Maury Imprimeur will ultimately remain in the family fold.
Jean Paul-Maury, at the head of one of the main magazine press printers in the country (with titles such as
Le Figaro Magazine, L'Express, Le Point, Current Values or Courrier international)
, announced on Wednesday the gradual transmission of his group to his nephew Pierre-Antoine Laporte.
This 40-year-old, graduated from an EMBA at HEC Paris, spent the first twelve years of his professional life in printing companies in France and Canada, before pursuing his career in industry.
To read also Guillaume Riccobono: "We must pool the means of printing and carrying the press"
In recent months, Jean-Paul Maury has been looking for solutions to ensure the sustainability of the group, founded by his ancestors in Aveyron in the 19th century.
In the very competitive and declining sector of the French printing industry, the names of Guillaume Riccobono, Managing Director of Riccobono Presse Investissement and Hubert Pedurant, Managing Director of Imprimerie Laballery (mainly a book printer) were notably presented in the press as potential buyers.
A return to financial equilibrium
Through this family succession, the Maury Imprimeur group, which has six factories and employs 900 people, continues its activity as an independent printer. Last year, Maury Imprimeur generated a turnover of 108 million euros, against 134 million in 2019. That is a decline of 14% over one year, with a negative result. A fall largely linked to the economic downturn linked to the Covid crisis and structural printings of the magazine press, which represents 50% of its activity.
“The results of our group at June 30, 2021 are positive, unlike the loss we had in 2020 due to the multiple consequences of the print advertising crisis, the stoppage of certain magazine productions due to the liquidation of Presstalis, from stopping for two months all the distribution of promotional leaflets for supermarkets in letterboxes, imposing an abrupt stop of 20% of our activities for 2 months ”
, recently specified Jean-Paul Maury in
Figaro
. The boss of the group explains that Maury Imprimeur's results are now balanced, and that
"12 million euros of investments have been made since the start of 2021"
.
The group now anticipates a turnover of 128 million euros for the year 2021.
The book sector also represents 20% to 25% of its activity.
In 2019, the Maury group printed more than 75 million books, including nearly 40 million paperbacks, 10 million school books, guides, dictionaries, legal and technical books.
The printing of advertising leaflets represents 25% of the group's activity.
Last September, a strike movement took place in certain factories of Maury Imprimeur, thus paralyzing the printing of many magazines.
At the time, employees demanded an increase in wages, which they eventually obtained from management.
