Compagnie des Alpes: First-half 2024/25 results up sharply compared last year's record

2024/25 EBITDA GROWTH TARGET RAISED TO APPROX. 15% (VS. +10% PREVIOUSLY, REPRESENTING A 50% INCREASE IN THE EXPECTED GROWTH RATE)

Continued development in Leisure Parks, including two new hotel projects planned at Parc Astérix and Futuroscope

Paris, May 20, 2025 – Under the leadership of Gisèle Rossat-Mignod, the Board of Directors of Compagnie des Alpes met on May 20, 2025, and approved the Group’s consolidated financial statements for the first half of fiscal year 2024/25, ended March 31, 2025.

Commenting on the results for the first half of 2024/25, Dominique Thillaud, Chief Executive Officer of Compagnie des Alpes, stated the following:

“Compagnie des Alpes delivered a strong first half. Beyond the sharp increase in our activity, we improved our operating margin by half a point thanks to effective cost control, notably benefiting from a significant drop in electricity costs due to the contract we successfully negotiated. Following a solid spring holiday season, the Group remains confident for the rest of the financial year, particularly regarding the Leisure Parks, whose appeal will be further enhanced this summer by new attractions, including several world or European firsts. As a result, we are able to raise our guidance and now target an EBITDA increase of approximately 15%, compared to 10% previously, representing a 50% increase in the expected growth rate.

Since the beginning of the financial year, Compagnie des Alpes has continued to strengthen its local presence in the mountains. The Group, for example, signed an agreement with Prinoth to industrialize the production of electric snow groomers in the French Alps, secured an amendment extending the operation of the Serre Chevalier (Saint-Chaffrey) public service concession until 2034, and announced the first step in its strategic partnership with Terrésens, the leading developer of “warm beds” in the Alps, through an initial 33% equity stake. We have also scheduled the launch of an overnight train service between Paris and Bourg-Saint-Maurice for the upcoming ski season. Furthermore, since May 7, the Group has been a founding member of the Global Sustainability Ski Alliance (GSSA), a coalition of, mainly European, major ski area operators committed to pooling resources and expertise to achieve greater progress in reducing CO₂ emissions and fostering sustainable innovation in ski tourism.

The Group is also continuing to develop its Leisure Parks. We are proud to announce today two new themed hotel projects: one with 300 rooms at Parc Astérix and another with 240 rooms at Futuroscope. These projects reflect our ambition to increasingly position our parks as destination sites that encourage short stays. These hotels are part of a broader investment program recently launched by the Group, to be rolled out over several years at each site. This includes the creation of a new area replacing the current 

“Rues de Paris” and the expansion of the “Greek Zone” at Parc Astérix. Lastly, we seized an exciting opportunity with the acquisition of Belantis, one of the largest amusement parks in eastern Germany, which we believe has the potential, over time, to triple its visitor numbers.”

During the first half of the 2024/25 financial year, Compagnie des Alpes recorded consolidated revenue of

€849.5 million, up 11.6% compared to the same period of the previous year. On a comparable basis, i.e.,

restated for the integration of Urban Group consolidated since June 2024, sales growth came to +7.9%.

 

• Ski Areas and Outdoor Activities sales came to €524.4 million, up 5% compared with the first half of 2023/24. Ski lift sales, which account for the bulk of business, grew at the same rate, driven by a 5.5% increase in average revenue per skier-day. The number of skier-days matched the record set in the 1st half of the previous year. Post-half-year closing, given the very buoyant April school vacation period and the shift of the Easter weekend to the 3rd quarter, the number of skier-days as of April 25 was estimated up 1% compared with the same period last year.

• Sales for the Distribution & Hospitality division came to €102.4 million, up 6.1% compared with the first half of 2023/24, an increase which nevertheless reflects varied performance across MMV (accommodation) and Mountain Collection Immobilier (real estate agencies) enjoyed sustained levels of growth, while, as expected, Travelfactory's (tour operator) business was virtually stable over the period.

 

• Leisure Parks sales totaled €222.8 million, up 8% compared with the previous year. On a comparable basis, i.e., excluding Urban Group, Leisure Park sales rose by 16.2%. This performance was driven by a 13.8% increase in visitor numbers and a further 5%1 rise in spending per visitor (admission + in-park spending). Business over the half-year was marked by the success of the Halloween and Christmas seasons, which set new records. It also benefited from the first autumn-winter season of Aquascope (Futuroscope's water park) and the integration of Urban Group, whose development is ongoing.

 

The Group’s EBITDA reached a record level of €312.2 million in the 1st half of 2024/25, up 12.9% on the same period last year. On a comparable basis, i.e., excluding Urban Group, EBITDA rose by 9.3%. The Group's EBITDA margin reached 36.7% of sales, up 0.4 points on a reported basis and 0.5 points on a comparable basis compared with the first half of 2023/24.

 

This improvement in EBITDA margin reflects tight control over operating expenses. These rose by only 7.2% on a comparable basis, despite the Aquascope facility not yet in operation last year. Personnel costs remained stable as a percentage of sales. Energy costs fell by 17.8% on a comparable basis, thanks to the implementation in January 2025 of the new unit prices set annually under the electricity purchase contracts signed by the Group at the end of 2023.

• EBITDA for Ski Areas and Outdoor Activities came to €274.0 million, up 7.9% from €253.9 million in H1 2023/24. The division's EBITDA margin increased by 1.2 points to 52.2% from 51.1% in the 1st half of 2023/24. The rise in operating expenses was relatively limited (+3.0%), thanks to a sharp drop in energy costs.

 

• EBITDA for the Distribution & Hospitality division came to €43.3 million, representing an increase of 18.3% compared with H1 2023/24, with each of the division's three components reporting growth in EBITDA. The EBITDA margin stood at 42.3%, representing a gain of 4.4 points compared with H1 2023/24, which had already risen by 5 points compared with H1 2022/23.

 

1 Figures exclude Aquascope, the Futuroscope water park that opened in July 2024.

 

• Thanks to the integration of Urban Group, whose activity is much more regular throughout the year, Leisure Parks' EBITDA is positive at +€3.9 million compared with -€7.4 million in the 1st half of 2023/24. The EBITDA margin rate thus reached 1.8%, compared with -4.4% in the 1st half of 2023/24. As a reminder, excluding Urban Group, the 1st half structurally represents more than 25% of sales, but 40% of operating Nevertheless, the EBITDA margin improved by 1.4 points on a comparable basis, as the strong growth in sales enabled a better absorption of fixed costs.

 

After accounting for depreciation and amortization charges totaling €104.7 million, an increase of €16.3 million compared with the first half of 2023/24 (of which €5.7 million are linked to the integration of Urban Group and €6.6 million to additional IFRS 16 right-of-use assets, including Urban Group), the Group’s operating income reached €207.5 million, compared with €188.0 million in the first half of 2023/24, which represents an increase of 10.3% on a current scope basis and 8.1% on a comparable basis.

 

The Group's net cost of debt came to €23.3 million, up €8.5 million compared with the first half of 2023/24. This increase breaks down into a €4.5 million rise in net borrowing costs excluding IFRS 16, reflecting higher average debt outstandings and higher interest rates, and a €4.0 million rise in net borrowing costs under IFRS 16 due to the increase in rights of use resulting particularly from the integration of Urban Group and the commissioning of Aquascope.

 

The tax expense amounted to €48.3 million, an increase of €4.0 million compared with the first half of 2023/24. This rise is due to a 6.7% increase in the taxable base and a slight uptick in the effective tax rate, which stood at 26.4%.

 

The share of profit from equity-accounted companies was €11.7 million, while minority interests recognized by Compagnie des Alpes totaled €12.2 million.