SAINT HERBLAIN, FRANCE – Lacroix Group reported third quarter overall revenue of €179.7 million, up 0.9% versus 2022.

The results include a positive currency effect of €150,000. At constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates, sales were up 0.8%.

The company's Electronics unit revenues fell 3.2% during the period to €131.1 million. The company noted that third quarter 2022 included reinvoicing to customers of additional costs for electronic components in the amount of €4.8 million; if the one-time increase in revenue in 2022 is excluded, sales would have risen in the just-completed quarter.

Year to date, Lacroix's revenue is up 9.9% (+9.6% on a like-for-like basis and at constant exchange rates), to €567.4 million. Revenue at the Electronics group is up 11.1% to €426 million.

The Electronics division's third quarter slip came after a first-half increase of 18.8%. The company noted the component reinvoicing coupled with a slowdown in EMEA and North America. In EMEA, growth remained solid in the Industrial and Avionics segments, slowed in the Automotive sector and remained downgraded on HBAS (Home and Building Automation Systems) after several years of hypergrowth. In North America, business was impacted at the end of the quarter by the first postponements of deliveries caused by the labor unrest at American car manufacturers.

Lacroix noted automotive demand in North America Atlantic remains muted, and automotive and HBAS segments in the EMEA region are still slower than anticipated.

The company reiterated it will exceed revenue of €750 million by 2023 on a like-for-like basis, an increase of at least 6%. In terms of profitability, the target EBITDA is now €45 million, compared with an initial target of over €50 million, with the difference coming entirely from the Electronics activity in North America. This target adjusted to take account of recent changes in business conditions, remains higher than the EBITDA achieved for fiscal 2022 (€44.3 million).

In the longer run, structural growth drivers remain in force, and all the financial targets set out in the Leadership 2025 plan remain achievable. Their confirmation, however, remains dependent on the performance recovery of the North American activity and the market evolution of the automotive segment in a context of lower visibility.

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