Les Ulis, May 15, 2024 at 7:00 a.m.
LEXIBOOK: FISCAL Q4 23-24 DOWN 14.7% TO 6.4M€ VS. 7.5M€ IN Q4 22-23. FULL-YEAR SALES UP 14.4% TO 58.5M€ VS 51.2M€ THANKS TO GROWTH IN FRANCE AND ABROAD. FIRST SIGNIFICANT ADVERTISING INVESTMENTS IN THE USA. SATISFACTORY OUTLOOK FOR THE NEW FISCAL YEAR 2024-25.
- Q4 fiscal sales remained buoyant despite a sluggish consumer environment. As expected, Q4 23-24 sales were down at €6.39m vs. €7.49m in 22-23.
- The drop in sales was mainly due to the non-renewal of a branded robot sale for Mainbot, and to a lesser extent to a drop in sales on Amazon in a context of post-Christmas inventory rationalization.
- Over the full fiscal year, sales rose by a further 14.36% to €58.55M, compared with €51.2M a year earlier.
- The Group continued its communications campaign in Europe during the quarter, exceeding one billion digital impressions over its fiscal year. The Group also invested more than 1 million euros in digital advertising on the American market to raise brand awareness locally.
- Q1 24-25 is expected to be slightly up on Q1 23-24, and augurs another year of profitable growth for Lexibook, despite a less favorable euro/US dollar exchange rate and deteriorating international freight conditions.
Lexibook (ISIN FR0000033599) today announced its sales (unaudited) for the period ending March 31, 2024 (period from April 1er 2023 to March 31, 2024).
| Consolidated sales (M€) | 2022/2023 | 2023/2024 | Var |
| 1er quarter | 6,93 | 7,01 | +1,15% |
| Of which FOB | 2,22 | 2,21 | -0,45% |
| Of which Non FOB | 4,71 | 4,8 | +1,91% |
| 2éme quarter | 13,4 | 15,13 | +12,91% |
| Of which FOB | 4,32 | 2,85 | -34,03% |
| Of which Non FOB | 9,08 | 12,28 | +35,24% |
| 3rd quarter | 23,41 | 30,01 | +28,19% |
| Of which FOB | 0,72 | 0,88 | +22,22% |
| Of which Non FOB | 22,69 | 29,13 | +28,38% |
| 4éme quarter | 7,49 | 6,39 | -14,69% |
| Of which FOB | 1,87 | 1,03 | -44,92% |
| Of which Non FOB | 5,62 | 5,35 | -4,80% |
| +14,36% | |||
| Total 12 months | 51,2 | 58,55 | |
After a very dynamic third quarter of FY23-24, with growth of 28.2%, the last quarter of the fiscal year, which was already down by 11.3% in FY22-23, was, as expected, down again, to €6.39M vs. €7.49M in FY22-23 (-14.7%). This drop in activity is essentially due to the non-renewal of a robot delivery for Mainbot, and to a lesser extent by a lower level of orders from Amazon Europe as a result of their inventory rationalization policy after the Christmas season. FOB sales (sales invoiced directly from HK on FOB HK deliveries by full containers) fell sharply by 45%, as the sale to Mainbot took place on an FOB HK basis in Q1 2023. Non-FOB sales were down slightly, mainly due to Amazon Europe.
Over the full year, sales rose by 14.4% to €58.55 million, a record level for the Group.
In terms of products, the decline in sales over the quarter was concentrated on Mainbot robots. Sales of other products showed little change in proportion to the quarter's activity.
Sales of licensed products remained buoyant over the quarter, both for existing licenses such as Snow Queen, Pat Patrol and Spiderman, and for new licenses such as Stitch, Wish and Barbie.
The Group maintained its communication efforts and continued its massive, Europe-wide digital marketing campaign on the Group's new products. This campaign generated more than a billion digital impressions of the Group's products over the fiscal year in Europe, helping to boost Lexibook brand awareness to an unprecedented level. At the same time, Lexibook duplicated this campaign over the year and particularly reinforced it in its fiscal Q4 on the US market to prepare for the 2024 Christmas season locally. Overall, advertising expenditure in the USA will exceed €1 million over the year.
Outlook
The Group presented its 2024 collections to international retailers, and the new items were well received. Listings for the 2024 Christmas campaign are very encouraging and point to a new 2024-25 financial year in line with 23-24. The order book points to a slight year-on-year increase in business for Q1 2024-25, and Lexibook intends to maintain its momentum of profitable growth this year.
Several renewals of license agreements expiring in the next few months are currently being negotiated, and the Group aims to extend them to new areas. Confirmation of these renewals will be the subject of separate press releases as they are signed.
The euro/US dollar exchange rate was less favorable in the first half of the fiscal year. International freight conditions also deteriorated sharply due to the Red Sea shipping crisis. This impacted delivery times and cost prices for the Group's products.
Financial calendar 2024/2025
- Annual results to March 31, 2024: June 28, 2024
- Availability of the Universal Registration Document on March 31, 2024: June 28, 2024
About Lexibook
Lexibook®, owner of more than 22 registered international brands such as Powerman®, Decotech®, Karaoke Micro Star®, Chessman®, Cyber Arcade®, Lexitab®, iParty®, FlashBoom®, etc., is the leader in intelligent electronic leisure products for children. This success is based on a proven strategy of combining strong international licenses with high value-added consumer electronics products. This strategy, complemented by a policy of constant innovation, enables the Group to flourish internationally and to constantly develop new product ranges under the Group's brands. With over 35 million products on the market, the company now sells a product every 10 seconds worldwide! Lexibook's share capital is made up of 7,763,319 shares listed on the Alternext market in Paris (Euronext). ISIN: FR0000033599 - ALLEX; ICB: 3743 - Consumer electronics. For further information: www.lexibook.com and www.decotech-lights.com.
Contact
LEXIBOOK Isabelle Marée - DAF - 01 73 23 23 45 / isabellemaree@lexibook.com
