Premiere with bad cake. The German perfumery chain Douglas, controlled by the investment fund CVC Capital Partners, began trading this Thursday on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange with sharp declines, trading more than 10% below the 26 euros of the price set for its initial public offering.
The stock market debut is the first of a wave of European companies seeking to go public in an environment of high interest rates, among them, the Spanish perfume manufacturer Puig, which is preparing an IPO between now and the summer that seeks a Initial valuation of about 10,000 million euros, triple that of Douglas. The automobile group Astara and the technology company HotelBeds are also finalizing their IPO in the Spanish markets after a long drought without relevant IPOs.
At the price set for the offer, Douglas’ market capitalization reached 2.8 billion euros, with a free float of 31.8%. CVC and the Krekes remain the main owners of the multinational, controlling 54.4% in the case of the fund and 10.2% in the family. According to Europa Press, Douglas shares, traded under the symbol ‘DOU’, registered a first quoted price of 25.50 euros, 1.9% below that finally established in the offer, at the lower limit of the range. from 26 to 30 euros. handled by the company for placement.
Douglas Group, one of the main chains selling premium perfumes and beauty products, recorded sales of 1,560 million euros in the period from October to December 2023, 8% more than the previous year. Net sales are slightly below the previous release of +8.3% due to the impact of closures, adjustments and restructuring in Spain and minor consolidation effects,” the company explained last month.
“The months of October to December are the most important sales period of the year for us. The team has achieved a strong start to our financial year: we are growing in both revenue and profits, across all channels and regions compared to the last year, while significantly improving our profitability,” said Sander van der Laan, CEO of Douglas.
Douglas generated adjusted EBITDA of €348.3 million, up 12%. Net profit in the fiscal first quarter improved 10.6% to €125.2 million and free cash flow increased to €459.4 million. The DOUGLAS Group’s net leverage ratio as of the reporting date (December 31, 2023) significantly improved further to 4.0 times, meaning its net financial debt was around 1.4 billion.
