Posted By Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on February 18, 2025
(Reuters) - French vouchers provider Edenred reported higher-than-expected annual core profit on Tuesday, beating a company-provided consensus, helped by the rollout of its medium-term "Beyond22-25" strategic plan.
The group, known for its "Ticket Restaurant" vouchers, carried out a series of acquisitions in 2024, notably Spirii, IP, and RB, to seize external opportunities to cushion any deterioration in the economic environment.
High inflation and interest rates have boosted benefits providers like Edenred and Pluxee, as employers sought ways to support staff without raising wages, but the recent easing of interest rates could pose a threat to sustaining this growth.
The group reported a 19% organic rise in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to 1.27 billion euros ($1.33 billion) in 2024, above a company-provided consensus of 1.26 billion euros.
"For 2025, despite an uncertain economic environment in Europe, we have set ourselves the ambitious target of growing our EBITDA by more than 10% on a like-for-like basis," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bertrand Dumazy.
Edenred confirmed its 2025 guidance, saying it had priced in a negative EBITDA impact of 60 million euros from a cap on merchant commissions in Italy.
It announced its highest earnings per share to date of 2.07 euros for 2024, up 21% from a year ago.
($1 = 0.9565 euros)
(Reporting by Hugo Lhomedet and Dimitri Rhodes; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)