The French recycling and cleaning group Derichebourg announced on April 16 that it had lost 15 to 20 million euros due to a cyberattack, which occurred in November 2023. Derichebourg judged “unlikely” to achieve its target of 350 million surplus that it had set for 2024, highlighting a financial impact of the cyberattack greater than expected.
Reduced margins over three months
The specialist in recycling metals suffered a cyberattack on the night of November 9 to 10, 2023. Because of this external intrusion, the group, but also its subsidiary Derichebourg Multiservices, faced a “temporary unavailability of the main operating software”explains management in a press release, provoking “a temporary slowdown of certain services”. The company announced, in a second press release dated November 30, that “its IT activities, in France and internationally”gradually resumed.
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Due to this cyberattack, the group's margins for the months of November, December, and “to a lesser extent, January”have been reduced. Derichebourg evokes a “administrative delay”but also a lack “adequate activity management tool”. For the current financial year, which ends at the end of September, Derichebourg expects a gross operating surplus (EBITDA) of around 300 to 310 million euros, a forecast “realistic in the current state of the situation”.
40 million euros less EBITDA compared to last year
The group estimates that current EBITDA for the first half, closed at the end of March, will be between 140 and 145 million euros, taking into account the cost of the cyberattack. An amount down 22% compared to the first half of 2022-2023. Despite everything, Derichebourg assures that his “financial situation remains solid” and that he “complies with its various financial covenants as of March 31”. When the stock market opened this morning, the company's shares fell by more than 4%, to 4.18 euros. The firm's first half results will be published on May 29.
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