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« In action to prepare for the future »

Niort, september, 2024

Dear Partners,

The 2023/24 financial year marks a return to normality after the exceptional 2022/23 financial year in more ways than one. Although consolidated turnover fell by 12.4%, this was still the 2^nd best result in the history of the Poujoulat Group. 

Over the past 12 months, we have been faced with a number of challenges, including a very sharp decline in sales of pellet heating systems and gas boilers. In addition, the fall in the price of wood pellets alone accounts for half of the decline in the Group’s turnover. 

We are well on track with our environmental transformation. Our energy mix is becoming increasingly low carbon, with the launch of a new solar power plant in the car park at our head office. This is the first step in our 2026 Solar Plan, which aims to achieve more than 4MW of installed solar photovoltaic capacity.

Our digital transformation is well under way: following on from our wood fuel branch, we are now working on a new ERP system for our chimney flue and industrial chimneys branch.

Finally, we are stepping up investments in marketing and communications: now more than ever, our brands are setting standards and enjoying high levels of recognition. In 2024, we will continue to raise our profile with several TV campaigns for Cheminées Poujoulat and Woodstock.

All of these projects will enable the Poujoulat Group to increase its market share and prepare for the arrival of the winter months, at which point it will be one of the first to benefit from the upturn in the market.

I’d now like to share a few key points with you. In Europe, more than 100 million heating systems and appliances will need to be replaced by 2035, that’s almost 10 million a year, and we’re a long way off at the moment. This will require massive investment from consumers, social landlords, local authorities, businesses… and even governments, through their public policies.

Accelerating the de-carbonisation of housing requires us to focus on rapid and massive changes in our heating and energy production systems. This is the shortest route and the one the Scandinavian countries have chosen. In less than 20 years, they have managed to virtually de-carbonise their heating systems while renovating their homes step by step.

It’s better to support, install and replace as many heating systems as possible than to finance a few thousand large-scale renovations, which are often very costly and more about improving comfort than saving energy. We need all kinds of energy: electricity, certainly; gas, necessarily; and wood, obviously. For the sake of our sovereignty and controlling prices, we must not become dependent on a single solution. The Ukrainian conflict has demonstrated just how interdependent European countries have become.

Let’s not pit energy sources against each other: a balanced energy mix will make green solutions more accessible, more locally sourced, more cost-effective and therefore more attractive to consumers.

Thank you all for your trust and loyalty.

The Poujoulat Group’s publications are made outside the opening hours of the stock exchange. This calendar is subject to change

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