isère group would like to reassure.

Despite these headwinds, Thermador Groupe does not intend to hand over its shareholder return policy. The company is well known to regulars at the Paris Stock Exchange since it is part of the closed circle of “dividend aristocrats”. In other words, stocks that have never lowered their dividend over the last 25 financial years. This has been the case with Thermador since its IPO in 1987.