Full-Year 2022 results

Lagardère group delivers excellent results in 2022, with higher profitability than in 2019, thanks to the performance of its two core businesses

Consolidated revenue up sharply by 28.3%¹ to €6,929 million, and recurring EBIT at an impressive €438 million (versus €249 million in 2021)

Lagardère Publishing 

Continued strong trading (down 1.9%¹) after an exceptional performance in 2021 and amidst a global market downturn
Recurring EBIT at €302 million and an operating margin² of 11% in line with the outlook and above historical levels
Acquisition of Paperblanks and publishers Welbeck Publishing Group and Bragelonne

Lagardère Travel Retail

Sharp 65.4%¹ growth driven by EMEA and North America operations
Swing back to profitability, with recurring EBIT of €136 million and exceptionally low flow through² of 4.9%
Acquisition of Creative Table Holdings Ltd, a Foodservice operator at Dubai airport
Awarded the tender to operate Duty Free & Fashion stores in Paris airports 

Corporate cost reduction target achieved (€35 million reduction versus 2019)

Improvement in the leverage ratio (net debt/recurring EBITDA) to 2.9x (3.6x at end-2021)

Proposed ordinary dividend of €1.30 per share³

Arnaud Lagardère, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lagardère SA, commented: “The Lagardère group delivered a historic performance in 2022, reporting an improvement in all of its main financial indicators and confirming the relevance of the strategic refocusing carried out since 2012. Lagardère Travel Retail benefited from the rebound in tourist air traffic in Europe and North America, particularly in its Duty Free segment. After an exceptional performance in 2021, Lagardère Publishing managed to maintain a very high level of revenue, driven by the success of bestsellers in its various publishing houses. The Group’s Other Activities returned to growth, while Lagardère News held firm, reinventing itself in a changing market. Thanks to the hard work of all of our teams, we outperformed 2019 profitability and significantly improved our leverage ratio compared to 2021.”

Key figures

In 2022, Group revenue totalled €6,929 million, up 28.3% year on year on a like-for-like basis.
Group recurring EBIT totalled €438 million in 2022 versus €249 million in 2021, a sharp €189 million improvement.
Recurring EBIT came to €302 million for Lagardère Publishing (versus €351 million in 2021), and €136 million for Lagardère Travel Retail (versus a negative €81 million in 2021).
The Group reported profit before finance costs and tax of €320 million in 2022 (versus €66 million in 2021), with non-recurring/non-operating items representing a net expense of €131 million.
Adjusted profit – Group share⁴ came out at €265 million, versus €62 million in 2021. 
At 31 December 2022, the Group’s free cash flow excluding changes in working capital⁴ improved sharply, amounting to €294 million compared to €176 million in 2021.
Changes in working capital amounted to a negative €73 million in 2022, versus a positive €280 million in 2021.
Net debt⁴rose to €1,713 million at 31 December 2022, from €1,535 million at 31 December 2021. Despite the increase in net debt, the leverage ratio (net debt/recurring EBITDA) improved significantly⁴ to 2.9x from the end-2021 figure of 3.6x.

On 15 February 2023, the Board of Directors met to approve the 2022 parent company and consolidated financial statements. The Group’s consolidated financial statements have been audited. The audit report will be signed off once the specific verifications have been completed.
The Board of Directors has decided to propose to the Annual General Meeting of 18 April 2023, to approve an ordinary dividend of €1.30 per share for 2022.

¹ Versus 2021 on a like-for-like basis (alternative performance indicator, see Glossary for definition).
² Recurring EBIT as a percentage of revenue (alternative performance measure, see Glossary for definition).
³ Subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting to be held on 18 April 2023.
⁴ Alternative performance measure, see Glossary for definition.

Learn more :

Created in 1992, Lagardère is an international group with operations in more than 40 countries worldwide. It employs some 27,000 people and generated revenue of €6,929 million in 2022.
The Group focuses on three divisions: Lagardère Publishing (Book and e-Publishing, Board Games and Mobile Games), Lagardère Travel Retail (Travel Essentials, Duty Free & Fashion and Foodservice) and Lagardère News (Paris Match, Le Journal du Dimanche, JDD Magazine, Europe 1, Europe 2, RFM, and the Elle brand licence).
The Group’s operating assets also include Lagardère Live Entertainment and Lagardère Paris Racing.
Lagardère shares are listed on Euronext Paris.
www.lagardere.com

Important notice:
Some of the statements contained in this document are not historical facts but rather are statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management’s beliefs. These statements reflect such views and assumptions prevailing as of the date of the statements and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause future results, performance or future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements.
Please refer to the most recent Universal Registration Document filed in French by Lagardère SA with the Autorité des marchés financiers for additional information in relation to such factors, risks and uncertainties.
Lagardère SA has no intention and is under no obligation to update or review the forward-looking statements referred to above. Consequently, Lagardère SA accepts no liability for any consequences arising from the use of any of the above statements.