Good evening, and welcome to this conference call for Fnac Darty. Mr. Jean-Brieuc Le Tinier, the Chief Financial Officer, will be facilitating this call. Over to you, sir.
Thank you very much. Good evening, everybody. Thank you for attending our conference call for the presentation of activity for the first quarter 2026. Tonight, I'm joined by the Investor Relations team, Domitille and Laura Parisot. I'll be presenting our results, and we'll then take your questions. On slide two, you can see the key elements for the first quarter that we'll be detailing throughout this presentation. Our group's revenue has been up by 1% on a like-for-like basis on the quarter, driven by the very good performance of the rest of Europe and of our sales online. Our gross margin is also up with a 10 basis points improvement against the first quarter of 2025. The improvement of subscription services, particularly Darty Max, has offset a negative product mix.
Indeed, some categories that are strong contributors to the group's gross margin have been declining throughout the period, like book sales, for example. Of course, we'll come back to EP Group's public tender offer that was filed on the March 10 2026 with the AMF, French Financial Markets Authority, which should be completed in the second half of 2026. On slide three, as I said in my opening remarks, Fnac Darty reported in the first quarter revenues that are up by 0.9% on a like-for-like basis. Our online sales amount to 22% of the revenues for this period and are up by more than 5%. Click and Collect, which is a key metric of our performance, accounts for half of our online sales this quarter. Now, if we look at our performance by category.
The positive signals observed at the end of 2025 on the sales of domestic appliances are still there. Small domestic appliances are still showing a good performance, and large domestic appliances are growing again. Technical products are also improving, thanks to good sales in computers with the renewal cycle of PCs sold during COVID, the end of Windows 10 support, but also the highly anticipated launch of the new Apple range. This offsets the lower performance of telephony and television. The Football World Cup, however, should have a positive impact for the next quarter. Services and diversification are continuing to show positive momentum and are still growing. Last, digital products are on the wane due to a particularly inactive book market at the start of the year. Now let's look at the detail of the group's performance by geographical area.
France, which accounts for 60% of the group's total revenues, is almost stable at +0.1% like-for-like basis against the first quarter of 2025. The consumer context in France remains challenging. We'll still perform well and much better than the market trend, according to the Banque de France figures that were published at the start of the week. In the rest of the year, that accounts for 40% of the group's total revenues. Activity is faring well, with our revenues up by 2% on a like-for-like basis. Italy is slightly growing on a like-for-like basis. Domestic appliances sales have been declining. It is worth mentioning that we have an impact due to the unfavorable comparative baseline for gaming. Belgium is up by 3.2% like-for-like basis, driven by good momentum for online sales.
Portugal is up by 9.8% like-for-like basis, driven by the momentum of in-store sales and services for Fnac and Darty likewise. Stores that are operating under the Darty brand since end of 2025 have performed really well. Spain is also improving, plus 5.5% like-for-like basis, driven by the very good momentum of stores. The stores that were refurbished in 2025 have posted outstanding results. Last, Switzerland, where activity is slightly on the wane, minus 1.1% like-for-like basis, mainly impacted by the decline of the book market. Now, slide four, a few words on the current public tender offer. As you know, EP Group announced a cash offer for Fnac Darty shares. EP Group is our main shareholder, has been our main shareholder since 2023 and has coordinated with its subsidiary, Vesa, that holds 28.5% of our share capital.
The proposed offer is subject to the mandatory success threshold of 50% of the share capital or voting rights as set out in the AMF general regulation. EP's offer is the logical continuation of the strong partnership we have forged together over the past several years. It is a key milestone to support the acceleration of our strategic plan Beyond Everyday. In the current environment, marked by profound shifts in consumer expectations and behavior, the support of a stable long-term shareholder is a significant asset. Last, I'd like to point out that our payout policy remains unchanged, with a payout ratio in excess of 40%, which we confirmed in February, with a dividend of EUR 1 per share, which will be put to the general meeting on the May 27. Besides, EP Group does not intend to implement a squeeze-out procedure at the end of the offer.
After reviewing the draft response notes and taking notes of the findings of the Ledouble consultancy that acts as an independent expert, which confirmed the fairness of the financial conditions of the offer and of the recommendation of the ad hoc committee, the board of directors unanimously issued a favorably reasoned opinion. The board considered that the offer was in line with the interest of the company, its shareholders, and its employees. Besides, the board also found that the implementation of this project would offer an immediate liquidity opportunity to shareholders who are interested with a price of EUR 36 per share, with a 2025 dividend that will be attached, which would count for a 19% premium over the last closing price before the announcement of the offer, and 24% and 26% premium on the VWAP, one month and three months VWAP.
OCEANE bonds for a price of EUR 81.12 per OCEANE. The board also noted that maintaining the listing, even if the conditions for a mandatory squeeze-out were met, would allow shareholders who wish to do so to continue benefiting from Fnac Darty's potential. Shareholders who retain all or part of their shares will remain exposed to the company's risk, including the risk of reduced liquidity in the stock, depending on the number of shares tendered in the offer, as well as share price fluctuations. On slide five, you can see the timeline. The offer was filed on the March 10 and is currently being reviewed by the AMF. Foreign direct investment clearance in France for FDIs was obtained on March 26. We expect to launch the offer in the Q2 of 2026, subject to obtaining the AMF's approval and foreign investment control clearance. The FSR.
The offer is therefore expected to close following the receipt of antitrust clearance in the second half of 2026. Let's move on to slide six. In the current complex geopolitical context, our performance has demonstrated the group's resiliency. At this point, we have not found any impact on our activity. In this regard, March is actually a marked improvement against the first two months of the year. Operationally, our supply chain remains robust, our products are inherently non-seasonal, we maintain satisfactory inventories, and their logistics flows already sail via the Cape of Good Hope for delivery to Europe. However, we continue to monitor household confidence closely in this highly uncertain environment. As I said, we'll put to the vote of the general meeting on the May 27, a EUR 1 per share dividend, which would be ex-dividend on the June 3 and paid on the 5th.
Furthermore, as announced last January, we have begun the search for a partner for Nature & Découvertes. We have already received preliminary expressions of interest, which gives us confidence in the process moving forward. The finalization of documentation for potential acquirers is expected to be shared with interested parties in the coming weeks. We confirm our objective for 2026, an improvement in our current operating margin and our free cash flow. Of course, we confirm the 2030 objectives of our Beyond Everyday plan. Thank you very much for your attention. We are now ready to take your questions.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. If you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. I'll remind you that you can press star one on your telephone keypad to join the queue.
Mr. Le Tinier.
Mr. Le Tinier, there are no questions.
Perfect. Well, thank you very much. I'll wrap up. Well, I'll remind you that regarding the timeframe, our General Shareholders' Meeting will take place on the May 27, and we encourage you all to vote, and see you again on the July 22 after closing of the market for our first-half results. Thank you very much for your attention, and have a great evening.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the end of today's earnings call. Thank you for taking part. You may now disconnect.