Bastide Accelerates: Growth of 8.2% and Free Cash Flow Tripled
The European home health care group confirms its 2025-2026 ambitions with an organic growth of 8.2% and a free cash flow tripled. However, repeated tariff reductions on sleep apnea threaten its profitability, forcing Bastide to maintain strict cost discipline to preserve its operating margin of 9.0%.
Strong Performance in the First Half of 2025-2026
In the first half of 2025-2026, Bastide recorded a turnover of 260.4 million euros, up by 8.0% in reported data and 8.2% in organic growth. This increase is driven by a strong dynamic in the more technically advanced activities. Respiratory Assistance shows an organic growth of 11.0%, despite a 5% tariff decrease on sleep apnea effective from April 1, 2025, in France. This resilience reflects market share gains and structural growth in the sector. The Nutrition-Infusion-Diabetes-Stomatherapy activity records a growth of 7.2%, particularly supported by an exceptional increase of 27.8% in Diabetes. The Home Maintenance segment, which accounts for 101.4 million euros, shows a growth of 6.5%, supported by a significant increase of 12.2% in community services due to equipment rental activities.
Gross Margin Declines Amid Tariff Pressures
The gross margin has declined to 67.6% from 68.4% a year earlier, a direct consequence of the sleep apnea tariff decrease and product mix effects in certain segments. To offset this erosion, Bastide has implemented structural measures: personnel expenses have decreased by 140 basis points as a percentage of revenue, while external expenses remain stable. As a result, the EBITDA margin has improved to 22.2% (+50 basis points), particularly driven by the improved profitability of Home Maintenance redirected towards more profitable rental activities. The current operating income reached 23.5 million euros (+4.7%), with an operating margin of 9.0%, exactly in line with the group's annual target, despite tariff pressure.
Significant Financial Improvement with Debt Reduction
The drastic reduction of debt, facilitated by the sale of Baywater (which generated a capital gain of 24.4 million euros), transforms Bastide's financial equation. The operational free cash flow has tripled to 24.3 million euros compared to 7.0 million in the first half of 2024-2025. The net financial debt under IFRS 16 stands at 303.9 million euros as of December 31, 2025, down by 98.6 million over six months. The financial leverage has significantly improved to 2.77x from 3.41x six months earlier, keeping the group well below its permitted threshold of 4.25x. These advances occur, however, in a context of sustained tariff compression: Bastide confirms its 2025-2026 targets (turnover of at least 510 million euros, operating margin around 9.0%), but anticipates a further 4% decrease on sleep apnea from April 1, 2026. The cost of debt is expected to continue decreasing in the second half, thanks to the reduction in leverage, but this dynamic will again be offset by the scheduled tariff decrease.
