the nice surprise of the day

(Boursier.com) — Fnac Darty stands out the day after its quarterly update with a title that advances 5% to 29.4 euros. The distributor of cultural products revealed sales of 1.849 billion euros in the third quarter, up 0.5% on a published basis but down slightly by -0.6% on a comparable basis.

Fnac Darty specifies that this development is driven by the excellent performance of the Iberian Peninsula and sustained high single digit growth in services in all of the Group’s areas. The gross margin rate, excluding the dilutive impact of the franchise and changes in scope, is announced as increasing by more than 100 basis points over one year. This increase is mainly linked to growth in services as well as a favorable product mix. The Group adds that it has benefited from the strong dynamics of services, small household appliances and books.

Fnac Darty raises its current operating profit target for 2024, expected to exceed 180 million euros compared to “at least equal to that of 2023” (171 ME) previously. The Group also confirms its objective of achieving a cumulative free operating cash flow of around 500 ME over the period 2021-2024, i.e. a level of 180 ME in 2024.

Oddo BHF speaks of a rather good quarter, but Q4 will be decisive in a particular political, budgetary and therefore fiscal context in France. The analyst maintains his ‘neutral’ opinion with a target of 33 euros. If the Q3 figures are unsurprising, the increase in guidance on the ROC is half a surprise, notes TP ICAP Midcap. We will have to wait for the results of the takeover bid (October 25) on Unieuro to give a little more visibility to the file. In the meantime, the broker remains ‘buy’ with a price target raised from 32 to 35 euros.