ITALMOBILIARE BOOSTS GROUP NET PROFIT AND IMPROVES NET FINANCIAL POSITION
- TOTAL NET PROFIT: 296.8 MILLION EURO (295.6 MILLION EURO)
- GROUP NET PROFIT: 116.3 MILLION EURO (45.5 MILLION EURO)
- REVENUES: 4,138.9 MILLION EURO (4,713.2 MILLION EURO)
- INVESTMENTS IN FIXED ASSETS: 587.0 MILLION EURO
- SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY: 5,765.8 MILLION EURO (5,488.2 MILLION EURO AT DECEMBER 31, 2008)
- NET DEBT: 2,365.1 MILLION EURO (2,571.9 MILLION EURO AT DECEMBER 31, 2008)
- GEARING RATIO 41.02% FROM 47.46% AT JUNE 30, 2009
- NET ASSET VALUE: 2,361.0 MILLION EURO (1,924.9 MILLION EURO AT JUNE 30, 2009)
- EARNINGS EXPECTED TO IMPROVE COMPARED WITH 2008
Milan, November 13, 2009 – At a meeting today, the Board of Directors of Italmobiliare S.p.A. examined and approved the consolidated quarterly report at September 30, 2009, which reflects total net profit of 296.8 million euro (+0.4%) and Group net profit of 116.3 million euro (+155.8% thanks to the contribution of the wholly owned companies in the financial sector).
The results posted by the Italmobiliare Group for the first nine months of the year made decisive progress compared with the situation at the end of September 2008, after benefiting from the significant strengthening in the financial sector. The improvement was driven above all by the upturn on the debenture and equities markets, as a result of which assets in portfolio were written up. This generated a partial reversal of the impairment losses that emerged toward the end of 2008 and the first half of 2009 in particular. In the industrial sector, the construction materials business, operating in difficult economic conditions, reported a downturn in results, while the packaging and insulation area improved performance, confirming its anti-cyclical nature. Both business areas benefited from the action taken to contain fixed costs and boost industrial efficiency.
In the third quarter of 2009 the Italmobiliare Group reported a net profit for the period of 132.6 million euro and a Group net profit of 57.6 million euro, well up on the results of the year-earlier period, which showed a net profit of 59.3 million euro and a Group net loss of 22.0 million euro.
For the first nine months net profit for the period was 296.8 million euro and Group net profit was 116.3 million euro, compared with 295.6 million euro (+0.4%) and 45.5 million euro (+155.8%) at September 30, 2008. In the January-September period, revenues amounted to 4,138.9 million euro (-12.2%) while recurring EBITDA was 858.5 million euro (-2.3%) thanks to strong progress in the third quarter.
Total shareholders' equity at September 30, 2009, was 5,765.8 million euro, compared with 5,488.2 million euro at December 31, 2008, and 5,542.9 million euro at June 30, 2009.
Net debt at September 30, 2009, was 2,365.1 million euro, from 2,571.9 million euro at December 31, 2008. At June 30, 2009, net debt was 2,630.9 million euro. At the end of September, the consolidated financial position of the financial sector, which includes the parent company Italmobiliare S.p.A., was positive at 235.4 million euro (160.6 million euro at December 31, 2008), an increase of 21.6 million euro from June 30, 2009.
After the changes in shareholders' equity and debt, the gearing ratio improved from 46.86% at the end of December 2008 (47.46% at June 30, 2009) to 41.02% at the end of September 2009.
In its separate financial statements as at September 30, 2009, the parent company Italmobiliare S.p.A. posted a net profit for the period of 74.8 million euro, against 64.3 million euro in the year-earlier period. The improvement arose mainly from the capital gain on the sale of the Populonia Italica real estate company and the reduction in net finance costs, despite the decrease in dividends received.
Italmobiliare Net Asset Value (NAV) at September 30, 2009, was 2,361.0 million euro (1,924.9 million euro at June 30, 2009 and 1,911.0 million euro at the end of 2008).
Outlook – Although the general financial crisis appears to be coming to an end, despite some indications of improvement the signs of a recovery in the real economy are still weak.
Consequently the outlook is highly uncertain, with a mixture of positive elements and nonencouraging factors, which also involve the financial markets.
Given these conditions, and taking into account performance to the end of September, the outlook of the individual lines of business and their relative importance, in the absence of currently unforeseeable events the Italmobiliare Group expects to post positive consolidated earnings for full-year 2009, up on those of 2008.
The Joint General Manager, Angelo Maria Triulzi, has presented his resignation as a manager of the company, effective from January 7, 2010. The Board of Directors thanked Mr Triulzi for his contribution and was informed that Giorgio Moroni had been appointed to the post of Joint General Manager for Administration & Finance. The Board subsequently named Mr Moroni as Manager in charge of preparing the company’s financial reports as from November 16, 2009.
Attached the full press release