Edenred plummets on slight Q3 miss, Italian market woes; drags peer Pluxee
24/10/2024 08:56
** Shares in Edenred EDEN.PA plummet 14% to their lowest
price in more than 4 years, after the French vouchers group
posted Q3 revenue slightly below expectations and flagged
potential impact from Italian competition authority's amendment
on meal vouchers cap
** Q3 revenue comes in at 682 million euros ($734.92
million), compared with the 695 million euros in
company-provided consensus
** Edenred plans to bring an action against the cap on meal
voucher amendment alongside the Italian voucher association
(ANSEB) to the Italian Competition Authority
** The amendment to introduce a 5% cap on meal voucher
commissions paid by merchants could have a 60 million euros
impact on group's EBITDA for H2 2025, Edenred said
** Stifel analysts point to a slowdown across the board
** J.P. Morgan says Q3 came a "touch behind" estimates, adds
Italy regulation could impact FY 25 onwards
** JPM also notes Edenred's commentary around a slightly
more challenging momentum in France, Germany, and Central Europe
reads negatively for French peer Pluxee PLX.PA , which falls
10%
(Reporting by Federica Mileo)
((Federica.mileo@thomsonreuters.com))