Disposal of the Technical Inspection & Garage Equipment business
Progress on disposal of the Power Division
€18m of Recovery Bond financing in support of growth
In its 29 March press release, ACTIA announced that it had entered into negotiations to sell the non-strategic businesses of the Automotive Division. The first transaction concerning the Technical Inspection & Garage Equipment business was finalised on 21 April. This sale to the BASE Group, in the amount of €12m, concerns the garage equipment and technical inspection business, as well as the premises in Chartres and 30% of the equity of the ACTIA Cz subsidiary in the Czech Republic, which specialises in gas analysers. Industrial output is under the MULLER brand, and so this has also been transferred to the BASE Group. The transaction will enable the two groups to take a joint view of their actions in France, as well as abroad. The business employs 115 people and represented an estimated turnover of €21m in 2021.
The second transaction concerning the sale of the Power Division to Plastic Omnium is ongoing. It remains subject to negotiations concerning legal documentation and to the approval of the relevant authorities. Therefore, in accordance with IFRS 5, the information on this division is presented separately and no longer falls within the scope of ACTIA Group.
| IFRS (€m) | 2022(1) | 2021 proforma | Var. | 2021 published |
| Automotive Division | 101.3 | 95.7 | +5.9% | 100.0 |
| o.w. Technical Inspection(2) | 4.8 | 4.7 | +2.9% | 4.7 |
| Telecoms Division | 13.1 | 13.2 | (0.9%) | 13.2 |
| Q1 Total | 114.4 | 108.9 | +5.1% | 113.2 |
| Power Division(3) | 4.1 | 4.4 | (4.5%) | N/A |
(1) Unaudited data. (2) Businesses disposed of on 21/04/22. (3) Businesses pending disposal.
Q1 2022 ACTIA Group turnover, at €114.4m, rose by 5.1% despite the ongoing shortage of electronic components that continued to affect the Automotive Division. Less dependent on the supply situation, turnover for the Telecoms Division was stable at €13.1m, slightly down by 0.9%. The hard work of the teams and continuous negotiations helped to achieve the objectives set internally, but still without being able to fully satisfy customer demand.
Sales by the international subsidiaries in the first quarter reached €54.5m, down by 7.5%, while those of the French companies rose by 19.8% to €59.9m. With 66.3% of revenue generated by foreign customers, compared to 71.9% in the same period 2021, ACTIA’s business with its Swedish (gradual winding down of the Volvo Car contract), American and Belgian customers declined, while business in France, Germany and the United Kingdom grew.
The Automotive Division generated 88.5% of the Group’s quarterly revenue. The OEM* business, worth 73.8% of the division’s sales, but down by 0.3%, remained badly affected by the shortage of components, particularly for the longer production runs with high electronics content produced for the field of Telematics, with the shortage now affecting all types of production. The division, which will see the end of the light vehicle telematics contract in the first half of 2022, has managed to offset declining volumes with significant progress in the field of agricultural machinery and trucks. For the Aftermarket** business, worth 11.2% of the division’s sales and up by 14.0%, the repairs and maintenance sector returned to more normal levels of activity, but without the resumption of international tenders.
Independently from the disposal of the Technical Inspection & Garage Equipment business in April, ACTIA has continued with its diagnostics business, particularly the multi-brand (Multidiag) activity and the further development of its Fleet Management solutions, which grew by 21.1% in the first quarter of 2022. The MDS*** electronics outsourcing business, at 15.0% of the Automotive Division’s revenues, returned to growth with a rise of 41.0% as the aeronautics sector recovered and there was sustained demand from home automation customers.
The Telecoms Division represented 11.5% of the Group’s quarterly revenue. Following high growth of 52.4% in the same period 2021, as expected the start of the year has been stable with a slight drop of 0.9%, with the Power business occasionally being affected by the shortages, as was the Rail sector, which was down by 22.8%, with customers in this sector themselves being affected by supply difficulties. Despite the short-term effects, the technological and commercial successes bear witness to ACTIA’s cutting edge expertise and underpin its medium- to long-term prospects.
Reassured by the continuous growth of its order book, ACTIA Group aims to achieve revenue in excess of €800m within the next 4 years, and the two disposals presented here will not affect this. On the contrary, in addition to the disposals which will enable ACTIA to focus on its policy of innovation while helping to guide its customers through the many challenges faced by the world of electronics, ACTIA Group has just issued bonds in the amount of €18m in order to support the strong growth of its business. Subscribed through M Capital, the purpose of this issue with a maturity of 8 years is to contribute to the acceleration of the Group’s development, including an ambitious research and development plan in support of the innovation and agility-oriented strategy, intended to rise to the challenges of mobility, regulatory constraints and the energy transition. M Capital is an investment company that has been selected to roll out the Recovery Bonds put in place as part of the French Finance Ministry’s “France Relance” programme. These bonds are an unprecedented means of financing intended to support the rebound in the French economy by allowing businesses to fund their growth. M Capital, which is part of a grouping that includes Tikehau Capital, Epopée Gestion and Audacia, is responsible for the deployment of the scheme in the “Grand Sud” Region, including Occitania and South PACA.
For 2022, ACTIA Group can look forward to a full order book allowing it to vigorously pursue growth, which will nevertheless remain dependent on the difficulties in the components market, which are now expected to continue into 2023. It should be noted that ACTIA Group has no business activities in Russia or Ukraine.
The Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday 24 May 2022 at the head office and no distribution of dividends will be proposed.
*OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer
**Aftermarket: including repairs and maintenance
***MDS: Manufacturing Design & Services
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ABOUT M Capital
M Capital is an investment company that uses mixed public and private capital to invest in businesses and real estate that help to create new, resilient and inclusive growth sectors in the economy. M Capital is convinced that entrepreneurs have the power to change the world and is committed to those who contribute to the self-fulfilment of individuals, social cohesion and the preservation of the planet.
Its investment and services activity is built around 4 business lines: Real Estate, Venture, Private Equity, Private Debt.
It is the responsibility of each business line to identify the next investment opportunities within its area of expertise on behalf of institutional, private and public investors, as well as 23,000 individual investors and family offices. The Group has raised over €800m and has more than 65 employees in Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseilles, Montpellier and Nice.
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ABOUT ACTIA
ACTIA Group is a mid-market company (ETI) founded in 1986. It is at once family-owned and international and its head office is located in France. The family aspect guarantees the long-term future of the Group and its independence with an ever-present entrepreneurial spirit. ACTIA’s business is to design and produce electronics to control systems in the particularly demanding fields of the automotive, rail, aeronautics, space, defence, power and telecommunications industries.
The commitments made by ACTIA are reflected in the Group’s ambitious contributions to addressing societal issues: mobility, connectivity, safety and the environment. Control over the design and production of products bearing the ACTIA signature is a true guarantee of quality. Without exception, all Group employees share this belief in quality in a fully certified environment.
KEY FIGURES
- 2021 turnover: €462.9m.
- Nearly 3,700 employees around the world, of whom almost 1,100 engineers and technicians working in R&D.
- Present in 16 countries.
- 14 to 18% of revenue reinvested every year in R&D.
STOCK EXCHANGES
- Euronext C
- ISIN FR0000076655 – Mnemonic: ATI Reuters: MRSP.PA – Bloomberg: AIELF: FP
- Indices: CAC ALL SHARES – CAC ALL-TRADABLE – CAC INDUSTRIALS – CAC MID&SMALL – CAC SMALL – EN TECH CROISSANCE – GAÏA INDEX
CONTACTS
ACTIA – Catherine Mallet – Tel: +33 (0)561 176198 – contact.investisseurs@actia.fr
CALYPTUS – Marie Calleux – Tel: +33 (0)153 656868 – actia@calyptus.net
UPCOMING DATES
Annual General Meeting: Tuesday 24 May 2022 at 5 pm at the head office
Q2 2022 turnover: Thursday 25 August 2022 (7 am)