Business description

CCC S.A. was formally established in 1999 and has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 2004. With over 15,000 employees and operations in 23 countries, 90 e-commerce platforms, and 979 physical stores, the company is the leading footwear retailer in Central and Eastern Europe. Since its debut on the WSE, CCC has increased its revenues by 3296% (CAGR of 20.4%), reflecting the enormous growth that Poland has experienced in the last 20-30 years. CCC stores, with its own shoe brands and top global brands, can be found in almost every shopping center in Poland. Over the years, CCC has acquired many local brands that have become leading sellers in Poland, including Gino Rossi and Lasocki.

CCC’s largest shareholder is its founder, Mr. Dariusz Milek, one of Poland’s richest people, with a 33.33% stake. Many Polish funds have invested in CCC in the past, the largest being OFE Allianz Polska (a pension fund) with a 7.65% stake. Mr. Mi?ek returned to the position of CEO in 2023, having previously been Chairman of the Supervisory Board. The company’s shares can be traded on stock exchanges in Poland (Warsaw), the UK (London), and Germany (Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Berlin, Düsseldorf).

CCC Group’s business is divided into 5 main divisions: CCC (offline footwear retailer), eobuwie.pl (e-commerce footwear), Modivo (online fashion platform), HalfPrice (off-price stationary fashion stores), and DeeZee (fashion brand). Originally known as a footwear retailer, CCC Group aims to become the number one omnichannel fashion platform in the CEE region, and there are already signs of this, as recently it generated only 68.9% (-2.5% y-o-y) of total sales from footwear, while clothing already accounted for 16.5% (+3.7%).

CCC S.A. – business segment data

Source: CCC S.A., East Value Research GmbH

In the last fiscal year ending February 2024, both footwear business units reported declines, while the offline/online fashion units HalfPrice and Modivo reported sales increases of 68.2% and 21.9%, respectively. In terms of profitability, the mainly offline CCC business segment reported the highest EBITDA margin of 17.3% (2022/23: 8.1%), while Modivo reported the lowest at -2.4% (+1.9%). Last year, the share of e-commerce fell to 46% (-2% y-o-y).

CCC’s management expects the rapid growth of its off-price stores under the HalfPrice brand to continue and that they will be the company’s main growth driver in the coming years.

Financials

Before the pandemic, the company experienced dynamic growth with a revenue CAGR of 21.9% (2004-2019 period). However, due to the global consumption slowdown and inflation, revenue growth slowed significantly (CAGR 15% for 2019-2023/24) in the last years. In 2023/24, CCC generated revenues of PLN 9.4bn (+3.5% y-o-y), EBITDA of PLN 778.4m (+46.6%, margin 8.2%, an improvement of 2.4% y-o-y), and a net loss of PLN -124.7m (2022/23: PLN -443.9m). The Group generated operating cash flow of PLN 820.9m (+51.8% y-o-y), free cash flow of PLN 495.8m (+479.2%), while net debt / EBITDA decreased to 2.35x (2022/23: 4x). CCC’s ROCE was 5.1% compared to Zalando’s 3.7%. Key factors contributing to improved profitability were the absence of foreign exchange losses (2022/23: PLN 60.7m), a lower number of write-offs on trade receivables (PLN -3.9m vs. PLN -44.7m in 2022/23), and financial income (PLN 124.1m vs. PLN 54m in 2022/23).

CCC S.A. Revenue, EBITDA margin and Net Income (2019-2023/24)*

*From 2020, the reporting period has started in February of the given year and has ended in January of the following year

  Net income/loss including non-controlling interests 

Source: CCC S.A., East Value Research GmbH

In 2023/24, CCC Group generated 54.4% (PLN 5.1bn) of its revenues in the Polish market. The largest foreign market was Romania (revenues of PLN 817.8m, +3.9% y-o-y, 8.7% of total revenues), while the fastest-growing one is Ukraine (PLN 187.9m, +587%). CCC had operated under a franchise model in Ukraine until 2023 but last year acquired a controlling stake (75.1%) in CCC Ukraine Sp. z o.o. and is now developing its own distribution chain. After stabilization in Ukraine, it is highly likely that CCC will achieve sales levels similar to those in Romania there. CCC is a recognizable brand within the CEE region, and recent results have demonstrated significant growth potential for CCC in the Ukraine.

In terms of dividends, before the pandemic CCC paid them for 11 consecutive years. The company’s current dividend policy foresees the payout of 33%-66% of consolidated net profit.

Summary & Conclusion 

In our view, CCC is a strong brand with a long and successful history and potential for further growth in the e-commerce segment. Despite being heavily indebted due to the pandemic, the company has swiftly reduced its debt to reasonable levels. We anticipate a further improvement in the EBITDA margin and expect double-digit revenue growth in 2024/25E. Favorable conditions boosting consumption in Poland, such as a positive real change in wages, suggest potential for CCC to enhance its financial performance for 2024E and beyond.

By the end of 2024E, the company plans to spin off its subsidiary Modivo S.A. (MODIVO and eobuwie.pl), which are responsible for its e-commerce business and accounted for 41.7% of the group’s total sales in 2023/24. The aim is to position it as a strong competitor to Germany’s Zalando. Modivo S.A., in which CCC holds a controlling 74.6% stake, was recently valued at PLN 4.9bn, with CCC’s stake valued at PLN 3.67bn (= 60.6% of its current market capitalisation). The Japanese Tech giant Softbank owns PLN 739.3m of Modivo’s convertible bonds with a duration until April 2026E and the right to convert to shares at a valuation of PLN 6bn.

Investors have taken note of CCC’s positive traction, with the stock gaining 43.9% YTD. With a consensus EV/EBITDA 2024/25E of 7.8x respectively compared to a 3y average of 14.9x (Source: marketscreener.com), we believe that CCC represents an attractive opportunity for investors seeking exposure to consumer stocks in CEE. In the long run, the company should also become a reliable dividend payer.

Author: Mateusz Pudlo 

Progress in 2023 & results 

2023 has been a very successful year for XTPL. The company signed various new distribution agreements (e.g. with Detekt Technology for Taiwan, with CWI Technical Sales & Ontos Equipment System INC for North America) and received new patents (e.g. in Malaysia, US, Germany, China, Vietnam). While the number of Delta Printing Systems sold was higher than we had expected (13 vs. 12), 5 thereof will only be included in the company’s results in 2024E. The number of sold printing heads was lower than we had forecast (3 vs. 5).

In 9M/23, XTPL’s revenues from sales of products and services reached PLN 9.2m, which corresponds to a y-o-y growth of 38.2%. Thereof, PLN 417k (+155.2% y-o-y) stemmed from sales of nano inks, PLN 2.7m (-41.1%) from R&D services and PLN 6.1m (+220.4% y-o-y) from sales of Delta Printing Systems. In 9M/23, EBITDA equalled PLN -1.2m (9M/22: PLN -1.3m) and net income PLN -2.6m (PLN -2.1m). Operating cash flow (PLN -3.1m vs. PLN 1.1m) was weaker than last year following a PLN 1.7m increase of working capital. Due to the capital increase in July, which had a volume of PLN 36.6m gross (275,000 shares at PLN 133), the company’s cash position reached PLN 31.7m. At the end of September, XTPL had interest-bearing debt of PLN 4.2m, of which PLN 3.9m was short-term (thereof, PLN 3.2m of bonds that will be converted into 45,655 shares at, we believe, PLN 74 per share, according to a public announcement from January 15^th, 2024).

As of 30/09/2023, XTPL had 61 employees compared to 45 as of 31/12/2022. Thus, within 9 months the number of staff increased by >35%.

Our new forecasts for 2024E and beyond

As in 9M/23 XTPL’s results were below our expectations and in H2/23 the company started the planned investments in sales and production capacity – according to its strategy, it wants to invest c. PLN 60m by 2026E among others in own sales offices/show rooms in Taiwan, South Korea and the US – we now believe that revenues in 2023 reached PLN 12.2m (prev. PLN 17.8m) and EBITDA PLN -2m (PLN -665k).

In our view, 2024E will be a breakthrough year for XTPL as we expect the start of the first full-scale commercial integration of its technology in H2/24E (currently, it has 9 industrial projects in the pipeline). This will allow the company to significantly increase recurring sales of its high-margin nano inks. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, our optimism for XTPL remains steadfast. The company’s strategic approach is proving effective, evident from the consistent announcement of new sales contracts and distribution agreements at regular intervals. Anticipating a break-even on all levels by the end of the fiscal year 2024E, we do not foresee the need for another capital increase in the near future.

Notably, XTPL’s cutting-edge technology has undergone testing and validation by partners in Asia, including Nano Dimension from Israel and HB Technology from South Korea. Moreover, signs point to its adoption by prominent tech companies in the United States. A recent job posting by META seeking a Research Scientist Intern with experience in handling XTPL printing technology strongly suggests the integration of XTPL’s technology within this FAANG company (link: https://www.metacareers.com/jobs/880047783530931/).

On October 15, 2023, the parliamentary election were held in Poland. The incumbent socially conservative political party, Law and Justice (PiS) faced strong opposition primarily from the Civic Coalition (KO), representing the centre to centre-left. The voter turnout reached 74.4%, marking the highest in the history of Third Polish Republic since 1989. Although PiS had governed independently since 2015, the election results indicated that to continue, they would need to form a coalition with another political alliance. 

Other parties that surpassed the 5% threshold in the elections included the Third Way (centre to centre-right), New Left (left), and Confederation (right to far-right).

Eight years of PiS rule can be summarized as a period of strengthening and favouring state-owned companies, significantly impacting the banking and energy sectors. The ruling party justified these initiatives as necessary measures to exert control over strategically important sectors of the Polish economy. For example, the Polish government acquired – indirectly through the largest Eastern European insurance group PZU – a controlling stake in the second largest Polish bank Pekao S.A. (PEO) from Italian Unicredit and merged its oil company Orlen (PKN) with another oil refiner & producer Lotos, the gas explorer & producer PGNiG and the utility Energa. 

The introduction of the bank asset tax in 2016, excluding government bonds, resulted in an increased reliance on banks for financing public debt and negatively affected the profitability of the banking sector. As of the end of March 2023, government and guaranteed bonds in the banks’ portfolios amounted to approximately PLN 450bn, constituting about 20% of the banking sector’s assets.  

As a result of the election, the five aforementioned political alliances secured seats in the Sejm. PiS obtained 194 seats, KO – 157, the Third Way – 65, the New Left – 26, and the Confederation – 18. To achieve a majority, 231 seats are needed. President Andrzej Duda (PiS) entrusted the winning party PiS with the formation of the government, but the opposition that has been formed after the election (KO, New Left, Third Way) has already reached an agreement to create a coalition. If successful, this coalition, led by Donald Tusk, the former President of the European Council, would have the majority in both the Senate and the Sejm. This newly formed coalition would also enable the rebuilding of relations with European Union (EU) and access to frozen funds from the national recovery and resilience plan (RRP) for Poland.

National Recovery Plan 

Poland was initially expected to receive the first tranche of funds in June 2022, but this did not happen. A crucial factor in accessing funds from the RRP is meeting the requirements of the so-called “milestone” conditions. The primary cause of the delay in disbursement of funds by the EU was a dispute with the Polish government over the independence of the judiciary. On November 21, 2023, the recently revised plan, with a base budget amounting to EUR 59.8bn (PLN 270bn) was accepted by the European Commission. Out of this substantial sum, EUR 25.3bn will be provided in the form of grants and EUR 34.5bn as loans.

We anticipate that, following the establishment of the government of Donald Tusk, Poland will promptly fulfil milestone conditions and receive funds according to the new schedule. The plan consists of 7 key components, and we find two components of this plan noteworthy for their potential impact on companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the overall economy.

Component G: According to the plan for the allocation of funds, over EUR 25bn is earmarked for the REPowerEU program, aiming to reduce reliance on fossil fuels before 2030 and transition into renewable energy sources. Poland will soon receive a pre-financing instalment of EUR 5bn for the implementation of the REPowerEU changes. According to the European Commission, EUR 21bn in costs related to REPowerEU will require multinational cooperation. Worth noting is the allocation of EUR 17bn to the Energy Support Fund, which will finance investments related to the energy transition, and the allocation of EUR 4.8bn to the construction of offshore wind farms.

Consequently, this opens up significant development possibilities for companies in the energy sector such as PGE, Tauron Polska Energia (TPE), and especially those involved in the renewable energy market, for example, Columbus Energy (CLC), ELQ, Raen Energy or Novavis Group

Component B: Over PLN 20bn is allocated to green energy and reduction of energy-intensity, supporting the increase in the use of alternative energy sources and improving the energy efficiency of the Polish economy. This component is related to REPowerEU as it addresses decarbonisation and air pollution in Poland. Similarly, it presents an opportunity for renewable energy companies as well as for firms cooperating with them. Additionally, there is a target reduction of energy consumption by renovating buildings, providing an investment opportunity for construction companies, for example Izolacja Jarocin (IZO), Selena FM and Ferro.

In summary, the RRP funding should help the EU to achieve its ambitious goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050, with 46.6% (EUR 27.8bn of 59.8bn) allocated to climate contributions. The remaining components of the plan include: resilience and competitiveness of the economy, digital transformation, effectiveness | availability and quality of the health care system, green and smart mobility, Improving the quality of institutions and the conditions for the implementation of the RRP. link to the European Commission’s publication on the proposal

What is next after elections?

Currently, PiS is attempting to secure the required majority of 231 mandates. Specifically, PiS is trying to persuade the Third Way to join them in a coalition, which seems unlikely to happen as the Third Way, in its electoral plan, includes postulates directly targeting PiS. Although over a month has passed since the election, and the most likely scenario is that the opposition coalition (KO, New Left, Third Way) will form the government, there is still a lot of uncertainty. 

In the electoral plans of the parties, forming the opposition coalition, there is a lack of specific demands regarding the stock exchange, and economic issues are somewhat overshadowed by primarily social matters. The main topics related to publicly traded companies include the depoliticization of state-owned companies, obtaining funds from the aforementioned recovery and resilience plan, investing in renewable energy sources, and the abolishment of the capital gains tax for savings and investments.

We believe that the abolition of this tax could lead to an increase in the share of individual investors, consequently boosting liquidity on the polish stock exchange, which is far lower than in western markets. Nevertheless, there is a relatively high chance that this tax abolition will be just an unfulfilled election promise, as within the coalition there is a leftist party that will likely oppose it and such a tax is common in other European countries.

In our view, there is a chance that state-owned companies, many of which are trading far below their book values and at low single-digit P/Es, will perform well over the next months as investors hope that the new KO-led government will improve corporate governance, rights of minority shareholders and dividend payouts. The last few weeks have shown that international investors have already become more active especially in the bluechip WIG20 index (it has increased by c. 28% over the last 3 months). We believe that if the new government really was to fulfil its promises, the whole Polish capital market would significantly benefit.

Author: Mateusz Pudlo