Good afternoon. This is the Chorus Conference Operator. Welcome, and thank you for joining the Amplifon First Quarter 2025 Results Conference Call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Should anyone need assistance during the conference call, they may signal an operator by pressing star and zero on their telephone. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Ms. Francesca Rambaudi, Investor Relations and Sustainability Senior Director of Amplifon. Please go ahead, madam.
Thank you. Good afternoon and welcome to Amplifon's Conference Call on First Quarter 2025 Results. Before we start, a few logistic comments. Earlier today, we issued a press release related to our results, and this presentation is posted on our website in the Investor section. The call can be accessed also via webcast, and dial-in details are on Amplifon's website as well as on our press release. I have to bring your attention to the disclaimer on slide two, as some of the statements made during this call may be considered forward-looking statements. With that, I am now pleased to turn the call over to Amplifon CFO, Gabriele Galli.
Thanks, Francesca, and good afternoon to everybody. Before we start on slide three, I would like to share with you that starting from the first quarter of 2025, in order to facilitate the understanding of the economic, financial, and operational performance of the group, and in line with market practice, we made a change to the representation of the alternative performance measures used by the top management to monitor the performance of the group. Starting from the interim financial report of Q1 2025, the company reports certain indicators as adjusted in order to represent the group's operating performance, net of changes, charges or incomes that are unusual, infrequent, or not correlated to the operating performance, and therefore better allow the analysis of operational performance of the group.
Such adjusted metrics exclude, for example, M&A transaction and integration cost and changes in earnouts, cost for reorganizations and efficiency projects, PPA amortization, other non-recurring income and expenses. The company has determined the same indicators also with reference to the comparison period, and in the bottom of the chart, you can find the 2024 P&L with the recurring data reported last year compared with the adjusted data. A detailed explanation of the adjustment, as well as the adjusted 2024 EBITDA by quarter and by region, is provided in access to the Q1 2025 presentation. Here, I leave the floor to Enrico for his opening remark on Q1 performance.
Thank you, Gabriele. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Today, I'm pleased to present our first quarter results, beginning with a general overview of the global market trends.
In Europe, the market has evolved in line with our expectations, although there has not been a significant improvement compared to the final quarter of last year. Looking more closely to the main two European markets, sellout in France, as expected, remained still muted, while Germany showed a more positive performance. Across the board, other markets contributed to a European market landscape that we estimate to be again flattish, with both ups and downs. As you know, we expect the European market to progressively accelerate in the coming quarters, driven by the anticipated strong growth in France, as well as by more favorable year-over-year comparisons. The good news is that the current activation trend of the trials in France is strongly confirming our growth projections for what has now become the largest European market.
Furthermore, we believe that the European market performance in the recent years, compared with historical levels, has created some pent-up demand that could eventually be released in the future. In the U.S. on the other hand, the market decreased in the mid-single-digit range. While current uncertainties have certainly impacted the consumer sentiment there, we also believe that this result was also affected by a particularly high comparison base, as well as rigid weather conditions in January and February. For these reasons, we expect that the U.S. market will return to positive territory in the coming quarters. Finally, according to our estimates, the APAC markets in which we operate were in slightly negative territory. All in all, we estimate that the global market declined slightly in Q1.
In this context, our performance outpaced the market in most key countries and was broadly in line with our plans, particularly when considering that the first quarter included fewer trading days, which impacted organic growth by approximately 2 percentage points, and that the prior year's first quarter was exceptionally strong. In fact, revenues increased by 2.6% at both constant and current exchange rates. Organic growth was flat due to the factors that I just mentioned. The contribution from M&A activity was strong at 2.6%, with approximately 200 new points of sales added to our network and an investment of around EUR 40 million in the quarter. On this point, I would like to highlight the continued expansion of our network in the U.S. driven by the recent acquisition of our fourth-largest franchisee that we have announced just a few days ago.
This brings our network of directly operated clinics to over 400 locations. In general, we are seeing a growing number of potential targets approaching us, willing to sell at multiples that are attractive from our perspective. Regarding adjusted EBITDA, we delivered the highest-ever first-quarter margin, driven by a 20 basis points increase compared to 2024, despite a very strong comparison base. Since last year, we had already posted a 100 basis points improvement over the first quarter of 2023. Finally, we posted a net profit adjusted of circa EUR 42 million, with a margin at 7.1%. All in all, we are satisfied with the results delivered, especially in the face of a complex and demanding market environment. These outcomes further demonstrate the strength and resilience of our retail business model. Now, I will hand it over to Gabriele to give you more details about our financial results.
Thanks, Enrico. Moving to slide number five, we have a quick look at the group financial performance in Q1, which, as already commented by Enrico, outpaced the reference market in most key countries. In the quarter, revenues at constant effects increased by 2.6% versus 2024, with a flattish organic performance despite around one and a half fewer trading days in the quarter, equal to circa 2% growth. A very high comparison base with revenues in Q1 2024 increased by 9% versus Q1 2023 at constant effects. The ongoing market softness both in Europe, as expected, and in the U.S., which decreased mid-single digit, also reflecting the strong double-digit growth registered in Q1 2024 versus 2023. M&A contribution from bolt-ons, mainly in Poland, the US, France, Germany, and China, was strong at 2.5%. Effects was neutral in the quarter, with a U.S. dollar tailwind offsetting the Australian and New Zealand dollar headwind.
Adjusted EBITDA came in at EUR 140.4 million, with a record margin at 23.9%, up 20 basis points versus prior year, thanks to the profitability improvement in it. Moving to slide six, we have a look at EMEA's performance, posting a solid top-line growth and an excellent profitability. Revenue growth at constant effects was 2% versus 2024, with a flattish organic performance despite around one- and-a- half trading days less in the quarter, equal to circa 2% growth. A remarkable comparison base with 4% growth in Q1 2024 versus 2023, but still soft market demand, even if in line with expectations. In this regard, I'm happy to share that the current activation rate of the trials in France confirms our expected growth trajectory from Q2 onwards. M&A contribution related to bolt-ons, mainly in Poland, France, and Germany, was 2.7%.
EBITDA amounted to EUR 112.6 million, up over 3% versus last year, with record margin at 29.4%, up 40 basis points compared to previous year. Moving to slide seven, we have a look at another strong performance of Americas, significantly outperforming the reference markets. Revenue growth in the quarter was 5.7% at constant effects, with a solid and well-above-market organic growth at 2.5%, despite around one trading day less in the quarter, equal to circa 1.5% growth. A very strong comparison base of 13% organic growth in Q1 2024 versus 2023. The soft market demand, with the U.S. private market decreasing mid-single digit in the quarter due to the very high comparison base, the rigid weather condition in the first two months of the year, and some general softness in consumer sentiment. M&A contribution, mainly related to U.S. and Canada, was 3.2%.
The effects was a tailwind of 1.2%, driven by the USD appreciation versus the EUR. Miracle-Ear Direct Retail posted a strong performance in the quarter, and in early Q2, we acquired another 24 clinics in Arizona from our fourth-largest franchisee in the U.S. Adjusted EBITDA amounted to EUR 26.7 million, an increase of 4.9%, with margin at 22.5%, reflecting some dilution from the fast expansion of the Miracle-Ear Direct Retail network. Moving to slide eight, we have a look at APAC performance, where revenues were up 1.2% at constant effects. Organic growth was 0.5%, mainly driven by the solid growth of Australia, offsetting the performance in China and New Zealand due to some softness in consumer sentiment. This performance was achieved despite the very strong comparison base of 9% organic growth in Q1 2024 versus 2023.
M&A accounted for 0.7% and reflected, on the one end, the acquisition of around 20 additional clinics in China, with a network today of around 500 locations. On the other end, the group's exit from the non-core wholesale business in the country. Effects headwind was -1.6% due to the depreciation of both Australian and New Zealand dollar versus the euro. Adjusted EBITDA was EUR 23.3 million, with a margin of 27.2%, compared to 27.9% in Q1 2024 due to the fast growth of China, the lower operating leverage due to the organic performance, and a very high comparison base in Q1 2024, when EBITDA margin expanded by 80 basis points versus Q1 2023. Moving to slide number nine, we appreciate the Q1 profit and loss. In the quarter, total revenues increased by 2.6% to EUR 588 million.
Adjusted EBITDA came in at EUR 140.4 million, increasing by circa 3.5%, or EUR 5 million, with margin at all-time high level of 23.9%, 20 basis points above Q1 2024, thanks to the profitability improvement in EMEA. DNA, excluding PPA, were at EUR 67 million versus EUR 59 million in 2024, increasing EUR 8 million in light of the growing investments made during the last years in network, digital transformation, and innovation, leading the adjusted EBIT to EUR 74 million versus EUR 77 million last year. Net financial expenses amounted to EUR 15 million versus EUR 14 million in Q1 2024, primarily due to the higher net financial position and lease liability following the strong M&A and network expansion. Tax rate, as usual, slightly higher in the first quarter due to seasonality, posted an 80 basis points reduction versus 2024, leading adjusted net profit at around EUR 42 million versus EUR 44 million in Q1 2024.
Moving to slide 10, we appreciate the cash flow evolution. Operating cash flow before lease liability was in the period equal to EUR 84 million, EUR 13 million below 2024, after the very strong performance in terms of working capital achieved in Q4 2024. The operating cash flow, after the repayment of lease liability, growing by almost EUR 4 million, was equal to EUR 50 million. Net cap has increased by around EUR 2 million to EUR 32 million, leading free cash flow to around EUR 18 million. Net cash out for M&A was at EUR 41 million for the acquisition of around 200 shops in Poland, U.S., France, Germany, versus the record EUR 71 million in 2024, when, as you remember, we posted a significant acceleration in bolt-on M&A versus last year's. The NFP ended at EUR 996 million after a share buyback of around EUR 8 million.
Moving to slide 11, we have a look at the debt profile framed MT Financial ratios. As mentioned, the net financial debt ended at EUR 996 million, with liquidity accounting for EUR 261 million, short-term debt for around EUR 288 million, and medium-long-term debt for around EUR 970 million. Following the IFRS 16 application, lease liability amounted to around EUR 511 million, leading the sum of net financial debt and lease liability to close to EUR 1.5 billion. Equity ended up at around EUR 1.14 billion. Looking at financial ratios, net debt over EBITDA ended at 1.67, stable versus December last year, and net debt over equity ended at 0.87 times.
I would like also to highlight that during the first four months of the year, we also completed a series of refinancing transactions that will lead the group, at the next measurement date of 30 June 2025, to no longer have outstanding credit facilities subject to financial commitments. I would now hand over to Enrico for the outlook and final remarks.
Thank you, Gabriele. We have come to the end of today's presentation. We are operating in a complex global environment. Despite this, in the first quarter, we delivered profitable growth, an achievement we consider particularly meaningful given the impact of fewer trading days, the highest comparison base of the year, and the soft global market, particularly due to the performance of the U.S. Looking ahead at the remainder of the year, we expect an improvement in the U.S. market supported by a more favorable comparison base. We also expect a progressive acceleration in Europe, driven especially by the anticipated strong rebound in France, already starting from this second quarter. In this regard, it is worth highlighting again that, for now, our current trend in trial activations is fully confirming our assumptions.
Taking all these into account, and as we mentioned during our last conference call, we expect a progressive acceleration in our revenue growth in the coming quarters, also thanks to the upcoming wave of new product launches. Hence, based on all this, today, we confirm the outlook previously shared with you. With that, I wanted to thank you all for your attention, and we now look forward to answering your questions. Francesca, over to you.
Thanks, Enrico. I kindly ask operators to open today's Q&A session. Please kindly limit your question to maximum two initially in order to give everybody the opportunity to ask questions. Now, I turn the call over to Judith in order to open for Q&A. Thanks.
Thank you. This is the Chorus Conference Operator. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touch-tone telephone. To remove yourself from the question queue, please press star and two. We kindly ask you to use handsets when asking questions. Anyone who has a question may press star and one at this time. That is star and one. The first question is from Hassan Al-Wakeel , Barclays. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon, and thank you for taking the time.
Good afternoon.
For answering my questions. Hey. Three questions from my side. Firstly, thank you for the comments on France. I wonder if I can ask you to quantify the momentum you have been seeing, or any KPIs around returning customers and growth and overall appointments. Secondly, can you talk about the U.S. market and what you've observed as you progressed throughout the first quarter and into the second? [Jian] talked about some improving trends in March and April, and I wonder what you're observing and how you're thinking about the remainder of 2025. Finally, on capital allocation, can you walk us through the thinking on the buyback and whether the deal pipeline or your view around the opportunity to acquire franchisees has changed at all? Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you for your questions. With regards to the first question regarding France, I would say that you may recall that our assumption regarding the French market was a growth in the region, starting from Q2 in the region of mid-teens. What I can tell you is that the overall trial activation trend is fully supporting this kind of assumption. We see this trend definitely supporting a sound mid-teens growth overall. Of course, the trend in returning customers is much higher. That is the average between new and returning customers. Let me say that I think that we were pretty accurate, at least for now, in our estimation of the market, which allows us to confirm what we have been sharing with you in terms of assumptions now for more than, I would say, one year.
With regards to the U.S. market improvement, we expect as well, actually, the U.S. to improve in the coming quarters for the reasons that I mentioned, and in particular because we saw that January-February were a bit lower than March, also in consideration of the fact that in January and February, we had some rigid weather conditions, particularly in the south of the US. We expect also a more favorable basis, comparison basis, as you may recall, in terms also of market growth. Q1 of last year was definitely the strongest quarter of last year. We do not expect the market to continue to perform so softly in the coming quarters. It's difficult now to estimate what will be the growth, but we estimate the market to come back into the positive territory. I would say that March was better than January-February.
April is not really meaningful also in consideration of the fact that in April this year, we have got Easter whilst last year, Easter was in March. With regards then to the third question, the capital allocation, no, the buyback is not changing at all our appetite to acquisitions. Actually, as I mentioned also during my initial speech, we see also a quite favorable environment in terms of acquisitions with more targets also approaching us with prices that are definitely very interesting for us. I would say that there is no change at all in our capital allocation strategy. Our priority remains the same, which is basically making the company grow and consolidate our leadership worldwide.
Really appreciate it, Enrico. Thank you.
Thank you.
The next question is from Julien Ouaddour, Bank of America. Please go ahead.
Hi, good afternoon. Thanks a lot for taking my question.
Sure, please.
Good afternoon. I have two. The first one is on the French reform. We recently heard about the president of de La Mutualité Française who suggested in local newspapers to reduce the reimbursement from the 100% Santé reform, which includes hearing aids. Do you have any view on that? Could it impact your market scenario for 2025? I know this is very early stage, hypothetical, etc., but if the proposition for extended reimbursement from four to five years is implemented next year, what will be your take for the potential market development? That is the first one on the French reform. The second one is on the EMEA region.
Could you maybe elaborate on the cost control measures that you had in this region this quarter, given just the impressive performance of increasing the EBITDA margin on the back of a very challenging base and without operating leverage? Should we expect this trend to continue and even accelerate as you will benefit from the operating leverage for the coming quarters? Thank you very much.
Thank you. No, thank you for your questions. With regards to, I assume that you referred to an interview of Mutualité on.
Exactly.
On the topic of savings in healthcare in different sectors.
Exactly.
I don't think that there is anything new, even, or imminent. At the moment, there is no specific technical working group or specific ongoing discussion or process on reimbursement changes. The article was more an interview in which a representative of the Mutualité raised the topic of savings, which is, anyway, not something new for the healthcare systems. I mean, there is nothing new, and we do not expect any change during at least 2025. Also, we have made some simulations, and even if something is going to change in terms of renewal timeframe from four to five years, what I can tell you is that since not everyone buys hearing aids at the same time, the impact is not really meaningful. It's not something that can impact the market or our growth in a meaningful way.
I would say this is not something that we envisage in the short term, but also, in any case, it's not something that we think can have a meaningful impact on the growth of the market. With regards to the second question, and therefore EMEA profitability, yes, of course, we are happy about how EMEA managed their costs. Of course, we have put in place a number of actions in order to improve, in particular, the productivity in the field. Let me say that you may recall that last year, EMEA was down, in particular, in the second part of the year in terms of profitability, also because we have taken a conscious decision, actually, to build capacity, in particular, in the French market.
Today, I can say that I'm happy about that decision because we see that the French market is growing, and we are, as expected, definitely in a way that is in line with our assumptions. We are happy that today we have enough capacity. We have trained audiologists in order to be ready to capture this growth in France, which would not have been possible instead if last year we did not go for this kind of increase in capacity last year.
Perfect. Thank you very much.
Thank you so much.
The next question is from Anchal Verma , JP Morgan. Please go ahead.
Hi, good afternoon. Two questions for me, please. Firstly, can you provide any early commentary on what you're seeing in terms of the market in Q2, so kind of across the geographies? Is it a fair assumption to expect sequential improvement in growth and margins from Q1 to Q2 across three geographies? The second one is a bit more for housekeeping. Can you please share your assumptions on FX impact on sales and margins for FY2025? Are you happy with the DNA guidance you provided us for FY2025 at Q1?
Okay. I will answer to the first two, and then I will leave the question on Forex and DNA to Gabriele. With regards to our view on the market in Q2, of course, we expect a better market in Q2. We expect a better market in the U. S. As I said before, I do not personally see that the U.S. market can continue to be mid-single down. We expect a sequential improvement already starting from Q2 in the U.S. as well as we expect a sequential improvement also in Europe. This will be supported by the growth of the French market that, in the meantime, has become the largest market in Europe. Therefore, since, I mean, we see that the current, as I said, the current activation trend of the trials is supporting our assumptions in terms of market growth.
Overall, in Europe, we expect in Q2 a better market and acceleration, a progressive acceleration of the European market, which is something that goes hand in hand with our, let's say, assumptions for our growth in the different regions. Of course, we do not provide an outlook for the quarter or by region, but for sure, in the context of a possible acceleration of the global market, we see also an acceleration in our performance. With regards to the other two questions, I would leave them to Gabriele.
Thank you. In terms of impact of Forex on sale, of course, I mean, we saw a dollar which is pretty volatile. We started with a very strong dollar versus euro at the beginning of January. Now, during these days, we see the dollar at 1.13. Not easy to give a precise number. Let's say that in our estimate, assuming there are not particular, I mean, volatile scenarios, the effects should bring a negative -2% to +% in terms of sales growth. Of course, it's going to depend very much on the economic policies and on the status of the U.S. and global trade. Let's say that -2% is what we broadly expect.
In terms of depreciation, which was your second question, yeah, we believe the, I mean, indication we gave, which was not a precise number, but an increase which is slightly lower than the revenue growth. Let's say that since last year, it was something in the range of EUR 302 million, and this year, a growth of 5-6 percentage points is an indication which is correct. Today, the consensus, if I'm correct, is around EUR 315 million. Let's say that is something very much in line with our expectations.
Perfect. That's clear. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
The next question is from Veronika Dubajova, CT. Please go ahead.
Hi, guys. Good afternoon, and thank you for taking my questions. I have three, please. Hi, Enrico. Hi, Gabriele. First is on the U.S. Just thank you for your color on expecting a sequential improvement in the second quarter. There's a very big difference between minus 5 and the mid-single digit growth that you'd normally expect the market to grow at. If I can just push you a little bit on your U.S. Q2 expectation, do you think the market can be back to growth? Can it be back to mid-single digit growth? What have you seen so far? Look, I appreciate it's the 6th of May, but anything that you can talk to us about that, that would be helpful. My second is on the margin improvement in EMEA, where obviously, in spite of declining revenues, you delivered 40 basis points of margin improvement year on year.
Good achievement. Is there any risk here that we are cutting back resources ahead of market improvement? Can you maybe help us understand? Is there a link between the margins coming up and the revenue growth slowing down or anything else there that you're doing? My first one is on the M&A activity and your comments, Enrico, that you're seeing more folks being willing to talk to you. I noticed that the guidance did not have the usual statement around expected M&A contribution. Should we be reading that as a sign that there is maybe more deals to come and that potentially there will be greater than 200 basis points contribution from acquisitions this year? Thank you, guys.
Thank you, Veronika.
With regards to the U.S. This is a very difficult question. As I said, personally, I do not believe that the U.S. market will continue to post such a negative performance like the one in Q1, also in consideration of the elements that I mentioned before. First of all, the fact that we saw the market in particular slow, in particular, in January and February, we think that some rigid weather conditions had an impact in that, which, of course, will not happen anymore in the coming quarters. Also, I would say that also in terms of market growth, Q1 was by far the quarter with the highest comparison base. You may recall that last year, the market grew by 10%, double-digit, then, of course, normalized to a more 5-6%.
Coming back to your question, I expect definitely the market not to continue to perform like in Q1. I expect the market to come back to positive territory, then to say how much is very difficult at this moment. Therefore, I would refrain from any kind of forecast because, of course, there is quite some volatility. On the other hand, what perhaps last year was a negative for us, our exposure to the U.S. market, this year, we see a more favorable geographic mix because the US, although it has grown a lot in the recent years, now accounts for about 15% mid-teens in our share of sales. With regards then to the second question, and therefore the margin of EMEA, I think that, of course, the EMEA region started to work on several initiatives in order to protect and improve the profitability.
As I said, last year, EMEA region declined in terms of profitability, in particular, in the second half. I mentioned many times that France was one of the main reasons for this decline in profitability because we were building capacity in terms of audiologists in order to be ready to capture the growth of this year. I must say that today, I'm happy that we have taken that decision because now we have everything in place in order to capture in full the growth that we see coming in the French market. With regards to our forecast for M&A, for now, I would stick with our guidance that we shared with you just a couple of months ago. It is also true that M&A depends a lot from the kind of opportunities that will arise.
It is also true that such complex, let's say, environment in terms of market growth leads also to the fact that we see more targets becoming available to sell at multiples that I see as pretty favorable to us. It will depend a lot from the opportunities that will occur during the year.
Next, please.
Next question.
The next question is from Hugo Solvet, BNP Paribas Exane. Please go ahead.
Hi, hello. Thanks for taking my question directly, please. First on recent product launches, I think you mentioned, Enrico, that you benefited from recent product launches. Do you see this helping you to achieve a significantly higher price mix? How does that compare to your expectations of price mix earlier this year? The second part of that question would be, would you expect more products to be launched possibly later this year? Second, on hearing glasses, I think you have a pilot program ongoing with another company. Could you help us understand what the initial feedback from that pilot program is? Lastly, in the US, have you seen any evidence of pre-buying given the general lack of awareness heading into the tariffs around the exemption protocols, which would have supported the volumes in March? Thank you.
Very clear. Thank you so much for your questions. With regards to the pipeline of new product launch, of course, as you know very well, there is, I mean, every manufacturer, many manufacturers are planning actually to launch new platforms, in particular, with artificial intelligence capabilities. This, of course, will help us to tell a new story to our customers. Therefore, definitely, we see the opportunity to improve our sales, to improve our mix. We strongly believe that with our retail-based model, we are ideally positioned to benefit from the various product launches which are ongoing and are going to happen in 2025. With regards, I guess that you refer to our pilot with EssilorLuxottica, we are going ahead in line with our plans.
I think that I have already shared with you that we are working with them for a pilot in the US, which will start starting from Q2. This is definitely confirmed. Absolutely in line with what we shared with you also during the last quarter. With regards to the last question and therefore tariffs, first of all, let me say that we can leverage on a very diversified sourcing, having supply agreements with all the five manufacturers. You know also very well that all the manufacturers are also working in order to implement flexible global supply chain strategies to diversify their production and mitigate risks. I'm not particularly concerned about tariffs, also because in the past, hearing aids were exempted from duties due to the now famous Nairobi Protocol. We do not expect anything on this regard in the coming months.
Next, please.
We kindly ask you to limit yourself to two questions only. The next question is from Robert Davies, Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thanks for my questions. One was just thinking about the European or EMEA margin seasonality through the year. You obviously kind of called out the weakness in the second half of last year. I guess as you look forward over 2025, would you expect a sort of normal seasonal pattern in margins, i.e., better in 2Q, down in 3Q, and up again in 4Q? That was my first question. Just more broadly, just thinking about some of the impacts on the business from consumer confidence. I know you called it out, I think, on your APAC slide, but I think you called out strength in Australia, weakness in New Zealand. I mean, I realize there's lots of sort of different markets and moving parts, but how would you characterize kind of current market sentiment from a consumer standpoint?
Are you actually seeing people hold off, take longer to buy, downtrading on certain products at all? Just be curious to hear any color you've got on that. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you for your questions. With regards to the first question, clearly, yes, we expect the EMEA region actually to contribute positively to the overall margin improvement that we expect for the group. This also on the basis of the fact that we see an acceleration in terms of growth in the EMEA region, supported also by the strong growth in the French market, so that we expect a better operating leverage in the EMEA region in the coming quarters and for the year. With regards then to your more broad question about consumer confidence, I think that, of course, there is an impact from the ongoing complex environment that we see at the global level. I would say that we operate in a quite resilient industry, in a very resilient market, so we can't really complain.
Also, in terms of downtrading, your question about that, no, we do not see this kind of trend. Actually, as you know, also through the launches of new product platforms that I mentioned before, we always aim to have a positive price mix effect on our sales.
Thank you. That's great.
Thank you.
The next question is from Domenico Ghilotti, Equita. Please go ahead.
Good afternoon. My first question is on Europe once again. In particular, I'm trying to understand, first of all, apart from France, if you see also some improvements underlying in the other key markets. I'm talking about Spain, Italy, and Germany. My second question is if you can elaborate a little bit also on the APAC region, where we have seen some diverging trajectories. In particular, you have been talking about a negative trend in China. If I'm not wrong, in the past few quarters, you were mentioning more stable situation. If you see a deterioration in the market.
With regards to the European market, definitely we see a German market which is performing in a positive way. This is good news, I would say, because you may recall that at the beginning of last year, actually, also the German market was in a negative territory, then it improved progressively throughout the year. This is confirmed. I would say that this is definitely good news. Now, today, we see that there is also some uncertainty related to the election of the Chancellor. I would say, I mean, we see the German market to perform in a positive way. Please also remember, regarding also to the second part of your question, please also remember the fact that last year, the first quarter was by far the strongest quarter of the year, also in terms of market growth in Europe, also in Italy, in Spain, etc., etc.
The comparison base actually was definitely more challenging in the first quarter than will be in the second part of the year. We expect in Italy, Spain were more muted, I would say, in Q1, but we expect gradual normalization going forward. With regards to the second question, actually about China, what we said in the past is that we were performing very well in terms of organic growth, with a positive organic growth in a market that was not positive. I think that this is something that has continued also in Q1 in terms of market growth, which has not been positive in Q1.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you.
The next question is from Susannah Ludwig from Bernstein. Please go ahead.
Okay. Good afternoon, and thanks for taking my questions. I have two, please. I guess European growth, even ex-France, has been softer for the past couple of years, which you alluded to. Maybe if you could just talk about sort of what the drivers of this have been and what gives you confidence that there could be pent-up demand rather than this being some kind of structural shift in European growth. Then second, just following up on Asia-Pacific, maybe if you could sort of talk to your expectations for the rest of the year, do you also expect an improvement in the region as you do in Europe and the U.S.?
Yeah. With regards to the European growth in the past years, I would say that the growth was definitely slower than in comparison with the historical levels. I think that the macro environment had an impact in terms of consumer sentiment. This might be the main reason why the European market has not grown in the last couple of years as in the past. Yes, maybe there has been some delay in terms of purchase decision for customers for these reasons. As I said also earlier on, we believe also that there is some pent-up demand, which has been building in the recent years, which is not going to disappear and that will be released in the future.
Now, it's very difficult to say when, but as we have seen also in other cases, like during the COVID, etc., etc., this kind of pent-up demand will be most probably released when conditions will improve. With regards to the second question, and therefore APAC, yes, we also expect a progressive acceleration both in terms of market and also our performance going forward. Also in consideration of the fact that you may recall that last year, the first quarter was by far the strongest of the year. I think that last year we posted the plus 9% organic growth in Q4. The market definitely was very strong. We should see also in the coming quarters a more favorable comparison base.
Great. Thank you.
Thank you.
The last question is from Niccolò Storer, Kepler Cheuvreux. Please go ahead.
Hi, good afternoon. Thanks for taking my two questions. Ciao. The first one is a clarification on France and expected growth. Last time, you were talking about 10% growth for the market. Now, it's mid-teens. Was the 10% referred to the full year with a slow start and then hopefully.
Yes.
Okay. Okay. Perfect. The second one is on your growth in the Americas. In order to appreciate your outperformance to the mid-single-digit decline of the U.S. market, can you tell us which was specifically the organic growth for the U.S. alone? Thank you.
Let's say we do not provide the organic growth by market, but definitely what I can tell you is that in the US, we continued to perform well above the growth of the market. This kind of overperformance was mainly led by our network of direct retail. It was our network of directly operated clinics that supported the growth in the U.S. well above the underlying growth of the market.
Thank you. Grazie.
Grazia.
Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you, everyone.
This concludes our call. Thank you for your interest and attendance. I ask Judith to kindly disconnect. Thank you all.
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