(News Bulletin 247) – The title of the green chemistry specialist is soaring on the Paris Stock Exchange without an obvious factor justifying this increase. However, Le Courrier Picard reported a few days ago that François Ruffin, deputy for Somme, was mobilized to save the struggling Metex Noovistago factory in Amiens.

Metabolic Explorer has the counters panicking at the start of the week on the Paris Stock Exchange. The title of the green chemistry group soared 120% to 0.557 euros this Tuesday in copious volumes with more than 2 million shares traded around 2:30 p.m. On Monday, the stock had already gained 13.5%, bringing its gains to more than 140% over the last five sessions.

This renewed market interest in this massacred issue comes at a time when no obvious information justifies this variation on Tuesday.

Contacted by News Bulletin 247, a Metex spokesperson was unable to provide explanations regarding the surge in the company’s stock.

However, one possible avenue would be to put this sharp increase into perspective with a press article published at the end of last week. According to Courrier Picard, the LFI deputy for Somme François Ruffin would be “mobilized” on the Metex Noovistago file in Amiens.

“The situation at the Metex Noovistago amino acid factory worries local elected officials, including the Somme deputy, François Ruffin, who is trying, at his level, to find solutions,” reports the local newspaper.

A political dimension

This takeover of the file by François Ruffin can therefore potentially give hope to the market. It must be said that the situation at this factory has suddenly deteriorated due to fierce Chinese competition in the market for lysine, an amino acid of animal origin which is also produced by the Metex Noovistago factory.

However, European players including Metex cannot face this competition on equal terms to the extent that the production of lysine depends on sugar prices. The raw material is purchased less expensively by the producers of this amino acid in China, explains François Ruffin on his website.

In addition to these headwinds from China, the Metex factory in Amiens had to interrupt its production of amino acids last fall due to the explosion in energy prices, linked to the war in Ukraine. . A stoppage which led the 350 employees of the factory to go on partial unemployment.

Production has since resumed, but with the help of public authorities. which granted a financing plan of 73 million euros to facilitate the restart of the factory.

As part of this rescue, Metabolic Explorer has also mandated a service provider to find additional financing for the business plan to be put in place by January 2025 up to a maximum of 30 million euros.

On this horizon, Metex estimates that it will be able to achieve a turnover of around 420 million euros, an Ebitda (gross operating profit) of around 46 million euros and an operational cash flow (before financing). and investments) of around 42 million euros.

A strain on cash flow

For the moment, Metex’s accounts remain under pressure, with the Clermont-based company citing “a difficult economic context”, which has notably weighed on its sales. At the end of June 2023, the group’s turnover was almost halved to 69.1 million euros compared to 129.3 million euros a year earlier.

This low level of activity was also detrimental to Metex’s profitability, as was the surge in sugar prices and energy prices. In the first half, the group widened its operating loss to 9.7 million euros compared to -7.4 million euros at the end of June 2022. As for the net result, it remains in loss, at 16 .9 million euros compared to -18.4 million euros in the first half of 2022.

In addition to these degraded half-year accounts, the market has strongly sanctioned the cash pressures to which the company is subject. Cash flow net of debt stood at -68.4 million euros at the end of June 2023 compared to -38.6 million euros at December 31, 2022.

“Given the level of activity, competitive pressure and the cost of inputs, tension persists in the group’s cash flow despite the aforementioned financing operations,” explains Metex, which warns that “this tension will continue in the coming quarters.

The company says it is working “with its partners in search of new levers in order to restore its profitability and ensure its financing”. On the Paris Stock Exchange, the reaction to these tensions on the treasury had been clear, the Metex stock had plunged by 19.35% on September 29, the day after the publication of these half-yearly accounts.

Metex’s next meeting with the market is scheduled for November 9, when the third quarter turnover is published.