These Analysts Think La Française de l'Energie S.A.'s (EPA:FDE) Sales Are Under Threat

The analysts covering La Française de l'Energie S.A. (EPA:FDE) delivered a dose of negativity to shareholders today, by making a substantial revision to their statutory forecasts for this year. This report focused on revenue estimates, and it looks as though the consensus view of the business has become substantially more conservative.

Following the downgrade, the most recent consensus for La Française de l'Energie from its four analysts is for revenues of €34m in 2025 which, if met, would be a solid 8.8% increase on its sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are presumed to step up 16% to €2.13. Prior to this update, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of €39m and earnings per share (EPS) of €2.13 in 2025. So there's been a clear change in analyst sentiment in the recent update, with the analysts making a measurable cut to revenues and reconfirming their earnings per share estimates.

Check out our latest analysis for La Française de l'Energie

The consensus price target was reduced 14% to €51.67, with the lower revenue forecasts indicating negative sentiment towards La Française de l'Energie, even though earnings forecasts were unchanged.

Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that La Française de l'Energie's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2025 expected to display 8.8% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 36% over the past five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 2.0% annually. Even after the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that La Française de l'Energie is also expected to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with analysts reconfirming that earnings per share are expected to continue performing in line with their prior expectations. Unfortunately, analysts also downgraded their revenue estimates, although our data indicates revenues are expected to perform better than the wider market. The consensus price target fell measurably, with analysts seemingly not reassured by recent business developments, leading to a lower estimate of La Française de l'Energie's future valuation. Given the stark change in sentiment, we'd understand if investors became more cautious on La Française de l'Energie after today.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for La Française de l'Energie going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Another way to search for interesting companies that could be reaching an inflection point is to track whether management are buying or selling, with our free list of growing companies backed by insiders.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.