BAINS DE MER MONACO: General Meeting of Shareholders of September 24, 2021
SOCIETE DES BAINS DE MER
AND THE FOREIGNERS ‘CIRCLE IN MONACO
Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of September 24, 2021
Monaco, September 24, 2021.
The Shareholders of Société des Bains de Mer met this Friday, September 24 at One Monte-Carlo – Conference Center (Salle des Arts) for an Ordinary General Meeting.
The shareholders present or represented adopted all of the proposed resolutions.
General Ordinary assembly
Approval of the accounts for the financial year 2020/2021
During the 2020/2021 financial year, the SBM Group achieved a turnover of 336.9 million euros for the whole of the 2020/2021 financial year compared to 619.8 million euros in 2019 / 2020, i.e. a decrease of 46% over the full year.
This drop of 282.9 million euros in turnover is the direct consequence of the Covid-19 epidemic which has had a very strong impact on the activity of the SBM Group If the SBM Group has benefited from growth in revenues linked to its commercial and residential rental activities, which confirms the validity of the diversification strategy undertaken for several years to develop its real estate assets and rental activities, the Covid-19 epidemic has a strong impact on gaming and hotel activities / catering, especially since the closures of establishments are negotiated during the first half of the financial year, which is usually the period of greatest activity.
In this context, the SBM Group has implemented a drastic reduction in operating and capital expenditure. As soon as the establishments were closed, the SBM Group proceeded to adapt its organization, with the taking of leave and recourse to short-time working, relying on the government support system set up in the Principality of Monaco (Total Temporary Unemployment Reinforced).
The health crisis linked to the Covid-19 epidemic and the economic shock caused by the latter have forced the Société des Bains de Mer to accelerate the implementation of an already global restructuring plan, in addition to the measures put in place since the start of the health crisis.
Announced on March 4, 2021, this restructuring work was carried out successfully and materialized by a voluntary departure plan for the candidacy of 234 employees was retained and a collective departure plan limited to 2 people, the essentials. departures targeted at certain departments for reasons of overstaffing or reorganization aimed at restoring competitiveness which may have been reclassified.
The inclusion of this restructuring plan in the results for fiscal year 2020/2021 represented a net charge of 25.3 million euros.
A charge of 7.5 million euros was also recorded for the 2020/2021 financial year for the closure of the Sun Casino. The SBM Group has in fact decided not to reopen this establishment and all of the remaining financial commitments have been provisioned.
Despite a 37% decrease in operating expenses excluding depreciation and restructuring plan compared to the previous year, the operating income of the SBM Group was a loss of – € 103.3 million against a profit of 22, € 6 million for the previous year, a decrease of – € 125.9 million.
The financial result amounts to – € 7 million for the 2020/2021 financial year, compared to a result of – 5.1 million euros for the 2019/2020 financial year.
Finally, the consolidation by the equity method of Betclic Everest Group, an online gaming group of which the SBM Group holds 50%, requires the inclusion of 50% of its profit for the period considered, i.e. a positive share of 30%. , 9 million euros against a positive share of 8.7 million euros last year. This variation is mainly explained by the continued growth in turnover, despite the interruption of all sports competitions at the start of the year, but also by a significant reduction in operating expenses. In addition, it is recalled that the result of the previous financial year only requires an increase with retroactive effect of the tax charge borne by Bet-At-Home.
The General Meeting of Shareholders approved the corporate and consolidated accounts for the 2020/2021 financial year and the resolution on the allocation of results. In view of the economic situation, it was decided not to distribute a dividend.
Ratification of a Director and renewal of Directors
The General Meeting of Shareholders has the mandate of Mrs. Brigitte Boccone-Pages as Director, which will expire at the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders which will have to approve the accounts for the 2025/2026 financial year.
The General Meeting of Shareholders also renewed the directorships of Mr. Pierre Svara and UFIPAR SAS, represented by Mr. Nicolas Bazire, which will expire at the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders which will have to approve the accounts. for the 2026/2027 financial year.
Authorization to buy back Company shares
The General Meeting of Shareholders renewed the authorization given to the Board of Directors to buy back the Company’s shares, within the limit of 5% of the amount of the share capital, with a maximum purchase price not exceeding 90 euros. per share and for a maximum total amount of € 30 million. This authorization is valid for a period of 18 months from September 24, 2021.
Viewpoints
Activity
It is recalled that consolidated sales for the first quarter of the current fiscal year (period from April 1 to June 30, 2021) amounted to € 110.9 million compared to € 45.1 million. previously, an increase of 65.7 million euros. This achievement is still 37% lower than the turnover for the first quarter of fiscal year 2019/2020.
The 2021 summer season seems to confirm a resumption of activity. In fact, the turnover achieved by the SBM Group during the July / August period is up 53% compared to the same period of the previous year. This achievement is still 19% lower than the same two months in 2019.
Despite a financial performance expected to improve significantly compared to that of the previous financial year, the SBM Group expects a still significant impact on the activity of the 2021/2022 financial year, without it being possible to precisely determine the magnitude. A favorable evolution of the epidemic and the deployment of vaccination campaigns are two key elements for the resumption of travel and the gradual lifting of restrictions.
Measures to reduce costs and preserve cash flow
In this context, the SBM Group has implemented a drastic reduction in operating expenses. The health crisis linked to the Covid-19 epidemic and the economic shock caused by the latter have forced the Société des Bains de Mer to accelerate the implementation of a global restructuring plan in addition to the provisions already in place since the start of the health crisis. The departures of the employees concerned, which began in January 2021, are continuing for the current financial year.
The savings resulting from the realization of these departure plans are expected to reach 18 million euros per year. These savings, supplemented by actions taken to better adapt the level of expenses to seasonal fluctuations in activity, can enable the SBM Group to achieve an annual reduction in its operating expenses of around 25 million euros. ‘euros. The SBM Group will thus be able to be reborn with a level of profitability giving it the possibility of ensuring the investments necessary for its sustainability, as soon as the health crisis has passed.
The SBM Group has also financed close contact with its banking partners who have made loans available, the outstanding amount of which now stands at 150.8 million euros after the repayment of 26.4 million euros negotiated at the end of June, the next deadline being scheduled for the end of December 2021 for an identical amount.
To supplement its short-term financing resources, the SBM Group set up a program to issue short-term negotiable debt securities (NEU CP) in July 2019 for a maximum amount of 150 million euros. At the same time, the Monegasque State has undertaken to subscribe, within the limit of a cumulative principal amount of
120 million euros, all or part of the negotiable debt securities that the SBM Group would issue within the framework of this program and which would not find a taker on the market for any reason whatsoever. As of September 23, 2021, the outstanding amount of securities issued under this program amounted to € 110 million.
Finally, at the beginning of July, the SBM Group received from its online games subsidiary BEG a reimbursement of share premiums and the payment of dividends for a total amount of 30 million euros.
As of September 23, 2021, the SBM Group thus had a level of available cash of more than 160 million euros.
ISIN: MC0000031187