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Clariane Se
2/27/2026
Welcome to the Clarion 2025 full year results presentation. For the first part of the conference call, participants will be in listen-only mode. However, during the questions and answers session, participants are able to ask questions. This can be done by dialing pound key five on their telephone keypad or by typing a question in the chat box. Now I will hand the conference over to Sophie Boissard, CEO. Please go ahead. Thank you very much.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear investors, Welcome to the Client Group 2025 Annual Result Presentation Meeting. My name is Sophie Guatta, Chief Executive Officer of the Client Group. Together with Grégory Lobicki, Chief Financial Officer of the Group, I will present Client Results for the 2025 financial year. I will then discuss our Group's Outlook for 2018 as part of our new medium-term plan, Succeeding Together. As you see on the slide number five, There are actually three key highlights for 2025. First, we have delivered a solid operating performance in accordance with our announced targets. Second, we have successfully completed, under excellent condition, the plan to strengthen the financial position we launched in 2023. Three, we confirm our profitable growth target for 26 and beyond, looking ahead to 28. Let's stay a while on the first message. In 25, we delivered a solid operational performance, as you see here, with revenue of €5,310,000,000, representing organic growth of 4.5%. All of the group's geographical areas and activities contributed to the increase in revenue, thanks both to steady volume growth and tolerable price effects, particularly in Germany, which once again benefited from a strong repricing effect of around 8%. This positive momentum is reflected in the increase in operating profits. EBITDA reached 594 million, up 3.1% compared to 2024, and the EBITDA margin, which remained stable over the financial year, improved significantly in the second half to 12.5%, up more than 260 basis points compared to the first half of 2025. Operating cash flow generation also improved significantly with an operating free cash flow amount 267 million up 46% driven by strong operating performance in the second half and the normalization of working capital requirements. In terms of non-financial performance, which makes a lot of sense in our industry, we have once again met and even exceeded our target. I will come back to this in a few moments. The second highlight of 25 is about the plan to strengthen our financial position, which will launch in November 2023 in response to inflation and sharp rises in interest rates. This plan has enabled us to regain access to the bond market and be six months ahead of schedule. More specifically, last year we achieved three major milestones. First, we finalized our 5 billion divestment program with very good valuation terms. Second, we have been able to extend our syndicated credit facility and to return to the bond market with an initial unrated issue of 500 million last summer. And finally, three, we obtained an inaugural rating from S&P and Moody's at B plus and B2 respectively, rating which will facilitate our regular access to the bond market in the future. Overall, as expected, we have been able to significantly reduce both our debt and our whole coal leverage to 5.1 times, and we have recovered a strong liquidity position, €1.2 billion at the end of 2025. Based on this achievement, and this is the third message for 2025, we are in position to confirm our announced target for the 2023-2026 period, namely an average organic growth of around 5% over the period, an improvement in the EBITDA margin of 100 to 150 basis points compared to 23, and a whole call leverage to be reduced to below five times at the end of 26. Beyond 26 and building on the quality of our pan-European platform, on our business portfolio, as well on the good visibility we have on our activity load, We are targeting an average revenue growth of around 4% per year, taking into account the expected normalization in price increase in Germany following the strong catch-up cycle that started in 2020. This momentum, combined with the impact of the productivity plans that we have implemented at headquarters and in shared service as part of our better support efficiency program, will contribute significantly to the growth of groups operating margin. We are targeting an average EBITDA growth of between 7% and 9% over the period 2025-2028, and an OPCO EBITDA growth of between 11% and 14% on a pro forma basis. And of course, we will continue to make reducing our leverage a priority in our financial policy, targeting to reach around 4.5% by the end of 2028. I would now like to review the various elements of the 2025 performance, as you see here on slide number 6, the main financial aggregates for the year. First, you see reflected the level of activity already mentioned, €5.3 billion in revenue, up 4.5 organically, In terms of profitability, pro forma IFRS 16 EBDA are reached 1.2 billion, up 3.5%, and the reported pre-IFRS 16 EBDA amounted to 594 million, up 3.1%. In terms of cash flow generation, as I mentioned a moment ago, operating cash flow was very strong, up 46%. This performance support our debt reduction trajectory. Net financial debt decreased by 390 million compared to December 24, reaching 3.1 billion. And as a result, whole core leverage has fallen sharply to 5.1 times compared to 5.8 times in 2024. Finally, the Group's net profit returned to positive territory 36 million pre-IFRS 16 and plus 2 million post-IFRS 16 to be compared with the loss of 55 million in 24. In terms of real estate, the value of the portfolio of the group stands at 2.5 million euros and the loan to value ratio has remained stable at 58 over the year. Let's turn now to the main component of operating performance. First, here, the reflection on the divestment program we initiated two years ago. After this, we see now the new streamlined profile of Clarion. We focused on six countries and two complementary lines of business. First line dedicated to the elderly care under the Corian brand. and the second line dedicated to non-acute mental health and rehabilitation under the brands INICEA, Cormed, and ITA in Spain. With 1,215 facilities in six countries, representing more than 90,000 beds, 65,000 employees, and nearly 850,000 patients, we operate one of Europe's leading specialty care networks. In terms of country splits, France accounts for 43% of revenue, which are shared almost equally between Corian and EDCA, elderly care and post-acute care. Germany is our second largest country, accounting for 25% of revenue under the Corian brand, followed by Belgium and the Netherlands with 16% of the revenue, Italy with 12%, and Spain with 5% and some room for further growth. In terms of mix, three-quarters of our revenue comes from long-term care, elderly care, and one-quarter comes from specialty care, mainly in follow-up care, mental health, and addiction treatment. It should be noted that the latter accounts for 80% of patients treated due to a very high churn and a strong growth in outpatient care. And as you see on the bottom part of the slide, we are now showing the pro forma financial information pre-2425 that forms the basis for our objective in the new format of clarion post disposal plan i hope this will help understanding our figures and guidance on an easier basis let's move on now to slide number eight and this slide provide a very concrete overview of the major milestones achieved since the end of 23 of our plan to strengthen our financial position. As a result of these various milestones, we are already one year ahead of schedule, very close to the target of below five times leverage by the end of 2026. That was at the core of the plan. Let's move on to slide number nine, which is dedicated to our non-financial performance. 25 was another very good year in terms of non-financials. This is particularly true when it comes to quality of care with an NPS measured by Ipsos among 85,000 patients and carers that has risen again this year to reach an unprecedented level of plus 45, placing us more than 20 points above industry benchmarks. We have also improved our quality standards with now 99% of our elderly care homes and clinics that are ISO 9001 certified. In terms of human risk, we remained also very focused and quite successful over the years. We were again recognized as a top employer Europe for the third consecutive year and for actually as an exception in our industry. We have also signed a Europe wide agreement with our unions on health and safety at work. And we support our efforts to continuously reduce frequency of workplace accident and absenteeism. And of course, and this is probably the most important, we continue to invest more than ever in skills development in order to be able to source on very scarce labor market our own workforce. more than 7,700 employees representing around 12% of Clarion workforce took one of the qualifying courses offered by our Clarion University. This feeds into our internal promotion policy with 55% of our facility director position filled internally. As the strong results show, ESG is more than ever a central part of our business plan, as it is inseparable from our mission and a ground chief of quality, attractiveness and sustainable performance. I will now hand over to Grégory for the details of our financial performance. Grégory, the floor is yours.
Thank you, Sophie. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. So we can go on to slide 11. I would like to begin this section by discussing revenue growth. In 2025, we posted organic growth of plus 4.5%. And this is an important point. All activities and all geographical areas contributed to this growth. With the new segmentation, the long-term care business, which, as Sophie said, accounts for 76% of revenue, grew by 5.4% organically. This momentum was driven by price increases, and improved occupancy rates despite the effect of closures and disposal in several countries. Specialty care business, SMR and mental health accounts for 24% of revenue and grew by plus 1.8% organically. Here too, scope effect is at work with disposal in France and Italy. And in France, the reading is impacted by factors related to the implementation of the SMR pricing reform, as already mentioned earlier this year. Looking now at the geographical breakdown, Germany, Spain and Benelux are the main drivers, with organic growth of plus 8%, 7.8% and 5% respectively, supported by pricing and occupancy rates. Italy is also growing at plus 2.4% organically, with pricing on the rise and occupancy rates already at a very high level. In France, organic growth is plus 2.6%, We were affected at the beginning of the year by the flu outbreak in nursing homes in the first quarter, but we are seeing a rebound in the second half of the year in specialty care, thanks in particular to an improved mix. Overall, organic growth driven by all activities and geographies, reflecting the group's relevance and strengths in terms of activities and geographies. Let's take a quick look at the Robert-Dupree on the slide 12. We start with published revenue for 2024 of €5.3 billion. The impact of the disposal plan is minus €125 million or minus 2.5%. On the like-for-like basis, this gives us a pro forma base for 2024 of €5.2 billion. On this basis, organic growth is plus 4.5%, driven mainly by the price and mis-effects. at plus €156 million or plus 3.1%. This is mainly due to long-term care with price effects, particularly in Germany and France. Volumes also made a positive contribution of €74 million plus 1.4% linked to improved occupancy rates and increased activity in specialty care. Finally, there were two negative items, other effects of minus €42 million and portfolio management for minus €35 million mainly related to pricing in France in specialty care, suspension of real estate development activities, and the effect of M&A and closure, particularly in Germany. This brings us to a 2025 turnover of €5.3 billion, reported growth of plus 0.5%, and overall solid organic growth of plus 4.5%, driven mainly by price and mix, supplemented by volumes. On the slide 13, in our long-term care business, we continue to improve occupancy rates. This is an important point because it has a direct impact on our growth and a positive trend in our margins. In 2025, the average occupancy rate over the 12 months will reach 91% up from 2024. And the momentum has strengthened over the course of the year with the rate rising to 91.6% in the fourth quarter after a slightly lower start of the year. Taking a step back, trajectory is very clear. We are moving from 86.6% in 2022 to 88.5% in 2023, then 90.6% in 2024 and 91% in 2025. In other words, improvement is steady and ongoing. Finally, we still have significant volume growth potential within our existing capacities. I would now like to look to the EBITDA performance by geography. First point is that the group's EBITDA margin is stable at 21.8% in 2025, the same level as in 2024. Behind this stability, we see quite contrasting trends depending on the country. We have seen marked improvements in most regions. Germany is making a significant progress with its margin rising from 21.3% to 24, an increase of 260 basis points. Benedict countries are also improving, at 23.3 percent, up 100 basis points. Italy is up slightly at 21.8 percent, an increase of 30 basis points. Conversely, France declined to 20.2 percent, down 200 basis points. This change is mainly due to the negative impact of the implementation of pricing reform in specialty care in France, central deployment costs of our better support program, which will bear full fruit from 26 onward. Finally, Spain came in 19.9%, down 70% by this point. This is mainly a mixed effect linked to the development of asset-light, contract-based activity in social care that does not require capital expenditure. Overall, these movements offset each other and explain the stability of the EBITDA margin at group level, with significant improvement in most countries and two areas of concern identified in front of Spain. On the next slide, I would like now to take a look at the ABTA bridge for 25 versus 24, 3, 5, 16, to better understand the main drivers. We start with published ABTA for 24 of 605 million euros with a margin of 11.5%. The scope effect related to the divestment plan represent minus 29 million euros. On the like-for-like basis, pro forma ABTA for 24 is therefore 576 million euros with a margin of 11.2%. On this basis, we first have a positive volume effect of 17 million euros linked to the growth in activity, which was positive overall in all regions. Next, the price effect is significant, plus 156 million euros, supported in particular by significant revaluation in Germany and a positive effect in France, Benelux and Italy. On the other hand, cost inflation, net of performance measures, represents minus 155 million euros in other words the price effect almost offsets cost inflation over the year it should be noted that as mentioned at the end of the first half of the year pricing anomalies linked to the entry into force of the new smr financing framework in france had a negative impact of 23 million euro on our cost base and the impact of the cost of deploying our better support program was around 15 1 5 million euros These two factors combined have a negative impact of 60 basis points on the annual EBITDA margin, which, restated from these two items, would be at 11.8%. In total, EBITDA for 2025 comes to €594 million, with a margin of 11.2%, a stable margin on the like-for-like basis, and a growth in value driven by volumes and the ability to pass on cost increases. Let us now move on the analysis of the profitability by half-year. As you can see, the BTA margin is historically higher in the second half of the year. In 2025, the improvement in the margin was even more robust, with an increase in the second half to 12.5% compared to 9.9% in the first half of 2025. This improvement is notably driven by volumes that continue to improve in each of our regions, good control of operating costs, and improved rates in the second half in Germany, and a performance that is normalizing in SMR clinics in France. Let's now move on cash and debt. I will start with cash generation presented in accordance with EFR 16. So in 2025, operating cash flow will increase significantly to 469 million euros, up 69 million euros compared to last year. This improvement is due to three factors. Firstly, non-cash and miscellaneous items which remain negative. Secondly, a sharp improvement in working capital requirements, showing a continued improvement in this indicator after a sharp deterioration in 2023. And finally, a level of maintenance capex that remains under control at €111 million. In this context, free operating cash flow amounted to €267 million, up €84 million year-on-year. This corresponds to an EBITDA conversion rate of approximately 45%. We benefited from lower financial expenses due to lower interest payments. We are also maintaining strict discipline on capex, with maintenance and development capex totaling €159 million compared with €242 million in 2024. Finally, positive impact of disposal reached €368 million compared with 391 million euros in 2024, contributing directly to debt reduction. In total, the net debt will increase by 408 million euros by the end of 2025, including ES17, and excluding ES17, the decrease will be of 390 million euros, mainly driven by the contribution of disposal, increase in operating cash flow, and the growth in free operational cash flow. It should be noted that, excluding disposal, net debt will have decreased over the period thanks to positive net cash flow. I will now move on the debt and liquidity as at 31st of December 2025. The first point is the net debt reduction. Including EFR 2016 and EFR 2017, net financial debt fell by nearly 400 billion euros over the year to 1,055 million euros, indeed closer to the 3 billion euro level. This improvement is the result of a combination of cash generation and the contribution from disposal as we have just seen. Secondly, maturity profile is no better spread out. Maturities are mainly positioned from 2027 onwards with further maturities in 2029 and 2030, which reduces the risk of short-term refinancing, as it is in line with the return to normalised aspects of financing. Thirdly, liquidity remains solid. It stands at around €1.2 billion, including an Android revolving credit facility with cash levels up at the end of 2024. Finally, on the real estate side, maturities are spread over time, which also contributes to visibility on the financing trajectory. On the slide 20, with this Transcendent Financing Framework, I would like to move on the performance and the financial trajectory elements. World co-leverage ratio stands at 5.1 times at the end of December 25 compared with 5.8 times at the end of 24 and 5.6 times at the end of June 25. This represents a decrease of approximately 1.1 since 2023. This improvement is due to two factors. Firstly, the finalization of the plan to strengthen the financial structure of the group. And secondly, the increase in cash generation, particularly operating free cash flows. I will now move on to all real estate and the gross value of the portfolio. We are starting from a value of €2.6 billion at the end of 2024. Firstly, there is a perimeter effect linked in particular to the disposal plan with minus €155 billion achieved at market price in a challenging environment, which highlights the value and liquidity of the group's assets. After this disposal, the pro forma value at the end of 2024 is €2.5 billion, From this base, the value is broadly stable. Market effects are close to balance, with a net impact of around minus €10 million. Index session at €29 million, largely offset by a slight change in the capitalization rate, which rises to 6.5% at the end of 2025, from 6.4% at the end of 2024, for an impact of minus €38 million. In total, this results in a portfolio value of approximately €2.5 billion at the end of 2025, Excluding scope effects, the value is stable, with cap rates normalizing and the portfolio continuing to benefit from indexation. In real estate, financing structure at the end of 2025 clearly illustrates our asset smart strategy. The consolidated real estate portfolio is valued at approximately €2.5 billion, as already mentioned. It is now mainly held in the shared equity partnership vehicles, accounting for approximately 77% of the total of 1.9 billion euros. The balance corresponds to the DirectEL portfolio, representing approximately 23% of the total, or 600 million euros. On the partnership side, we have four vehicles in place since 2020, with leading and long-term partners. The gross value of the asset in these vehicles amounts to a low 1.9 billion euros, and client economic share is approximately 52%. This structure allows us to share capital on long-term assets while maintaining significant exposure and good visibility on the value creation. At the same time, we maintain a locally held portfolio with a gross value of 600 million euros. This structure combines the stability of a long-term real estate portfolio with more efficient capital allocation and supports of our debt reduction trajectory while maintaining a solid real estate base. On that note, I will hand back to Sophie to conclude with our outlook for the current year and the medium term.
Thank you very much, Grégory. Before moving on to the outlook, I would like to take a moment to emphasize what makes the CLARIAD model so unique compared to its peers, as highlighted in recent discussions with rating agencies. First, our size and the diversity of our business portfolio. We are now positioned as one of the leading pan-European social infrastructure platforms, specializing in care and prevention of fragility. Our network of more than 1,200 facilities gives us a presence in more than 700 catchment areas across Europe, home to 70% of the EU population aged 65 and over. Second, our strong corporate culture is very much related to the purpose-driven part of the company and strongly integrated through our European identity and high-quality social dialogue. Three, the quality of the market in which we operate. As you all know, we benefit from the structural growth prospect for local healthcare demand driven by both demographics and epidemiology. Four, and Gregory just explained it, we have a very strong and unique asset smart real estate strategy that is definitely a key asset and has been developed over nearly 10 years in partnership with leading institutionals and maximize our flexibility and directly support operational execution while contributing to financial discipline. Finally, our most valuable asset is, of course, our people. I've been fortunate to be able to rely for nearly 10 years on remarkable management teams that are both solid and experienced, backed by a robust framework and supported by long-term shareholders committed to the company. All this, of course, reinforces visibility, consistency in execution. And this is why we are now in the best position to focus on two key objectives for the next three years. First, returning to a level of profitability close to that which we enjoyed before COVID and the high inflation wave of 2022. And second, continuing to invest as part of a disciplined financial policy. And this is exactly what it is about in our new business plan entitled Succeeding Together. Just a few seconds on the slides you already saw, and that illustrates the groups highly effectively focusing over the last 24 months. I think the most important here is to say that we are equally balanced in terms of regulatory risk. None of our business subsegment accounts now for more than 20% of the group revenue. And definitely this was a critical dimension and achievement of the plan and the disposal program we have achieved. Slide number 27. You see here the four pillars on which our new bit-term plan relies for cross-functional levels that are common to all our activities. The first pillar is the integrated quality and operating model, which ensures that we are the benchmark operator and which allow us to fully utilize our installed capacity. So this is definitely a driver for profitable growth. The second pillar is our human resources policy, which guarantees that we can recruit and retain expert employees and committed healthcare teams, even in labour market under severe strain, and this is probably one of the critical dimensions in our industry across Europe. The third pillar is the we have been developing in geriatrics, in physical medicine and rehabilitation, and in psychiatry with the support of the leading research team we are teaming up with. And finally, the fourth pillar is the digital and tech platform that we have set up with our Clariane Solutions internal tech platform, which underpins the Better Supports efficiency program. Slide number 28. you will see here it reflects the main strategic priorities by segment. On the long-term care, we have identified three priorities. We want to support the increasing need for medical care in our facility in strong conjunction with hospitals, which are becoming, across Europe, one of our primary sources of referrals everywhere. Second, we want to be in position to offer tailored support for family carers in the form of respite stays. And this becomes more and more a very significant part of the local demand. And third, we want to be able to rethink and to redesign our operational structures by fully integrating and leveraging the impact of digital and robotic tools to increase both robustness of our service and efficiency and cost. On the medical, the specialty care segment, we have also defined three priorities for our clinics network. First, in our 200 and so facilities for medical prostitute and rehabilitation, we are focusing more and more on pushing on mixed care pathway, combining full hospitalization on one hand side with second part outpatient support in the context of day hospitalization. The effectiveness of this pathway, offering autonomy to chronic patients, is now clearly established and well recognized in terms of pricing by the authorities. And this is why, since 2017, we have equipped all our clinic facilities with outpatient units, which are now largely saturated and which we are committed to expanding. The second priority is around the transformation of our multipurpose post-acute facilities into geriatric platforms that can also offer local medical beds that can provide primary care to the one-third of patients over the age of 75 that do not have a general practitioner in France or in Germany. And lastly, we are in the process of opening new specialized medical departments for the treatment of chronic conditions in around 20 clinics in Europe, either within existing facilities or in the form of autonomous satellites. And this actually covers selected facilities such as addiction, treatment, mood disorders, neurologic disorders, or oncology. On the slide number 29, you now see how we transform those strategic priorities into revenue margin on the revenue side, the top line side. We expect those various initiatives to fuel profitable growth of around 4% in each business segment divided equally between additional volume coming from higher occupancy of long-term care more outpatient development on the specialty care, and extended capacities in selected places. And the other part, and this is pretty much equally divided, will come from pricing. Private pay on one head side, especially for the long-term care with our value-based approach, strongly reflected in the high NPF, and case mix management for the specialty care side, that is now very much strongly in place with a data-driven approach that enables us to make sure that we really protect the revenue integrity of this activity. Next, you see now how we transform this into a BDA growth and actually a pretty strong growth portion for the next three years. Again, this will be very much balanced. between the contribution of relative top line growth that will transform into a higher EBDA growth and an efficiency cost reduction part that is encompassed in our better support efficiency program. This program covers, as already said, a selected initiative that are targeting Overhead and shared services already started, well started in Germany, in France with around 200 FTE that will be cut along the next 12 months. And with the redesign that is ongoing of operative workflows and automation within the facilities, and a strong partnership with our core suppliers in order to reduce the cost of service to facilities. Of course, improving EBDA means also improving cash flow generation and contributes to further the leveraging of the company. And this is clear, the debt reduction over the next three years will now be mainly driven primarily by cash generation. At the same time, we target to actively managing our debts to anticipate refinancing 12 to 18 months before maturities and to work to simplify and optimize the cost of debt as we have already started. This trajectory is supported by a very cautious approach in terms of financial policy. There won't be any dividend distribution in the medium term given the leverage cap in our financing agreements. And in the same vein, external growth operation will only be considered in line with leverage targets with strict criteria in terms of strategy and risk return profile. Our objective is very clear. we want to generate positive free cash flow from 26 onwards and to continue reducing leverage on an ongoing basis. So this brings me now to the conclusion, and I would like to reiterate our financial targets with two complementary horizons. First, and this is reflected on the left-hand side of the slide, we confirm our 2326 objective. We are targeting an average organic revenue growth of around 5% over those three years, and we expect to see an improvement in the EBITDA margin prior to 2016 and pro forma of 150 basis points, excluding real estate development. And we confirm, as already said, our target of whole co-leverage being brought below five times at the end of 2016 a comparable balance sheet basis beyond that and this is reflected on the right hand side of the slide our plan for 28 is one of continuity with the growth and profitability trajectory build on the leverage i have just detailed as well as a new indicator known as opda which allow us to fully assess both operational efficiency and rent control in this perspective we are targeting For the next three years, average annual revenue growth of around 4%, and average annual pro forma growth in EBDA pre-adversary 2016 of between 7% and 9%, and in OPCW EBDA of between 11% and 14%. And finally, we are targeting whole core leverage of around 4.5% at the end of 2018, again on a comparable balance sheet basis. These targets reflect a clear trajectory, control growth, gradual improved profitability and continued debt reduction. More than ever, in 2026, we will remain focused on our mission to take care of each person's humanity in times of vulnerability. Thank you very much for your attention. Grégory and I are available to answer any questions you might have.
Gregory, Sophie, thank you for the presentation. We already have some questions on the webcast. So the first one is probably for you, Sophie. Do you expect price anomalies due to the reform of SMA in France to be fully recovered?
Yes, definitely. Maybe again on this price anomaly, what happened? Actually, there has been a new financing framework issued by the government in 2024, and the government has forgotten to take into consideration the facility that had been opened between 2020 and 2024. So actually, they've forgotten 20%, 20 facilities in our 100 facilities. facility network in France presents a missing funding of 23 million. This has been recovered for the future, for 26 onwards, so the authorities, and this is a major achievement of 25, recognize the mistake and agreed to add this missing funding for the future. We haven't been able to the missing money for 2025 and 2024. We are actually claiming that for the future, the problem is now solved.
Thank you, Sophie. Next question. Did you receive all the cash from the DISPODO program or some expected to be released in 2026?
Yeah, almost all cash has been received in 2024 or 2025. residual payments could be received in the first quarter of 2026.
Thank you Gregory. We have a few questions in the refinancing of the hybrids. Can you elaborate on this subject?
If you look on the refinancing as a whole, and maybe before, because a lot has been done by the group since the refinancing plan has been completed ahead of schedule. What is important to have in mind is that the plan has been set up to re-access to a certain extent to the capital market. It had been done last summer for €500 million unrated bond, like you know. Then we start with a strong liquidity of 1.2 billion euros at the end of December. And we want, as a company, of course, to remain opportunistic to refinance upcoming maturities, and this is what we do. More specifically to the hybrid instruments that are part of the capital structure, what we would like to say is that we don't want to make any comment on the GDP, hybrid bond, neither of the ordinands. As of today, the SFA documentation prevents the group from repaying the hybrid instrument with cash on end debt if the World Co-Leverage Ratio is above 5, that is the case. And in that case, we can only repay with similar instruments, equity or quasi-equity. Nevertheless, obviously, we want to be opportunistic and to treat the capital structure as a whole. And certainly, as you've seen, and as a side comment, the group as mentioned by Sophie has recently released an inaugural rating from both agencies yesterday.
Thank you, Gregory. Sophie, we have a question.
regarding the uh cost cutting plan in france and where do we stand uh in the execution of this plan so the plan has been has been prepared uh over 25 with the with the launch of a new uh accounting system that is now fully working and based on this uh a new and unified accounting system, we are going to close one of our accounting platforms. This requires a social plan to support our colleagues that work on the platform. The social plan has been announced and is currently under discussion with our union. we intend to deploy and to merge and to close the platform within the 26th or the second half of 26. So part of the savings, to put it short, will be reflected in the P&L this year and the runways of this cost reduction plan on overhead and shared services will be fully reflected in 27. Again, looking at the EBDA development for the next three years, half of the EBDA increase will come from the cost reduction plan and efficiency program. And again, half of the programs target the central and shared services part, and the rest target productivity within the facilities.
Thank you Sophie. We have a question regarding the syndicated loan which to be extended to May 2029 is subject to repayment or refinancing or extension of the 2027-2028 maturities. What is our view on the fulfillment of these subjects?
Thanks for the question. We have two steps to confirm the extension. One step for the maturities of 2027 and the second step for ratings of 2028. The first step of the maturity of 2027 have already been extended to 2028. It was related to the issuance of a bond more than 300 million euros with the maturity uh above 2027 that was the case and when we choose a bond last summer with the maturity of 2030 and then not only for the 2028 but for the other maturities we have our financial policies to address the debt 12 or 18 months in a month in advance so we are currently working on various sections to continue to work for the second extension of the maturity of 2028 moving to 2029 and this regards or relates to a 480 million euro social bond and euro pp that need to be addressed before that date.
Thank you, Grégory. I think we have a live question on the call.
The next question comes from Konstantin Gumanita from Keys Capital. Please go ahead.
Hi, good afternoon, Sophie, Gregory, and Stefan. This is Konstantin from Kais. I've got three questions, and I want to ask them one by one, please. So the first question, the second half 2025 performance shows double-digit recovery in EBITDA with margins at 12.5%. So applying that 12.5% margin to the full pro forma revenue of $5.2 billion would imply a sort of run rate EBITDA of $646 million or almost by 15% up on a pro forma basis. So on top of that, in 2026, you're expecting probably around 4% organic revenue growth and cost reductions. So is this the right way to think about it? And if so, why is your midterm EBITDA guidance capped at 7% to 9%? Should we read it as an intentionally conservative floor?
um maybe two two way to look at it uh constantine uh it was it's very important and you get it right uh on the second uh second part of the year uh why we have this 12.5 percent dbg margin uh is what we are already mentioned uh during the q3 uh it shows uh you know the effect of the action plan that has been set up with the pricing germany uh cost reduction in some regions and the normalization of the margin in the clinics in France. So this is something that we want to settle at the base from half-year basis to the full-year basis. Certainly help you as well to bridge the gap when we say we confirm the guidance. And from an APTA margin coming from 10.5% in 2023 with an improvement from 150 basis points that bring us between 11.5% and 12% margin in 2026. Got it.
Okay. Thank you. And then on the capital structure, if I may, so to go a little bit further, so the 500 million bond issued last summer now trades at 6% yield. At the same time, the small term loan and on drone RCF, they have restrictions on the refinancing of hybrids and the dividends. But given that you have access to the bond and loan markets, which is totally normalized now, are you contemplating an early refinancing of the Term Loan and RCF in order to remove the restrictions imposed by them? Or even perhaps a broader refi along with some of the hybrids?
Yes, I think thanks for the question. As you can see, the group is working on several options. to address the capital structure. We want to be as flexible as possible and to keep the advance on the schedule we have already on that topic. What is important to have in mind, I guess, and I will just re-highlight what I've just said, I guess the inaugural rating that we have just received yesterday is as well for the group a good element to have even more optionality when it came to work on the capital structure as well.
Okay, clear. And the third question that I had was, so you've sort of successfully stabilized the business. You have $800 million of cash on balance sheet. There's $1.2 billion of liquidity. The business does generate positive organic cash flow post debt service as you've highlighted At the same time the debt trades at 6% which is pretty healthy yields, but the equity is 25% below The 2025 highs we saw so the question I have is sort of a little bit open-ended but what are your primary strategic priorities for for the success cash and given the valuation gap between credit and equity, how are you sort of evaluating the relative IRR perhaps of an equity buyback?
I think this one, you know, if we contemplate on the plan and, you know, the plan is of the group is to continue to be the European leading platform of what we do. And when it came to the capital structure, the key element, when we say to have a
uh conservative or financial policy is that our objective there is to continuing on the delivery i think this is key as well for us when you look at it and consenting if i may uh i mean we have been uh we have now the inaugural rating in place and our aim is definitely to improve the rating looking forward this is really a critical dimension of sustainable and relative growth for shareholders as of for other stakeholders and this will be our guidelines for for the next three years okay i understood but i just wanted to highlight given the the bonds are yielding six percent and the equity is 25 below the the 20 25 highs it seems like the better trade so to say yeah but they have to digest yeah you're right but equity markets have to digest the news flow that we just communicated
Understood. Great. Well, thanks a lot and congrats again on the strong set of numbers.
Thank you, Gaston. We have a question regarding when the covenants are being tested. Is it on a yearly basis, especially for the world cold average?
We test covenants on the
basis meaning each and every six months thank you uh sophie gregory this is uh all the questions that we had uh sophie if you want to have building remarks yeah thank you very much stephan i can just highlight that the company has has been a very uh
strong and good way in overcoming the high inflation and interest rate upsurge 23 and that we are now healthy and best positioned to deliver on our succeed together new midterm plan. Thank you very much.