MILAN — With inflation and high interest rates impacting consumer confidence and spending in its home market, 2023 was not an easy year for French furniture and home brands. But upscale furniture-maker Roche Bobois managed to hold strong.
Roche Bobois Group on Thursday reported that its full year 2023 net profit was 31.3 million euros, the same as in 2022, buoyed by strong earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the U.S. and Canadian markets.
As of Dec. 31, EBITDA overall rose 8.8 percent to 90.5 million euros versus 83.2 million euros a year earlier. “The U.S. and Canada remained the group’s top EBITDA contributor, with EBITDA margin up 1.1 points to 27.1 percent versus 26 percent in 2022,” the company said in a statement. EBITDA of Roche Bobois Europe (excluding France) was up 20.7 percent while Roche Bobois France was up 10.5 percent.
“The U.S. is number one for consolidated revenue and profits and we are going to remain very active in that market,” Martin Gleize, the company’s international director, told WWD.
The group plans to open four directly operated stores in the U.S. and Canada this year, with a unit opening in Toronto in the near-term. It also is earmarking five to 10 franchised store openings a year.
Revenues last year were up to 429.6 million euros, compared to 408.6 million euros in 2022. As a result of its positive performance, Roche Bobois will propose a dividend of 2.25 euros a share, identical to last year’s dividend.
The group expects sales to dip slightly in the first half 2024 before before picking up again in second half.
France, the second-largest economy in the eurozone after Germany, is seeing an economic slowdown and earlier this week the government revealed that its budget deficit grew despite efforts to trim it. Overall, the economy grew 0.9 percent in 2023, compared with 2.5 percent in 2022, statistics office INSEE, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, said late last month, as household consumption fell in the first quarter.
Hit by the European slowdown in consumer trends, homeware and furniture group Habitat France made headlines after requesting judicial liquidation in December. U.K.-based furnishings-to-home accessories company The Conran Shop also closed its French operations in December after 31 years of business there.
