Amplifon Posts Record Revenues in 2022, Exceeding 2 Billion Euros with Double Digit Growth and Strong Start to 2023

amplifon revenue breaks record
HHTM
March 1, 2023

MILAN, ITALY — Hearing care retailer, Amplifon, announced a record breaking fiscal year in 2022, despite facing a challenging macroeconomic environment. The company’s revenues surpassed 2 billion euros, increasing by 8.8% from the previous year. The increase in revenue was attributed to solid organic growth, mergers and acquisitions, and effective cost management measures. The comparison base was also challenging, making the revenue increase even more impressive.

The recurring EBITDA for the year was almost 9% higher than in 2021, with the margin at the 2021 record level of 24.8%. The company made significant investments in the business and faced inflationary pressures, but timely and effective cost management measures helped maintain the margin. The company also generated strong cash flow, with a free cash flow of 247 million euros, which led to significantly lower financial leverage of 1.52x after investments in capex, M&A, share buybacks, and dividends.

The company also reported a significant increase in net profit, resulting in a proposed dividend per share of 29 euro cents, 11.5% higher than the previous year. The company had a good start to 2023, with solid revenue growth and acceleration of bolt-on mergers and acquisitions. The company acquired 150 points of sales in France, Germany, the United States, Canada, and China from October to date. The company expects to grow more than the reference market in 2023, accelerate bolt-on acquisitions, and improve profitability, even after significant investments in the business.

“In 2022 we continued along our growth path, recording an increase in all the main economic indicators and reaching record levels of revenues, EBITDA and net profit. For the first time in 72 years, revenues exceeded 2 billion euros and EBITDA was above 500 million euros, with double digit growth in net profit which led to an increase in the dividend proposal. During the year we increased our market share even further, strengthening our global leadership. These results are even more relevant because they have been achieved in a more complex market than expected due to the uncertain macroeconomic and high inflationary environment, as well as the extremely challenging 2021 comparison base. Lastly, we are satisfied with the good start to 2023, as well as the ongoing acceleration in bolt-on acquisitions begun in October, and we continue to be very positive about our prospects for sustainable growth in revenues and profitability over the medium-term.”

–Enrico Vita, Amplifon CEO

Business Highlights for 2022

  • Consolidated revenues increased by 8.8% to 2.119 billion euros compared to 2021
  • Recurring EBITDA grew by 8.8% to 525 million euros, with a margin of 24.8%
  • Recurring net profit was 183 million euros, up by 4.6% compared to 2021, and record net profit was 179 million euros, a 13.1% increase compared to 2021
  • Free cash flow was 247 million euros
  • Net financial debt decreased to 830 million euros with a financial leverage of 1.52x at the end of 2022
  • Proposed dividend increased to 29 euro cents per share, a rise of 11.5% compared to 2021
  • Consolidated revenues in Q4 of 2022 grew by 2.0% to 579 million euros, with recurring EBITDA of 156 million euros and recurring net profit of 64 million euros

Regional Performance

The Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region saw positive revenue growth in 2022 despite softer-than-expected market demand at year-end, driven by organic growth and bolt-on acquisitions in France and Germany. In the fourth quarter, revenue decreased slightly due to the softer demand, contraction of the French market, and fewer working days. However, EMEA’s profitability remained high, with an EBITDA margin of 29.3% for the year and 31.1% in Q4, even after significant investments in the business, although this was lower than the exceptional Q4 2021 margin.

In 2022, the Americas region had an excellent full-year performance, with well-above market organic growth, particularly in the United States and Canada, and outstanding performance in Latin America. In the fourth quarter, revenues increased over 30% compared to the same pre-pandemic period of 2019, supported by double-digit organic growth and bolt-on acquisitions in the United States and Canada. EBITDA was 100.4 million euros, an increase of 24.9% compared to 2021, with the margin rising 10 basis points to 26.3%, even after significant investments in the business.

In 2022, ASIA-PACIFIC’s revenue growth was driven by M&A contributions and solid organic growth, despite localized lockdowns in some areas. In the fourth quarter, revenues grew by more than 2%, driven by organic growth and M&A contribution, and the foreign exchange effect was positive. EBITDA increased compared to the previous year, but the EBITDA margin decreased due to lower operating leverage, organic performance, labor cost inflation, and investments in marketing.

2023 Outlook

The company has so far reported strong revenue growth in the first two months of 2023. The company’s plan to continue accelerated bolt-on M&A activity is expected to benefit from a macroeconomic environment that provides better opportunities in terms of multiples of potential targets. Additionally, the company has implemented global price increases to offset labor cost inflation, but does not expect any other significant cost inflation items.

Amplifon anticipates outperforming the reference market organically, gaining market share, and increasing overall profitability thanks to higher operating leverage. Their optimistic medium-term growth prospects are due to the fundamentals of the hearing care market and their strengthened competitive positioning. However, these expectations do not include any further global economic activity slowdown due to geopolitical, inflation, or pandemic-related issues.

With these strategies in place, Amplifon expects it will continue to perform strongly moving forward.

 

Source: Amplifon

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