Half Year 2026 Intercos SpA Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Intercos SpA (LTS:0AAR) achieved its best-ever second quarter with sales of EUR285 million, a 5% growth at constant rates, and closed the gap versus 2025 accumulated in Q1.
- Q2 EBITDA reached a record EUR47.5 million with a margin of 16.7%, a 16 basis point improvement year-over-year, driven by a favorable mix shift toward prestige clients and lower packaging costs.
- Net debt decreased by EUR12 million to EUR122.7 million, with leverage improving to 0.80x EBITDA, supported by strong cash generation and a 75% cash conversion rate.
- The order book remains robust, up mid-teens year-over-year, with record order intake in July, signaling a strong acceleration in sales for the second half of 2026.
- Hair & Body business unit posted exceptional growth of 27% in Q2, driven by European clients and fragrance demand, exceeding original expectations.
- Net income surged 33% in the first half, benefiting from lower financial costs and a reduced effective tax rate (34.7% vs. 45.5% last year).
- First-half reported sales declined 2.4% year-over-year to EUR512 million, impacted by currency headwinds and a sharp drop in the packaging component.
- Skincare business unit saw a 9.5% decline in first-half sales, with EBITDA margin down 300 basis points due to fixed cost under-absorption and soft order execution.
- Asia region remained the most challenging, with sales down 5% in Q2 and 8% in the first half, as Western brands regained share from local Chinese brands, impacting reorders.
- Retailers segment posted a 14% decline in Q2 and a 19% drop in the first half, reversing the strong growth seen in 2025.
- Multinational clients underperformed, with Q2 sales down 2% and first-half down 8%, against tough comparables from the prior year's 18% growth.
- The company expects the packaging component to remain stable or slightly increase in the second half, which could dilute margins, especially with the strong Hair & Body growth.
Good evening. This is the Chorus Call conference operator. Welcome, and thank you for joining the Intercos second quarter 2026 financial results. (Operator Instructions)
At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Renato Semerari, Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead, sir.
Thank you very much. Good evening, everybody. In a global context, still marked by geopolitical tensions, currency headwinds, and the beauty market slowly recovering its historical growth pace of 4% to 5%, Intercos came back to growth, registering a quarter two with solid results both at top and bottom line level. Summarizing the key highlights.
Regarding top line, Q2 was the best ever second quarter of our history at EUR285 million, a 5% growth at constant rate. This result allowed us to close the gap versus 2025 accumulated in Q1. The first semester was only 0.5% below a year ago.
Important to note that such a result was achieved despite the decline of the packaging
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