The table below presents the Groupe’s financial ratios for 2023 and 2024:
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| (Average net financial debt + average lease liabilities) / operating margin before depreciation and amortization | (Average net financial debt + average lease liabilities) / operating margin before depreciation and amortization 2024 1.0 |
(Average net financial debt + average lease liabilities) / operating margin before depreciation and amortization 2023 1.0 |
| (Net financial debt + lease liabilities) / equity | (Net financial debt + lease liabilities) / equity 2024 0.15 |
(Net financial debt + lease liabilities) / equity 2023 0.15 |
| Interest coverage: operating margin before depreciation and amortization / (cost of net financial debt + interest on lease liabilities) | Interest coverage: operating margin before depreciation and amortization / (cost of net financial debt + interest on lease liabilities) 2024 94 |
Interest coverage: operating margin before depreciation and amortization / (cost of net financial debt + interest on lease liabilities) 2023 n/a(1) |
In order to manage its liquidity risk, Publicis holds a substantial amount of cash (cash and cash equivalents) for a total of euro 3,644 million as of December 31, 2024 and an undrawn confirmed credit line of euro 2,000 million as of December 31, 2024 corresponding to a multi-currency syndicated loan, established in July 2024 and maturing in 2029 (with a two-year extension option), which cancels and replaces the previous euro 1,579 million line maturing in 2026.
These immediately or almost immediately available sums allow the Groupe to broadly meet its general funding requirements.
They only include standard events of default clauses (liquidation, cessation of payment, default on the debt itself or on the repayment of another debt above a given threshold) which are generally applicable above a threshold of euro 75 million.
The Groupe has not established any credit derivatives to date. An international cash pooling structure has been implemented to pool all cash for the Groupe as a whole. Two financial companies established in Dublin in 2014 were added to the Groupe structure to manage financing transactions and the short-term investing of subsidiaries’ liquidity. In 2017, one of these two companies, MMS Multi Euro Services DAC, became the lynchpin of the centralization of international cash pooling for the entire Groupe. The other company, MMS Ireland DAC, whose functional currency is the dollar, became the lynchpin of the centralization of cash pooling for most of the Groupe’s US entities.
It bears noting that the Groupe’s cash resources are, for the most part, centralized in Ireland. Cash resources not centralized in Ireland are, for the most part, held by subsidiaries in countries where funds can be freely transferred and centralized.
Publicis has a BBB+ rating with a stable outlook from the rating agency S&P Global, as well as a Baa1 rating with a stable outlook by Moody’s Investors Service, following the upgrading of the two ratings in May 2023.
See also Notes 24 and 30 to the consolidated financial statements (Section 6.6 “Notes to the consolidated financial statements”).
As of December 31, 2024, and at the closing date of the financial statements, there were no rating triggers or financial covenants for short-term bank credit lines, syndicated loans, or bonds likely to restrict the Groupe’s liquidity.
There are no legal or economic restrictions likely to limit or significantly restrict any transfers of funds to the parent company in the near future.
Publicis has established a group-wide policy for selecting authorized banks as counterparties for all its subsidiaries. This policy requires that deposits be made in authorized banks and that, in general, all banking services be provided exclusively by these banks. The list of authorized banks is reviewed periodically by the Groupe Treasury Department. Exceptions to this policy are handled centrally for the entire Groupe by the Treasury Office.
Given its cash position and its confirmed unused credit lines amounting to euro 5,644 million at December 31, 2024, the Groupe has the necessary liquidity to meet its operating requirements and investment plan.
