(News Bulletin 247) – The veterinary laboratory is once again raising its financial objectives for 2023, reassured by the direction of its activity at the end of the year in the wake of an already dynamic third quarter. Virbac also reveals its objectives for the year 2024.

The end of the year presents itself under the best auspices for Virbac. The laboratory controlled by the family of its founder Pierre-Richard Dick, raised its annual objectives this Tuesday, December 19, the company citing a continuation in the fourth quarter of the rebound in its activity, already observed in the third quarter.

The group’s confidence for the end of the year is also supported by the “confirmed delay in certain expenses, particularly research and development. Thus, Virbac is now counting, for 2023, on growth in its turnover at a rate of constant exchange rate and scope “around 4%”, compared to a previous forecast between “2% and 4%”.

At the same time, the veterinary laboratory is aiming for a ratio of current operating income before depreciation of assets resulting from acquisitions (adjusted Ebit) to turnover consolidating “around 15% at constant exchange rates”, where the company still expected a indicator between 13.5% and 14.5%.

Finally, at constant exchange rates, Virbac specified that its net cash position at the end of December 2023 should improve by almost 50 million euros compared to the same position at the end of December 2022. This objective is understood to exclude acquisitions and impact of the share buyback plan.

This is therefore the second increase in objectives of the year for Virbac, which is logically welcomed by the Paris Stock Exchange. At the top of the SBF 120, the group’s action rebounded by 8.9% to 331 euros around 10:45 a.m., returning to a September 2022 peak. With the day’s increase, Virbac gained 44% over the whole of 2023. .

At the end of October, the company had already raised its annual targets after a significant rebound in sales in the third quarter.

Outlook for 2024

Another important point of this publication, Virbac reveals its outlook for the year 2024. The company says at this stage it expects growth in turnover at constant rates and scope of between 4 and 6%. This objective corresponds to the growth that was expected by Virbac at the start of the year for 2023, before the company was forced to abandon this target in July given an animal health market which had then deteriorated in second quarter and a computer attack suffered in June.

Still for 2024, Virbac expects a ratio of “current operating income before amortization of assets resulting from acquisitions” (adjusted Ebit) to turnover of around 15% at constant exchange rates.

The company also reaffirms its objective of achieving an adjusted Ebit ratio of 20% by 2030 with a level of research and development investments, which the group intends to “gradually bring back in the coming years” to its normative level and historical.