- Revenues: €164.3m (+18%)
- Gross margin: €134.6 million (+13%)
- EBITDA: €20.3 million (+39%), or 15.1% of gross margin
- Consolidated net income: € 9.1 million (+ 47%)
- Proposed dividend of €0.88 per share
- “Ambition 2025”: to become a European leader in data marketing
Paris, March 28, 2022 (8:00 a.m.) – The DÉKUPLE Group, an expert in cross-channel data marketing, announces its results for the 2021 fiscal year.
Bertrand Laurioz, Chairman and CEO of the DÉKUPLE Group, said: “Despite the constraints of the health crisis, 2021 is a great year of growth and transformation for our Group. Driven by the growth of our digital marketing and insurance activities, our revenues increased by 18% to €164.3 million. Reinforced by our rigorous management, our consolidated net income recorded a sustained growth of 47% to €9.1 million.
These good results reflect, once again, the solidity of our Group. The recurrence of our portfolio activities, such as the sale of magazine subscriptions and insurance policies, underpin our resilience. The diversity of our digital marketing activities reinforces our growth; these activities will represent 45% of Group revenues in 2021, compared with 37% in 2020.
In line with our “Ambition 2025″ plan to become a leader in data marketing in Europe, we continue to strengthen our complementary expertise, as we did in 2021 with Intelligence Senior and Reech in our marketing engineering activities, or with the acquisition of the assets of QAPE, an AssurTech that allows us to accelerate our growth in the insurance sector. At the same time, our innovative strength allows us to better use the Group’s many technological skills in the service of data marketing.
The DÉKUPLE Group has significant financial strength, enabling it to finance its development. Despite the continuing health and geopolitical crises, I am very confident in our ability to adapt and continue to grow. Thanks to the mobilization of our 700 employees, we will be able to make 2022 a new year of success.”
HIGHLIGHTS
In 2021, the DÉKUPLE Group recorded strong growth in its activities despite the economic and health uncertainties.
The portfolio activities confirmed the resilience of their business model, which generates recurring revenues. Despite an unfavorable basis of comparison and a decline in the yield from commercial campaigns, revenues from the Magazines business are stable in 2021, with the development of subscription offers in partnership offsetting the impact of the discontinuation in 2020 of prospecting under the France Abonnements brand. The Insurance business (+24%) has maintained its steady growth by diversifying its product mix towards health insurance and by strengthening its future growth capacity with the acquisition of the strategic assets of the AssurTech company QAPE and the assets of its complementary health insurance company KOVERS.
Digital Marketing activities (consulting and marketing engineering), which represent 45% of consolidated revenues, have accelerated their growth (+46%). These activities are benefiting from Converteo’s dynamic expansion and its consulting activities in a context of digitalization and datafication of companies, and in particular of their marketing. Marketing Engineering activities, slowed down by the continuing health crisis, were strengthened during the year with the completion of two external growth operations: i) the acquisition of a stake in February in Intelligence Senior (ex-Groupe Grand Mercredi), a player in silver economy marketing, and ii) the acquisition in September of Reech, an expert in influence marketing.
RESULTS
Consolidated revenues[i] amounted to €164.3 million, up 17.9% on 2020, while gross margin[ii] was up 12.8% to €134.6 million.
In a context of sustained investment with significant recruitment efforts, restated EBITDA[iii] amounted to €20.3 million, up €5.7 million on the previous year, to represent 15.1% of the annual gross margin.
Operating profit amounted to €14.8 million, representing 11.0% of gross margin, compared with 7.8% in 2020. This increase is mainly due to the rise in ADLPartner SA’s profit generated by the refocusing of commercial investments in the Magazines business, the reduction in the accounting loss of the Insurance business and the rise in the results of the Digital Marketing activities.
After taking into account a higher tax charge (€4.6m), consolidated net income will reach €9.1m in 2021, up 46.7% compared to 2020.
After deducting minority interests, net income attributable to the Group amounted to €8.5 million, representing a net margin of 6.3%, compared with 5.4% in 2020.
| Données consolidées – en M€ | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | Variation 2021/2020 |
| Chiffre d’affaires | 138,64 | 139,31 | 164,25 | + 17,9 % |
| Marge brute | 122,06 | 119,33 | 134,65 | + 12,8 % |
| EBITDA retraité 3 En % MB |
12,25 10,0% |
14,65 12,3% |
20,32 15,1% |
+ 38,7 % |
| Résultat opérationnel En % MB |
7,67 6,3% |
9,31 7,8% |
14,82 11,0% |
+ 59,2 % |
| Résultat net de l’ensemble consolidé En % MB |
5,23 4,3% |
6,21 5,2% |
9,11 6,8% |
+ 46,7 % |
| Résultat net part du groupe En % MB |
5,43 4,5% |
6,49 5,4% |
8,49 6,3% |
+ 30,9 % |
FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
Consolidated shareholders’ equity at December 31, 2021 amounted to €30.8 million, up €7.6 million compared with December 31, 2020, taking into account mainly the profit for the year (+ €9.1 million) and the distribution of the ordinary dividend paid in June 2021 (- €3.2 million). This change also takes into account changes in the scope of consolidation (+0.8 million euros) and the impact of treasury shares and bonus share issues (+0.8 million euros).
The Group’s cash position at December 31, 2021 was €38.8 million, compared with €42.0 million at December 31, 2020. Financial debt amounted to €20.6 million, compared to €13.3 million at December 31, 2020, and is essentially made up of commitments to buy out minority interests in Converteo, Dékuple Ingénierie Marketing BtoB (ex-AWE), Intelligence Senior and Reech.
The implementation in the first half of 2022 of bank financing in the form of loans and confirmed fixed-rate lines with maturities of between 5 and 7 years will enable the Group to refinance the external growths achieved in 2021 and to strengthen its room for maneuver to pursue its external growth strategy, while benefiting from attractive market conditions.
OUTLOOK
In line with “Ambition 2025”, the DÉKUPLE Group is maintaining its expansion strategy aimed at becoming a European leader in data marketing. The Group’s solid financial resources will enable it to support aggressive growth in digital marketing in order to strengthen its positions in this area, while continuing its commercial investments in its portfolio activities that generate recurring revenues.
DIVIDEND
In view of the 2021 results and the investments planned for 2022, the Board of Directors will propose to the General Meeting of Shareholders on June 17, 2021 the distribution of a dividend of 0.88 euro per share in respect of fiscal year 2021. This dividend will be paid on June 24, 2022.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The 2021 parent company and consolidated financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on March 25, 2022. The audit procedures on the parent company and consolidated financial statements have been performed by the statutory auditors. The certification report will be issued once the procedures required for the publication of the annual financial report have been completed.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Annual financial report 2021, April 15, 2022, after the close of trading
First quarter 2022 revenues, May 30, 2022, before the close of trading.
[i] Revenues (which are determined on the basis of the French status of press commissionaire for subscription sales) only take into account the amount of remuneration paid by press publishers; in the case of subscription sales, revenues therefore correspond in reality to a gross margin, since the cost of magazines sold is deducted from the amount of sales received. In the case of acquisition and management fees relating to the sale of insurance contracts, revenues include fees issued and to be issued, earned at the balance sheet date, net of cancellations.
[ii] For digital marketing activities, gross margin represents all revenues (total invoices issued: fees, commissions and purchases rebilled to clients) less all external purchasing costs incurred on behalf of clients. It is equal to revenues in the case of magazine and insurance activities.
[iii] EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is restated for the IFRS2 impact of bonus share issues and the IFRS 16 impact of the restatement of rental expenses.