Caissargues, March 19, 2025 - Groupe Bastide, a leading European provider of home healthcare services, published its 2024-2025 half-year results on December 31, 2024. Groupe Bastide's 2024-2025 half-yearly consolidated financial statements have been reviewed by the Group's Statutory Auditors and were approved by its Board of Directors on March 19, 2025. The half-yearly financial report will be published on the Group's website www.bastide-groupe.fr by March 31, 2025, at the latest.
| In € millions | H1 2023-2024 published* | H1 2024-2025 published | Change |
| Revenue | 264.9 | 275.5 | +4.0% |
| EBITDA | 53.6 | 59.3 | +10.5% |
| EBITDA margin | 20.2% | 21.5% | |
| Recurring operating profit | 21.9 | 25.0 | +14.3% |
| Recurring operating margin | 8.3% | 9.1% | |
| Operating profit | 20.6 | 22.8 | |
| Financial expense | (11.9) | (14.7) | |
| Income tax expense | (5.1) | (5.5) | |
| Net profit from continuing operations | 3.6 | 2.5 | -29.6% |
| Net loss from discontinued operations | (1.2) | (0.4) | |
| Net profit | 2.4 | 2.2 | -8.3% |
| Net profit (loss), Group share | (2.0) | 0.6 |
*Includes five months of Distrimed business (sold in December 2023) and six months of Swiss business (sold in June 2024)
Organic growth of 8.5%
Revenue amounted to €275.5 million (up 4.0% as reported) with organic growth[1] of 8.5% in first half 2024-2025, driven by an excellent performance in home healthcare services and a return to growth in Homecare.
With revenue of €175.1 million, the more technical business activities such as Respiratory or Nutrition-Perfusion-Stomatherapy, now represent 64% of the Group's activities. Momentum remains excellent, particularly in the Respiratory and Diabetes businesses, driven by Groupe Bastide's market share gains and structural growth within the sector. On a like-for-like basis, growth in Respiratory care therapy represented 12.1% and 8.5% in Nutrition-Perfusion - Diabetes - Stomatherapy, including 19.2% growth in the Diabetes business.
The "Homecare" business confirms its return to growth, with €100.4 million in revenue in first half 2024-2025, up 5.1%. Local authorities and stores recorded good performance in rental activities, a key area of development for the group. In-store equipment sales also saw a return to growth.
Record recurring operating margin of 9.1%
The gross margin[2] rose by 120 basis points over the half-year to reach 68.4%, driven by the strengthening of the home healthcare services and the equipment sales/rental mix.
EBITDA 2 amounted to €59.3 million, representing a 10.5% jump, far exceeding the growth in revenue, with a margin of 21.5%, up 130 basis points.
Recurring operating profit2 was up 14.3% over the half-year, amounting to €25.0 million. Recurring operating margin reached a record 9.1%, up 80 basis points compared to first-half 2023-2024.
This performance illustrates the initial positive results of the measures implemented to improve the Group's margins by optimizing both the "Homecare" business and support functions, notably through the pooling of sites, optimization of the store network and tighter payroll control. In the context of development of more technical home healthcare services, the rise in payroll costs was limited to 4.1% over the half-year, and external expenses to 2.2%.
Operating profit increased by 10.5% to €22.8 million. Non-recurring expenses came to €2.2 million, including restructuring costs of €0.7 million, litigation costs of €2.3 million and €1.2 million in capital gains on the recent disposal of the French subsidiary CICA Plus, which specializes in chronic wound care services.
Financial expense came to €14.7 million (vs. €11.9 million in 2023-2024), reflecting the impact of the debt refinancing from July 2024, which extended the maturity of its debt. Financial expenses included €1.0 million in interest paid on lease obligations (IFRS 16) and €1.8 million in exceptional non cash financial expenses.
Net profit from continuing operations stood at €2.5 million, after taking into account a €5.5 million tax expense.
Net loss from discontinued operations came in at €0.4 million for the half-year, mainly due to the ongoing disposals in Switzerland.
Therefore, net profit for the period came in at €2.2 million, and net profit, Group share to €0.6 million.
Financial structure: operating free cash flow of €9.4 million
Cash flow from operations came to €53.7 million, including a €4.8 million improvement in working capital requirements thanks to better optimized management of procurement lead times.
It more than offsets net operating investments of €35.1 million over the period. This figure does not reflect the normal level of investments, as it includes the €9 million in one-off investments required to initiate the new contracts won in Canada and the United Kingdom in the Respiratory business, which will only start to contribute to sales at the end of the fiscal year. Excluding this exceptional impact, net capital expenditure remained stable compared to the first half of the previous year.
Operating free cash flow[3] (cash flow from operations after net cash flows related to acquisitions of property, plant & equipment and intangible assets and after repayment of lease liabilities), came to a positive €9.4 million, compared to a negative €2.2 million for first-half 2023-2024. Excluding the impact of CapEx related to new contracts won for the Respiratory business, operating free cash flow amounted to €18.4 million, covering all net interest expenses (€16.0 million).
Over the first half of the year, the Group recorded €1.2 million in outflows linked to earn-outs paid on previous years' acquisitions and minority interest buyouts.
Net debt stood at €389.3 million at December 31, 2024 (including €64.8 million in lease liabilities), compared with €385.0 million at June 30, 2024. It includes the €8.0m million cost related to the implementation of the new structured credit in July 2024. Available cash stood at €31.3 million.
Improvement in the Group's financial leverage
In July 2024, Groupe Bastide secured its medium-term financing and extended the maturity of its debt by setting up a new financing contract for €375 million, more than 90% of which being repayable at maturity, as from the 2029-2030 fiscal year.
The new debt is subject to compliance with an IFRS 16/EBITDA net debt3 leverage ratio of 4.5 at December 31, 2024, 4.25 from December 31, 2025 and 4.00 from June 30, 2027. At December 31, 2024, post IFRS 16 leverage stood at 3.48x, well below the authorized threshold of 4.5.
From the fourth quarter of 2024-2025, this performance will enable a reduction in the cost of debt by 25 bps, i.e., an estimated full-year savings of €0.7 million (at constant 3-month Euribor rate).
2024-2025 outlook
Structural growth in homecare services, new contracts in the United Kingdom and Canada for the Respiratory business as well as renewed growth in the Homecare business (having recently signed a partnership with the AESIO Santé healthcare group) are all solid drivers of growth.
Thus, despite the 5% price cut in sleep apnea treatment that will take effect from April 1, 2025, Groupe Bastide is reiterating its revenue target of over €560 million (based on its current scope) and raising its target of achieving a recurring operating margin of at least 9.1%, compared with 8.7% previously.
In the second half of 2024-2025, Bastide will carry on with its policy of disciplined management approach for working capital requirement, which, combined with improved profitability and active work on the disposal of targeted assets, will accelerate the Group's debt reduction and improvement of leverage.
NEXT PUBLICATION:
Third-quarter 2024-2025 revenue on Thursday May 15, 2025 after close of trading.
About Groupe Bastide Le Confort Médical
Created in 1977 by Guy Bastide, Groupe Bastide is a leading European provider of home healthcare services. Present in eight countries, Bastide develops a permanent quality approach and is committed to providing medical devices and associated services that best meet patients' needs in key health areas: diabetes, nutrition, infusion, respiratory care, stomatherapy and urology. Bastide is listed on Euronext Paris (ISIN: FR0000035370, Reuters BATD.PA, - Bloomberg BLC: FP).
CONTACTS
| Groupe Bastide | Actus Finance | |
| Vincent Bastide/Olivier Jourdanney T. +33 (0)4 66 38 68 08 www.bastide-groupe.fr | Analyst-Investor Hélène de Watteville T. +33 (0)1 53 67 36 33 | Press - Media Déborah Schwartz T. +33 (0)1 53 67 36 35 |
[1]Organic growth calculated at constant exchange rates and on a like-for-like basis: 2023-2024 figures restated for the contribution of assets sold within the last 12 months and assets classified as held for sale.
2 See definition in appendices.
[3] See definition in appendices.
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