Euronext Brussels: Floridienne buzzes, Onward moves

Despite less good annual results, Floridienne is moving higher. Onward has filed a major commercialization application in the US. We are waiting for a direction for Miko, which was profitable again last year.

The European stock markets start the second quarter with small gains. Commodity and energy stocks are taking the lead. At around 12:30 p.m. the Euro Stoxx 50 is trading 0.2 percent positive.

The first quarter was surprisingly strong for European equity markets, despite the economic slack. The prospect of interest rate cuts, even if they will come somewhat later than initially thought, creates optimism and fuels hopes for an economic recovery in the second half of the year. This should also be reflected in the company results.

Euronext Brussels follows the slightly upward trend. The Bel20

advances 0.15 percent to 3,851 points. The materials group Umicore

, which reached a new multi-year low in the first quarter, is the strongest riser with a 1.3 percent gain. Umicore is benefiting from the higher raw material prices.

The annual results that Sofina

published on Thursday evening, made it clear that 2023 was a year of stability for the Boël holding ‘in a volatile environment’. Sofina increases its dividend by 11 euro cents to 3.35 euros per share.

Degroof Petercam maintains the buy recommendation for the Brussels holding company, with a new price target of 280 euros (instead of 273 euros). Analyst Kris Kippers notes that the published net asset value as of December 31, at 274 euros per share, is slightly higher than the first estimate when the newsletter was published in January.

“We do not understand the continued skepticism of investors, given the track record,” Kippers writes. He calculates the current net asset value at 289 euros, which implies a discount of 28 percent at the current stock price.

Kepler Cheuvreux believes that Sofina’s net asset value has moved in the right direction in the first quarter. The stock exchange mentions as supporting factors the rise in the stock markets, the resumption of activity in private equity and on the mergers and acquisitions markets, and a positive operational momentum for direct investments.

At the same time, the discount compared to the net asset value has increased from 18 percent at the end of 2023 to an estimated 30 percent on March 31. That is much higher than the historical average of 10 to 15 percent. “That suggests the stock is currently oversold, potentially offering investors an attractive entry point.” The analyst raises his price target from 257 to 263 euros and repeats his buy recommendation.

Sofina gains 1.1 percent to 210.20 euros.

Miko

presented significantly improved annual figures for 2023. Despite the continued work from home, the Turnhout family business was able to sell more coffee. Operating profit doubled and there was a net profit again, where 2022 had ended with a small loss. In terms of dividend, Miko returns to the level of the pre-corona period: 1.87 euros per share.

Miko has been hit hard on the stock exchange in recent years. Since mid-2021, the price has more than halved, on the one hand due to the sale of the – flourishing – plastics department, and on the other hand due to lower coffee consumption in the office due to working from home. No price was formed during the first fixing.

Also Floridienne

is listed on the fixing market, but there is already a price there: the share rises 2.9 percent to 720 euros. However, the Walloon holding did not have a super year at all. Unfavorable weather conditions, lower metal prices and significant investments had an impact on the annual results. The dividend remains stable at 2.50 euros gross per share.

Floridienne had to deal with a number of ‘disruptive factors’ in 2023, says KBC Securities analyst Guy Sips. In addition, the financial results suffered from one-off costs related to the acquisition of Biotrop, the hyperinflation-related accounting treatment of the Turkish activities and write-downs at the recycling company SNAM.

The analyst lowers his price target from 870 to 835 euros and maintains his ‘buy’ recommendation. 2024 looks promising, he says.

Onward Medical

shoots 5.4 percent higher to 5.04 euros. The medtech company has filed an application with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its Arc-Ex system in the US. With Arc-Ex, the spinal cord is externally stimulated so that people with a spinal cord injury can move again or better. If the FDA gives the green light, Arc-Ex will be Onward’s first commercial product.

“With an expected review time of five to nine months, we believe approval before the end of the year is feasible,” say KBC Securities analysts Thomas Vranken and Jacob Mekhael. They maintain their price target of 9.30 euros and their buy recommendation.