BB.PABB.PAPAR
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Operator: Good morning, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the BIC's 2025 Full Year Results Conference Call and Webcast. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's call is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to our first speaker today, Brice Paris. Please go ahead, sir.
Brice Paris: Good morning, and welcome to BIC's Full Year 2025 Results Call. I'm Brice Paris, Vice President, Investor Relations. We're in Clichy today with our new management team, Rob Versloot, our CEO; and Gregory Lambertie, our CFO. This call is being recorded, and the replay will be available on our website with the presentation and press release. We will start with the usual results presentation, followed by a Q&A session. First, please take the time to read the disclaimer at the beginning of the presentation. With that, I give the floor to Rob.
Rob Versloot: Thank you, Brice. Hello, everyone. I am pleased to be here with you today for our first full year earnings call together. And I'm joined by Gregory Lambertie, our new Chief Financial and Digital Officer. I will start with a brief overview of the key highlights from 2025. Gregory will then walk you through the consolidated results for the year. I'll then introduce my new leadership team and share our outlook for 2026. Highlighting the opportunities ahead before closing with a few concluding remarks. 2025 was a year marked by a volatile macroeconomic environment, softer consumer markets and geopolitical uncertainty. Against this backdrop, BIC faced many challenges in 2025. When I look back at my initial assessments of BIC's strength, and what we can build on for the new strategy, they are all clearly confirmed, the power of our brand, our deep distribution network and our excellence in manufacturing. The key takeaway for 2025 is that we delivered results in line with the expectations set when I became CEO. We achieved full year net sales of EUR 2.1 billion, down 0.9% at constant currency, an adjusted EBIT margin of 13.6% and a resilient free cash flow generation at EUR 222 million. Most importantly, we stabilized the business and achieved modest growth in the second half. Let me start by commenting on our main challenges in 2025. We faced significant headwinds in the U.S. across our 3 categories impacted by tough market trends. In the lighters, shavers and ball pen segments, markets were down mid-single digits in 2025. In Latin America, we faced serious challenges in Mexico. Net sales performance was impacted by big distribution losses and intense competition. We recently made leadership changes in Mexico with a clear objective to improve performance going forward. Finally, the very disappointing performances of our Skin Creative businesses, Rocketbook and Cello, weighed significantly on our growth and profitability in 2025. As I mentioned in Q3, it is my responsibility to act swiftly and rationally. As a result, we have taken decisive steps to streamline our portfolio, including the discontinuation of these underperforming activities. However, despite the numerous challenges we faced, we saw an improved performance in the second half of the year, particularly in the Middle East and Africa and in the U.S. Now let me highlight some key achievements for 2025. First, Tangle Teezer was integrated successfully, growing double digit in 2025 and contributing 4.1 points to the group's growth with accretive margins. This very strong performance reflects disciplined execution, strong collaboration across teams and the rapid alignment of Tangle Teezer with BIC's operating model. I will come back to this in more detail later. Second, we saw strong momentum from our value-added and recently launched products, all supported by impactful advertising campaigns. Products such as the 4-Color Smooth pens, the BIC Flex 5 and Soleil Glide shavers resonated well with consumers reinforcing the strength of our brands and our ability to drive mix through meaningful innovation. We also continued to make tangible progress on our ESG actions. We launched the Twin Lady razor, featuring a handle made from 87% recycled plastic and blades incorporating 70% recycled steel, reflecting our commitment to more sustainable product design without compromising performance. In addition, we achieved key milestones across 3 core ESG KPIs. 100% of cardboard packaging now comes from a certified recycled source. We reduced our Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions by 47% compared to 2019. And lastly, we helped improve learning conditions of 245 million children across the globe, notably through the work of the BIC Foundation. I now want to tell you a bit more about our recent innovations and partnerships launched in 2025 and some planned for 2026. At the heart of these initiatives is a renewed focus on the power of our brand, which I strongly believe and see as essential to successfully execute our new strategy. In 2025, we launched the BIC Soleil 5 Glide, a new premium women's shaver supported by an impactful marketing campaign designed to modernize the category and strengthen brand engagement. Innovations like this one or like the BIC Soleil Escape are key to sustaining our leadership and driving mix within this segment. In 2026, we will further strengthen our shaver portfolio with the launch of the new BIC 5 Trim and Shave. This innovation combines a 5-blade shaver with an integrated precision trimmer, delivering superior performance and versatility at an accessible price point. In 2025, we executed highly successful partnerships with Netflix on Squid Game and Stranger Things across Europe and Latin America, leveraging a strong cultural moment to create distinctive collectible designs that resonated particularly well with younger adult consumers. For example, in Brazil, we partnered on a limited edition of the BIC 4 Colors and Stranger Things collaboration as one of Netflix's most successful global franchises, Stranger Things powered an activation that blended local pop culture with global entertainment, turning an everyday icon into a collectible. 2025 was also a year of major ramp-up for our first reloadable utility lighter, EZ Load. The product posted encouraging results, particularly in Europe, and our teams are working on expanding distribution further. EZ Load represents an important step in our efforts to combine innovation, sustainability and category premiumization. Lastly, in stationery, our iconic 4-Color pen once again delivered strong performance in 2025 with new additions such as the 4-Color Smooth contributing to growth. In January '26, we launched new BIC Cristal Figurines now available in our main markets. This great innovation combines the quality of a BIC Cristal with playful animal figurines and pastel colors to target a younger audience and encourage a collection trend. This launch allows us to access a growing consumer segment while leveraging one of our most iconic products. Finally, we also delivered several exciting innovations and partnership within Tangle Teezer, which I will cover more in the next slide. Moving on to Slide 6. Tangle Teezer delivered a very strong performance in its first year within BIC with double-digit net sales growth and margins accretive to the group. From a product perspective, The Ultimate Detangler hairbrush family drove strong growth in 2025 with consumers picking up the new premium Chrome and Matte collections. The Mini Ultimate range also proved to be a highly successful driver of incremental sales in impulse retail locations. And at the end of 2025, a limited edition collaboration with the popular SKIMS brand of Kim Kardashian further reinforced Tangle Teezer's appeal and was a clear commercial success. More recently, Tangle Teezer also partnered with the hairstylist of Grammy Awards winning artist, Olivia Dean, using the Ultimate Detangler for her red carpet look, authentically placing the brand at the center of a high-visibility global cultural moment. All these achievements helped consolidate Tangle Teezer's market leadership, securing the #1 position in the U.K. and growing market share in the U.S. to become the #3 detangling hair care brand. Finally, I am proud to see the continued progress in seamlessly integrating Tangle Teezer. And I'm very happy to share that in December 2025, we started to produce our first Tangle Teezer brushes in a BIC factory. Now before I give the floor to Gregory on the financials, let me go over our shareholder remuneration. In line with BIC's capital allocation policy, the Board of Directors will propose an ordinary dividend of EUR 2.40, representing a 50.6% payout ratio. In addition to this dividend, we are renewing our share buyback program in 2026 with a total consideration that can reach up to EUR 40 million. Our resilient free cash flow in 2025 enables us to continue delivering these returns to shareholders while reinvesting in the business to deliver on the strategic goals and new capital allocation policy that will be communicated later this year. With that, I will now hand it over to Gregory, who will present to you our 2025 consolidated financial results.
Gregory Lambertie: Thank you, Rob. Good morning, everyone. Having joined the group in early January, I'm pleased to be here with you today for my first earnings call with BIC. I'll present to you our full year '25 consolidated results and then hand it back to Rob for the conclusion. Let's start with a general overview of our key financial figures. Full year net sales stood at EUR 2.1 billion in 2025, down 0.9% at constant currency and 4.7% on an organic basis. As mentioned earlier, we saw improved momentum in the second half after significant declines in the first half. Net sales in Q4 were EUR 495 million, up 1.1% at constant currencies. Excluding perimeter impacts from the acquisition of Tangle Teezer and the sale of Cello, net sales declined 2.3% in Q4. Full year adjusted EBIT was EUR 283 million, representing a 13.6% margin compared to 15.6% last year, mainly impacted by the decline in our revenues and partly offset by cost actions. Consequently, adjusted EPS was EUR 4.74 compared to EUR 6.15 in 2024. Lastly, free cash flow totaled EUR 222 million in '25, down EUR 49 million versus last year. Turning to Slide 10. Let's review the main building blocks of Q4 net sales evolution. In Q4, net sales were down 2.3% organically, mainly driven by the 2.2% decline in Flame for Life and in Human Expression by 1.7%, while Blade Excellence was up 1.6%. For the full year, net sales were down 4.7% organically, 0.9% at constant currency. Again, Human Expression and Flame for Life were the biggest negative drivers, declining minus 2% and minus 2.5%, respectively while Blade Excellence was down 0.2%. Turning to Slide 12. Let me walk you through the 2025 performance by division, starting with Human Expression. Net sales for the full year were EUR 736 million, down 5.6% organically. Constant currency performance was lower since discontinued businesses were a drag on growth. In North America, BIC's performance was significantly impacted by Skin Creative and Rocketbook. And as Rob mentioned earlier, we took decisive actions in Q4 with the discontinuation of these activities. In addition, the U.S. ball pen segment, where BIC is most exposed, declined mid-single digits in value. However, net sales for the core stationery business improved meaningfully in H2 versus H1 as we experienced a strong back-to-school sequence in Q3 in segments like mechanical pencils and correction. In Europe, following a very good 2024 driven by growth in flagship products such as the 4-Color Olympics, net sales were slightly down in 2025. Performance was resilient despite a challenging market, and it's worth noting the sequential improvement throughout the year, thanks to steady distribution gains and the success of recently launched 4-Color pens addition like the 4-Color Smooth. In Latin America, the decline was mainly driven by Brazil and even more by Mexico. In Mexico, in particular, we implemented managerial changes and are already seeing a stabilization. Lastly, in Middle East and Africa, net sales grew mid-single digits, driven by good commercial execution and solid back-to-school season in key countries like South Africa. Human Expression adjusted EBIT margin was 7.5% in 2025, flat versus last year. The impact of unfavorable currency fluctuations and higher raw material costs was offset by lower expense as well as favorable price and mix. Moving on to the performance of the Flame For Life division. Net sales were EUR 723 million in 2025, down 6.7%, both organically and at constant currencies. In North America, net sales were down significantly in the first half of the year and were impacted by deteriorating trading environment and lower consumption. Market trends, however, showed sequential improvement throughout the year. The U.S. pocket lighter market ended at minus 3.7% in value in 2025, and BIC managed to maintain its share in the [ lighter ] market. Our net sales were more significantly impacted in the convenience channel. In Europe, net sales were slightly down, impacted by soft performance in key countries like Italy and Germany. This more than offset distribution gains in the discounters channel and solid performance in the utilities lighters segment. In Latin America, we were impacted by challenging market trend with tough competition in Brazil and Mexico. In Mexico, in particular, performance was particularly poor in the traditional channel. As mentioned, this has been addressed through managerial changes. Finally, our net sales in Middle East and Africa grew double digits with strong commercial execution in Nigeria and distribution gains in Morocco. Flame For Life adjusted EBIT margin was 29.9% in 2025 compared to 33.3% last year. This decrease was mainly due to net sales decline and the negative impact of U.S. tariffs in H2. Turning to the next slide on Blade Excellence. Net sales totaled EUR 602 million, down 0.8% organically. As mentioned, Tangle Teezer performed very well, growing double digits and fueled by new products and distribution gains. In the U.S., our core shaver business declined mid-single digits, facing deteriorating market trends and high competition, particularly in the women's segment. However, we did a solid performance in the premium range and the new products such as BIC Flex 5 and the BIC Soleil Glide. In Europe, net sales declined slightly on a like-for-like basis as a result of softer performance in key countries such as Italy and Greece, and this more than offset strong commercial performance in Eastern Europe and the success of value-added products like BIC Soleil Escape. In Latin America, our trade-up strategy towards the multiblade segment continued to deliver positive results, particularly in Brazil. Lastly, in Middle East and Africa, net sales grew slightly, mainly driven by good Q4 performance in key markets like Morocco and Nigeria. Overall, Blade Excellence '25 adjusted EBIT margin was 15.9% compared to 18.5% in 2024, mainly due to tariffs and a very high comp in '24. Moving on to Page 15. Full year '25 adjusted EBIT margin was 13.6%, down 2% versus '24. Gross profit had a negative impact of 1.6 points, driven by high raw material and the negative impact of tariffs. This was particularly offset by continued manufacturing efficiencies and the positive contribution of Tangle Teezer. Brand support was relatively flat versus last year, and we had lower operating expenses, thanks to disciplined cost control. That said, as a percentage of net sales, operating expenses increased 0.3 points due to negative operating leverage. On Slide 16, let's review the key elements of our P&L. Adjusted EBIT stood at EUR 283 million, down EUR 60 million versus last year. Nonrecurring items amounted to EUR 127 million, mostly due to the sale of Cello and the discontinuation of our Skin Creative activities and Rocketbook announced in Q4. This included mainly EUR 104 million related to the discontinuation of Skin Creative and Rocketbook announced last December, EUR 11 million related to the negative impact of Cello's disposal and EUR 10 million related to the fair value adjustment on the Power Purchase Agreement in France and the Virtual Power Purchase agreement in Greece. As a result, income before tax was significantly down to EUR 139 million compared to EUR 298 million in 2024. Lastly, net income group share was EUR 86 million compared to EUR 212 million last year, while our adjusted net income group share was EUR 195 million compared to EUR 256 million last year. Our adjusted group EPS stood at EUR 4.74 compared to EUR 6.15 last year. On the next slide, you can see the main building blocks of free cash flow in 2025. Operating cash flow amounted to EUR 400 million, down EUR 71 million year-on-year, mainly due to the decrease in operating margin. Change in working capital was a positive contribution of EUR 7 million and income tax paid was EUR 90 million. CapEx were EUR 87 million, flat versus last year. As a result, in 2025, free cash flow was solid at EUR 222 million. Before giving the floor back to Rob, let me present our net cash position on Slide 18. On top of the free cash flow elements in 2025, we spent EUR 127 million in dividends and EUR 40 million in share buyback. This concludes our review of BIC's full year 2025 consolidated results. In summary, 2025 was a difficult year for BIC in most of our key regions, marked by continued inflation, consumer anxiety and tariff uncertainty in the U.S. Against this backdrop, the group continued to focus on free cash flow resilience through disciplined cost management and working capital improvements. Looking ahead, as we develop our strategic plan, we will continue to focus on protecting our cash, simplifying our organization to ensure we are fit for growth and well positioned to drive growth and profitability. With that, I give the floor back to Rob.
Rob Versloot: Thank you, Gregory. 2025 was also a year of major changes in our governance structure. I just put in place a new leadership team, tighter and leaner with a clear objective of improving the business going forward. I strongly believe that BIC now has the right structure and leaders to execute and drive our next phase of growth. In addition to this, more, than half of BIC's Board of Directors was renewed last year and it is now fully equipped to support the implementation of our new strategy. These leadership and governance changes are essential to putting the business back on track. Let's now take a closer look at our 2026 outlook. Starting this year, BIC will now guide on organic net sales performance, a key KPI and priority for us going forward. It reflects the true underlying performance of our business, excluding the impacts from perimeter and foreign exchange. In this year of transition and as BIC's leadership team prepares its strategic plan, which will be presented later in the year, we anticipate under current assumptions, improving organic net sales trends in 2026, a slight expansion in adjusted EBIT margin and a stable free cash flow generation year-on-year. To conclude, 2026 is a transitional year as we are focused on improving and transforming our business as well as implementing the right structure and operating model. With the full support of the Board of Directors and my new leadership team, I strongly believe we are well positioned to prepare a clear plan of action and write the next chapter for BIC. I'm very optimistic that the decisive action we have taken so far are laying strong foundations for BIC to return to sustainable, profitable growth. I could not conclude this call without honoring the memory of Francois Bich, son of our founder, Marcel Bich, who sadly passed away this Monday. Throughout his career, Francois played a pivotal role in developing iconic safe lighters and transforming them into a global success through his visionary leadership from the acquisition of Flaminaire in 1971 to leading our lighter category until 2016 when he retired from his executive position. When I joined as CEO, I had the immense privilege of speaking with him. And I have to say that without Francois, BIC would undeniably not be the company we all know today. His legacy will continue to inspire us for the years to come. This concludes our presentation for today. We will now take your questions.
Operator: [Operator Instructions] And we take our first question. And it comes from the line of Andre [indiscernible] from UBS.
Unknown Analyst: Obviously condolences to the Bich family. I have a couple of questions. Firstly, on the 2026 outlook. Could you confirm that when you talk about an organic -- an improvement in organic trends, this does not necessarily mean you're going to return to growth in full year '26. And coupled with that, your margins will only increase up to 10 basis points because you talk about a small margin improvement. Coupled with this, where do you see the sharpest improvement coming within your divisions? And how much of that will be driven by Tangle Teezer? And secondly, obviously, Rob, Gregory, you've been with BIC for a few months now. What are your first impressions? And without giving too much ahead of the strategic update, any areas that strike you as most right for improvement?
Rob Versloot: Andre, for your questions. I will start with your first question, which was about our guidance for 2026. I want to make it very clear. 2026 is a transitional year in which we aim to stabilize performance and laying the foundation for our new growth cycle. That would be our key priority for this year. I think your second question was related to the margin expansion. Look, I think what helps us in 2026 is the fact that we have exited underperforming businesses in Q4, namely Rocketbook, Cello and Skin Creative. We are also focusing on disciplined cost control. But on the other hand, we're also being hit partially by tariffs in the U.S. So the combination of all this makes us believe that we will be able to slightly expand our margin in 2026. It was related to my impressions of BIC. I would like to summarize that in 3 things. First of all, we have a wonderful brand, which is known in many places across the globe. So I think it's a fantastic brand platform. The other thing that has impressed me in my first month is the amazing manufacturing capabilities we have to produce super high-quality products at very cost competitive levels. And thirdly, we have a fantastic distribution footprint in many parts of the world. So I think this company has some really -- some key strengths and -- which will help us to revive growth going forward. Last point, if I get you right, Andre, was the Tangle Teezer performance. I can honestly tell you, we're super happy with Tangle Teezer. Also in 2025, our first year of full integration, we could notice that Tangle Teezer continues to grow at a fast pace, double-digit top line. It's margin accretive for our company. It has consolidated its #1 market share position in the U.K., and it's a fast-growing brand in the U.S., now reaching #3. So yes, all lights on green for Tangle Teezer and it also has been a key contributor to our growth in '25 with 4.1 points to the group's net sales performance.
Operator: [Operator Instructions] And the next question comes from the line of Geoffrey d'Halluin from BNP Paribas.
Geoffrey d'Halluin: I've got 2 questions, please. First one is related to the end of 2026. If you can share with us any thoughts on the trading trends you've seen in the first weeks of 2026, especially for the Flame For Life division in the U.S. That's my first question, please. And second question is related to the exit of businesses, so like Cello, Skin Creative business and Rocketbook. Could you share with us how much is it in terms of revenues, which is exited the company? And maybe also any thoughts regarding the profitability of this business? And on top of that, do you expect any additional one-off costs related to these disposals or business exiting?
Rob Versloot: Geoff, thank you very much for your question. This is Rob speaking. I will answer the first part of your question, and then I will pass on to my colleague, Greg, to answer the second part. So your question was related to our expectations for Q1 and current trending. What I can tell you is that we expect a relatively flat organic growth for Q1. And what we are doing is we are taking actions to set ourselves up for real sustainable growth, amongst others, by rightsizing level of inventories at key distributors and wholesalers globally. Maybe more in particularly because I think you were also mentioning the Flame For Life. We expect a slight recovery in the U.S. despite the fact that macroeconomic environment continues to be uncertain with especially low-income consumers continuing to feel the pinch following the implementation of U.S. tariffs. We can also notice that we see some key customers continuing to optimize their level of inventory. So that's the U.S. Then in Mexico, where we, of course, in the recent days, we had a lot of unrest, where our primary concern is the health and safety of our employees. But concerning performance, we clearly expect a stabilization in Mexico. We had a very tough year last year. We took action, put new management in place, and we believe that we will be able to improve the performance in Mexico accordingly. Other regions, our expectation for now is more or less flat versus last year. This concludes my answer to your first question. I now pass on to Greg for your other question.
Gregory Lambertie: Geoffrey, on your second question regarding disposals, I will not comment on the specific in terms of numbers, but the disposal of Cello and discontinuation of Rocketbook and Skin Creative will have a positive impact on organic growth and should be pretty -- organic growth in EBIT margin and should be pretty neutral between the disposal proceeds and the wind down cost in terms of free cash flow.
Operator: [Operator Instructions] And now we're going to take our next question. And it comes from the line of Marie-Line Fort from Bernstein.
Marie-Line Fort: Yes. I've got -- I would like to come back on 2 topics. The first one is about tariffs, the impact of the new tariff announcement? And what do you expect at this stage, even if it's not very clear? The second question is about the start of production of Tangle Teezer brushes. Could you tell us a bit more? Where is the production located? Is it a trial? What will be the ramp-up? And when do you see new synergies in terms of production and in terms of evolution in margin?
Gregory Lambertie: Regarding tariffs, it's obviously too early to tell regarding the impact of the Supreme Court decision. It should persist -- and our view is that it should persist as we enter 2026 because raw material and local inventories were built at a higher cost that included those tariffs. So we'll now need to assess how the U.S. administration will react to this decision. Just to give you a sense of the numbers, in the current environment, the overall impact of tariffs for BIC as of -- for '25, '26 on an annual basis, the overall impact is EUR 31 million, of which EUR 13 million already impacted 2025. So we have EUR 18 million ahead of us, which we obviously try to offset through a number of levers, pricing, gross profit optimization, accelerating transformation of our supply chain and adjusting our manufacturing footprint and also disciplined cost management, which has to be one of our priorities as well. So that's that regarding the impact of tariffs. And on Tangle Teezer production?
Rob Versloot: Yes, let me take that one, Greg. Marie-Line, I want to come back on your question related to Tangle Teezer. So we have started to produce the first brushes in our factory in Mexico by the end of last year. And we also have plans to produce the brushes in Tunisia in the course of 2026. So that integration is going well.
Marie-Line Fort: And in terms of synergies, any kind of ideas of what could represent and at which or reason?
Gregory Lambertie: Sorry, Marie-Line, we couldn't hear you very well. Can you repeat, please?
Marie-Line Fort: Sorry. Just wanting to know if you can precise the synergies expected, not in terms of figures precisely, but in terms of calendar, at least?
Gregory Lambertie: So it's pretty much limited in '26 and should be accretive going forward.
Operator: Excuse me, Marie-Line, do you have any further questions?
Marie-Line Fort: No, that's fine.
Operator: Thank you so much. Dear speakers, there are no further questions for today. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker, Rob Versloot, for any closing remarks.
Rob Versloot: Thank you. I'd like to thank you all for attending today's call. And looking forward to stay connected with you throughout the year. Thank you very much.
Gregory Lambertie: Indeed, thank you for your attention. Bye-bye.
Operator: This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now all disconnect. Have a nice day.