Lacroix shares suffered one of the steepest declines on the Paris Bourse on Friday, penalized by profit-taking despite sustained sales growth in the first half.

At around 12:30 pm, the road equipment manufacturer's shares fell by more than 11%, while the CAC Mid & Small index gained 1.4%.

In the first half of 2023, Lacroix recorded sales of 387.8 million euros, up 14.6%, all of which was achieved through organic growth, thanks in particular to a strong sales drive.

Over the period, its recurring Ebitda came to 20.7 million euros, compared with 19.3 million a year earlier, representing a recurring operating margin of 5.3%, down by almost 40 basis points year-on-year.

Net income (Group share) for the first half of the year amounted to 3.9 million euros, a sharp rise of 44%.

While it remains confident in its ability to achieve its financial targets for 2023, with sales still expected to exceed 750 million euros on a like-for-like basis, i.e. an increase of at least 6%, the group points out that its target of current Ebitda in excess of 50 million euros is now conditional on confirmation of customer demand at Lacroix Electronics North America in the second half of the year, at a time when economic conditions are becoming more uncertain in North America.

This latest comment prompted strong profit-taking on a share which, last night, posted a gain of over 37% for the year as a whole.

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