During the questions and answers session, participants will be able to ask questions by filling in the form at the bottom of the live page or orally by clicking on the participation button in the player labeled as "Request to Speak." You will be notified when to ask your question. Now, I will hand the conference over to the speakers to begin today's conference. Please go ahead.
Good evening, everyone. I am Clémence Munier-Duperrot, Head of Investor Relations. I am here today for the Rubis H1 2025 results. I am with Clarisse Gobin-Swiecznik, Managing Partner, and Marc Jacquot, CFO. Clarisse, please start the conference.
Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. To kick off this presentation of our H1 results, let me very quickly remind you what we do. Our business is about distributing energy while supporting mobility solutions. In Europe, we distribute and sell LPG, and we also produce and sell photovoltaic power. In Africa, we distribute and sell bitumen to road contractors in West Africa and fuel and LPG in East Africa. In the Caribbean, we distribute and sell fuel and LPG. Those products reach a wide range of customers, both individuals and professionals, while the distribution is supported by a reliable and most of the time in-house logistics. For H1 2025, this diversified business model delivered a steady performance. In a global economic environment marked by uncertainty, our results for the first half of 2025 stand out with growth in volumes and margins across all regions and product lines.
Photosol continues to progress according to plan, on track towards 2027 objectives. Our group EBITDA grew by 3% and the net income group share by 26%, driven by a strong operational performance, better FX risk management, and stable emerging market currencies. Cash flow generation remains steady at €276 million per H1, which is a key highlight of this publication. All of this gives us confidence in reaching our full-year guidance, even in a less favorable USD-euro exchange rate environment in H2. The following slide highlights our balanced growth across product lines and geographies. It showcases the strengths of our commercial strategies, our agility, and seamless execution. Looking at our H1 performance by business line, you can see that in retail and marketing, all products delivered both volume and margin growth. LPG was driven by a very strong commercial momentum in Europe.
In fuel distribution, the expected pricing formula adjustment in Kenya took a first step in March. The second step implemented mid-July will show in our H2 performance. In bitumen distribution, demand in Nigeria is strongly picking up. The sharp decrease in unit margin visible here is purely a basis effect linked to the 2024 currency devaluation. We already mentioned it in Q1. Marc will elaborate further on this point. As for support and services, which cover supply to the distribution business and the SARA refinery, performance remains overall stable. Finally, the renewables business is expanding as planned, with a sharp increase in both assets in operation and secured portfolio, in line with the roadmap we presented at last year's Photosol Day. In conclusion, these first-half results are yet another demonstration of the group's ability to deliver consistent commercial and operating performance, cycle after cycle.
When you combine that resilience with disciplined and proactive financial management, the outcome is clear: a strong and steady cash flow generation fully in line with our historical standards.
Thank you, Clarisse. Good evening to all. Let's start with the big picture for the first half. Our EBITDA is up 3% year on year and flat on a comparable basis. As Clarisse already mentioned, this is driven by strong LPG performance in Europe, while in Africa, Kenya import volumes and margins in the retail segment, and bitumen returned to growth in Nigeria. Net income is up 26% to €163 million, reflecting the absence of FX losses. CapEx related to the distribution business remains well under control, roughly stable at €73 million, while they are increasing in renewables to €85 million, which is a concrete and positive sign that our growth projects are now materializing and are being steadily derisked. Nearly 85 MW were put in operation over H1, and 290 MW are now under construction.
Corporate net debt is stable at 1.4 times, despite a negative change in working capital over H1, which confirms our strong financial position. Finally, cash flow from operations remains strong at €276 million for the first half year, supported by the good operating performance and the absence of FX losses. All in all, that's a solid performance. Now, let's take a closer look at our activities. Retail and marketing delivered a solid performance across the board, with EBITDA increasing by 3% year on year. In Africa, we have three things to highlight. First, retail. Retail is contributing well, and the impact of the new pricing formula in Kenya is expected to be fully visible in the second half. Second, aviation, which is more volatile, is facing higher pricing competition, leading us to reduce our volumes for the moment in Kenya. The third one is bitumen.
Bitumen margins increased less than volume, and this is a basis effect from 2024, when narrower devaluation impacts affecting the financial results below the EBITDA was passed through to customers. Now, let's look at the Caribbean. The Caribbean region was broadly stable, which is in line with our expectations. Guyana slowed down a bit with the election coming up in September, creating some kind of wait-and-see behavior among our B2B customers. In Haiti, the measures we have taken in our logistic management are starting to pay off, even if volumes remain a bit soft. Jamaica is normalizing, with supply conditions slightly less favorable than last year. Now, Europe. In Europe, the momentum is particularly good as a result of our challenger positioning, combined with the excellent drive of our commercial teams and a colder winter this year.
Looking at support and services, it remains stable, which is normal as this segment usually flexes with our retail and marketing activities. Now, the renewable electricity production. What we can say is that the power EBITDA stands at €22 million, which is up 38% year on year. In line with our roadmap, our development expenses have increased, reflecting the acceleration of the growth of this business, resulting in a consolidated EBITDA at €10 million. In conclusion, this is a robust operating performance, attesting to the strengths of our product and geographical diversification. Let's have a look at our financial results. Let me highlight just a few items here. The net income group share is up 26%, or on a comparable basis, 18%. This is a result of lower expensive local debt levels and reduced FX exposure.
When analyzing our income statement, let me remind you that the share of net income from associates in H1 2024 included Q1 results from Rubis Terminal. Interest costs are down, thanks to lower debt in Kenya and more favorable interest rates. As you know, last year, Rubis recorded significant FX losses, particularly in Kenya and Nigeria. In H1 this year, local currencies were more stable, and the strategies we put in place to mitigate the FX risk have proven efficient, and we didn't incur any FX loss. As for taxes, nothing major to flag. The OECD global minimum tax is now fully integrated in our normal run. Overall, Rubis demonstrated agility and delivered solid financial results, fueling its cash flow momentum and supporting its balance sheets. Now, a word on our financial debt.
Total net debt stands at €1.4 billion, with corporate debt at €910 million, maintaining a healthy leverage of 1.4 times at corporate level. Our liquidity level is high, with more than €180 million under SEF, in addition to our €530 million cash on balance sheets. The main variation of this debt, this half, came from the steady operational cash flow of €390 million, which is up 11%, reflecting the good operating performance combined with the absence of FX losses. A negative impact from change in working capital of €68 million, after a very positive effect in H2 2024 as a consequence of lower trade payables. CapEx of €164 million, which is higher than last year with the ramp-up of Photosol. Our usual June dividend that we paid to shareholders, but also to minority interests and general partners. Non-recourse debt increased by €63 million, in line with the renewable investments.
All in all, our balance sheet remains solid, with ample liquidity to support our future growth.
Thank you, Marc. Before we open the floor to Q&A, let me wrap up. First, we saw Rubis commercial and operating performance. Second, our seamless execution and agility deliver reliable cash flows through the cycle. Finally, these H1 achievements make us confident we are on track to reach our 2025 targets, even in the less favorable euro/USD context in H2. With a healthy balance sheet and a stable leverage ratio, we confirm we are aiming at €710 to €760 million EBITDA within the framework of assumptions you have here on the slide. Thanks a lot for your attention. We are ready to take your questions.
If you wish to ask a question, please either fill in the form at the bottom of the live page or click on the audio participation button in the player labeled as "Request to Speak" and wait until you are notified to ask your question.
We have no audio questions for the moment. I propose you begin by the written questions on the webcast.
We have two questions on the webcast from Auguste de Rixat-Keppler. Question number one is, group EBITDA was stable on a comparable basis despite 5% volume growth. What are the key headwinds preventing stronger margin conversion?
What we can say on the margins, as I mentioned, you have the LPG margins were still over the first half. In the fuel distribution business, the unit margin decreased by 1% in H1. This decrease came exclusively from the Caribbean, especially from Jamaica. In Jamaica, you know the supply is not in Rubis' hands. Last year, we had very favorable conditions for this supply. This semester, actually, those conditions normalized, I would say. That's the first explanation. The second one is on the bitumen distribution business. The volume growth in Nigeria resumed, as we explained. H1 2024 was high due to the FX pass-through. The significant decrease in margin is explained by the basis effect after H1 2024 devaluation. After considering the guidance.
We have two questions considering euro/USD FX. Question number one is, but both questions have the same answer. Question number one is, what level of FX rate and hyperinflation assumptions underpin the guidance, the EBITDA target of €710 to €760? What contingency levers do you have if the macro backdrop worsens? Another question from Emmanuel Matteau is, what is the dollar negative impact we can expect for 2025 on your EBITDA?
Regarding the guidance and the hyperinflation embedded in the guidance, we have the same level of hyperinflation in the guidance as in 2024, meaning positive impacts of €25 million on the EBITDA, €22 million on the EBIT, and minus €10 million at the net income group share level. This is our assumption, and this is something that we will know only at the closing. There is a lot of uncertainty in the hyperinflation, so we cannot commit on this number. In terms of impact of U.S. dollar euro, the initial assumption we had was the euro/dollar level at the beginning of the year, meaning an exchange rate of $1.05 for one euro. Now we are at $1.17 or $1.16, depending on the days. What we can say is that the good performance at the H1 will compensate the favorable impact related to the U.S. dollar impact.
The margin we have in U.S. dollar is concerned, actually, I would say, two-thirds of our business. You can calculate what is the impact yourself for H2.
As a reminder, if you wish to ask a question, please either fill in the form at the bottom of the live page, or click on the audio participation button in the player and wait until you are notified to ask your question.
We have another question online from Jean-Luc Romain: Could you please give us an idea of what the renewables EBITDA is before development costs?
The renewable EBITDA before development costs is what we call the power EBITDA. The power EBITDA amounted to €22 million in H1.
We have another question from Thomas Tritter saying about the aviation business: are any of your markets showing activity in SAF, sustainable aviation fuel, and is that a market Rubis might get into? We are more or less agnostic to the type of fuel we distribute. We adapt to the demand of our customers. We would be able to distribute SAF, and we do in some places, especially in the Caribbean. It is mainly a question of offer and demand, and there is not a lot of offer today. We are, in any case, adapting ourselves to the demand from our customers. Another question from Mr. Sass about Photosol portfolio evolution. It is not on the slides you have here in the presentation, that is in the webcast, but you can find it on our website.
As a last reminder, if you wish to ask a question, please either fill in the form at the bottom of the live page, or click on the audio participation button in the player and wait until you are notified to ask your question.
We have another question from Emmanuel Matteau at Odoo Online, asking us if we have any impact of U.S. tariffs during the summer.
Rubis' geographic and operational model makes it largely insulated from the direct effects of tariffs. We are not present in the U.S., nor in China, and we do not depend in any case on U.S. or China-based players in our distribution business. On the indirect side, the products and services we offer are essential, particularly in the energy space. As such, demand tends to be relatively inelastic, meaning it remains quite stable even during periods of price volatility or economic slowdown. I would say we have no effect of tariff on our P&L or results.
Another question from Roger Degree: can you update us on the CapEx plans and specific projects for the next year or two in the energy distribution business?
Roger, what we can say on the Photosol CapEx is that this level, as you know, will increase in line with the ambitions communicated to the market at Photosol Day. It is a €1.1 billion CapEx in the 2024-2027 backend loaded. For 2025, it should be in the range of €150 to €160 million. Talking about the Rubis Énergie, the sort of distribution business, we should be in the normalized revenue is in the one, I would say, €185 million on the run rate.
Another question online: can you give us an update on the shareholding structure? The answer is public. The shareholding structure as of today is the largest shareholder is Mr. Patrick Molle, with a bit more than 9%. You have the Bolloré Group through Plantation des Terres Rouges, a bit above 5%. You have Mr. Saman above 5% also, the Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault, a bit above 5%. The rest of the shareholding structure is split between different shareholders.
There are no more questions at this time. I hand the conference back to the speakers for any closing remarks.
Thanks a lot for being here. We will be on the road in the days to come. Do not hesitate to reach out to us if you want to schedule a meeting or if you have questions, you know where to reach us. Thanks a lot and have a nice evening.