Chargeurs group’s revenue down 11.5% in H1

French group Chargeurs, a supplier of textile materials to over 1,600 fashion brands, has reported a revenue of €352.8 million in H1, helped by a more buoyant performance in Q2 after the significant slump recorded in Q1. 

The group stated that its Luxury division, whose revenue grew by 16.4%, partly offset the downturn posted by the Advanced Materials division, whose sales fell by 23.1% in H1. Both divisions were created in summer 2022, when the group’s business was split into three divisions.

In H1, Chargeurs generated an operating income of €14.1 million, for an operating margin of 4%, down 2.4 points compared to the first half of 2022. EBITDA fell by 32.7%, reaching €24.9 million. 

“2023 is a transition year. Unsurprisingly, it is characterised by disruption and adverse conditions, which are impacting our business in various ways,” said Michaël Fribourg, the group’s CEO. “Chargeurs’s range of activities consists of a mix of safe sectors, which remain profitable even in troubled times, and emerging ones, driven by structural demand growth. Chargeurs is also benefiting from its diversified business model, which allows the group to navigate economic cycles while continuing to transform its know-how, in order to create long-term value,” added Fribourg. 

The group is for the time being “prudent and flexible” about its business forecasts. In fiscal 2024, it is planning to top the €800 million revenue mark, with an EBITDA margin ranging between 9% and 10%. Chargeurs also indicated that it wants to consolidate its expansion strategy in products and services characterised by “sustainable excellence.”

In 2022, the group recorded a revenue of €746.4 million (up by 1.3%), its second-best performance in the decade, despite inflationary pressures. In spring, Gianluca Tanzi, managing director of the PCC Fashion Technologies division, outlined to FashionNetwork.com his plans for innovation in the energy consumption area.