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The holding company D’Ieteren remains on the acquisition path. “We now have four activities, we are not yet at a handful,” said CEO Francis Deprez, presenting very good half-year figures.
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D’Ieteren
has had an excellent first half year. Although the comparison with the same period last year is not very realistic due to corona, turnover increased by a quarter to 4.2 billion euros and adjusted profit before tax almost tripled to 289 million euros.
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Belron is and remains the crown jewel of D’Ieteren. At the beginning of the summer, the Brussels holding company took a number of new shareholders in Belron, including fund giant BlackRock. They value Belron, including debt, at 21 billion euros. A hefty amount, but the half-year figures show once again what kind of a cash machine Belron is. On a turnover of 2.3 billion euros, Belron has an operating profit margin of 20 percent.
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©ID/ Emy Elbow
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And those numbers will continue to rise, Deprez predicts. ‘From next year, the windscreen of every new car will be equipped with all kinds of sensors’, such as rain sensors and light sensors that automatically activate the windscreen wipers or switch on the lights. When replacing a windscreen, all those sensors must be recalibrated. This is an activity that is as complex as it is profitable.
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D’Ieteren’s classic core business, the import and sale of cars from the Volkswagen group, is having a much harder time compared to Belron. The largest direct corona impact has disappeared, but the chip shortage has come in its place.
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Due to a shortage of chips, production lines in car factories are shut down all the time. As a result, delivery times are increasing. This forces D’Ieteren to lower its forecast for new car sales in Belgium this year from 450,000 to 430,000. “Demand is excellent, but we can’t deliver. It’s not a lost sale for us, but rather a postponed sale,” says Deprez.
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D’Ieteren had a survey conducted among nearly 4,000 consumers and 300 companies. This shows that by 2030, probably two-thirds of all new cars sold in our country will only have an electric motor. Furthermore, the bicycle is the second most important means of transport, after the car.
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The notebook maker Moleskine is slowly crawling out of the trough. Operationally, the problem subsidiary is slightly profitable, but a net loss remains due to heavy financial charges.
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Deals
The two major deals concerning TVH Parts and Belron are not yet reflected in D’Ieteren’s half-year figures: they were closed just after 30 June. At the beginning of July, D’Ieteren . bought a 40 percent stake for 1.17 billion euros TVH Parts in the Waregem supplier of forklift parts. Barely a week later, BlackRock and other investment companies entered Belron. “BlackRock’s entry proves that we are in the Champions League with Belron,” said Deprez.
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The TVH Parts deal, in particular, was crucial for D’Ieteren, which has been dragging along an ever-growing cash mountain of more than 2 billion euros for years. Investors were extremely annoyed by the money that was unemployed in the account. But Deprez’s appetite for takeover has not been quenched either after TVH Parts. ‘We are looking further and actively seeking further. We now have four activities (Auto, Belron, Moleskine and TVH Parts): we are not yet at a handful.’
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For the rest of the year, Deprez is sticking to his forecast that adjusted profit before tax will rise “at least 45 percent” this year.
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