ITALMOBILIARE GROUP:
- Q2 2015 SHOWS A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN RESULTS, WITH PROFIT BEFORE TAX RISING TO 65.1 MILLION EURO (+30% FROM Q2 2014) AND A RETURN TO PROFIT FOR THE PERIOD AT 34.2 MILLION EURO (LOSS OF 22.7 MILLION EURO)
- DESPITE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT OF EXTRAORDINARY EXPENSE OF 32.3 MILLION EURO, FIRST-HALF PROFIT BEFORE TAX MAKES STRONG PROGRESS FROM 17.5 TO 37.3 MILLION EURO
- LOSS FOR THE FIRST HALF DOWN TO 20.4 MILLION EURO, (70.0 MILLION EURO)
- CONSOLIDATED NET FINANCIAL DEBT: 2,188.4 MILLION EURO (DOWN BY 100.2 MILLION EURO FROM MARCH 31, 2015, UP BY 73.6 MILLION EURO FROM END 2014)
- POSITIVE NET FINANCIAL POSITION FOR PARENT AND FINANCIAL SUBSIDIARIES OF 85.5 MILLION EURO (77.6 MILLION EURO AT END DECEMBER 2014)
- NET ASSET VALUE 1,357.6 MILLION EURO (1,165.4 AT END DECEMBER 2014)
The Italmobiliare S.p.A. Board of Directors examined and approved the half-year report as at and for the six months ended June 30, 2015.
For the second quarter of 2015, the Italmobiliare Group reported an improvement in its results: profit before tax rose from 49.9 million euro in the second quarter of 2014 to 65.1 million euro, while profit for the period was 34.2 million euro against the loss of 22.7 million euro in the year-earlier period, despite a sharp increase in non-recurring expense in the construction materials and food packaging segments to 34.8 million euro. In the first six months of 2015, profit before tax made a strong improvement from 17.5 to 37.3 million euro, while the loss for the period, after the loss posted in the first quarter, was 20.4 million euro compared with a loss of 70.0 million euro in the first half of 2014.
These results were achieved on revenue of 2,316.2 million euro (2,203.4 million euro at June 30, 2014) and an operating profit of 96.2 million euro (120.3 million euro). Given the absence of impairment losses on financial assets (losses of 26.9 million euro in the first half of 2014), profit before tax, at 37.3 million euro, improved by approximately 20 million euro in the first half.
Consolidated net financial debt at June 30, 2015 stood at 2,188.4 million euro, an increase of 73.6 million euro from December 31, 2014, but a decrease of 100.2 million euro from March 31, 2015. Total equity at June 30, 2015 was 4,348.3 million euro, up by 61.9 million euro from the end of 2014. Gearing (net financial debt/consolidated equity) rose to 50.3% (49.3% at the end of 2014). The net financial position of the financial segment (Italmobiliare S.p.A. and the wholly owned financial companies) was positive at 85.5 million euro (77.6 million euro at December 31, 2014).
After the close of the first half, Italmobiliare signed an agreement with HeidelbergCement concerning the equity investment in Italcementi. On completion of the transaction, expected during 2016, Italmobiliare will hold, besides additional cash of approximately 750 million euro, an interest of approximately 5% in HeidelbergCement, which, through the combination with Italcementi, will become the world’s second-largest cement producer. With this agreement, Italmobiliare has begun a review of its equity investment portfolio, leading, after the close of the first half, to the sale of its operations in thermal insulation (Sirap Insulation). The transaction, which generated a capital gain of approximately 4.5 million euro, will enable Sirap Gema to focus its resources on its food packaging operations.
After the close of the first half, Italmobiliare signed an agreement with HeidelbergCement concerning the equity investment in Italcementi. On completion of the transaction, expected during 2016, Italmobiliare will hold, besides additional cash of approximately 750 million euro, an interest of approximately 5% in HeidelbergCement, which, through the combination with Italcementi, will become the world’s second-largest cement producer. With this agreement, Italmobiliare has begun a review of its equity investment portfolio, leading, after the close of the first half, to the sale of its operations in thermal insulation (Sirap Insulation). The transaction, which generated a capital gain of approximately 4.5 million euro, will enable Sirap Gema to focus its resources on its food packaging operations.
At June 30, 2015, Italmobiliare Net Asset Value (NAV) was 1,357.6 million euro, up from 1,165.4 million euro at December 31, 2014.
Italmobiliare pro-forma NAV after the transaction with HeidelbergCement will rise from the current value of approximately 1,400 million euro to approximately 2,100 million euro; of which approximately 50% for equity investments in the industrial segment, 13% for equity investments in the finance and banking segments and 37% for cash.
In the construction materials segment, where the Italcementi group operates, results for the first half were reported on July 29, showing substantial stability in sales volumes thanks to healthy sales of aggregates and a recovery in cement and ready mixed concrete sales in the second quarter. Revenue, at 2,167.5 million euro, was up 5.8% on the first half of 2014, while operating results were buoyed by a reduction in overheads, income from non-core-business activities and a positive exchange-rate effect, and showed a 5.3% increase in recurring gross operating profit to 324.5 million euro, and a 9.6% improvement in operating profit to 113.0 million euro. The half year closed with profit of 3.8 million euro, compared with a loss of 79.6 million euro at June 30, 2014. Although demand on key markets in the food packaging and thermal insulation segment(Sirap Gema) continued to stagnate, first-half revenue and profitability improved. Consolidated revenue was 126.7 million euro (including the newly acquired French subsidiary Sirap Remoulins S.a.s), up by 13.5 million euro on the first half of 2014, and recurring gross operating profit, at 11.9 million euro, was up 29.3%, despite an upward trend in raw material costs. The 27.1 million euro adjustment to the risk provision after the fine imposed by the European antitrust authority in the second quarter had a significant impact: the Group reported an operating loss of 17.7 million euro (operating profit of 3.5 million euro in the first half of 2014) and a loss for the period of 22.3 million euro (loss of 0.6 million euro). Performance in the financial segment (Italmobiliare S.p.A. and Société de Participation Financière Italmobiliare S.A) was affected to a degree by the volatility of the markets toward the end of the period. First-half revenue totaled 29.1 million euro (down by 45.1% from the year-earlier period, due mainly to lower capital gains on the sale of shares), recurring gross operating profit was 12.8 million euro (35.9 million euro), while the profit for the period was 9.2 million euro (28.9 million euro in the first half of 2014). Performance in the banking segment (Finter Bank Zürich and Crédit Mobilier de Monaco) reflected the appreciation of the Swiss franc against the euro after the Swiss National Bank’s decision to abolish the minimum exchange rate for the franc. First-half total income increased by 43.2% to 13.4 million euro, also as a result of extraordinary income. The period closed with a profit of 3.4 million euro compared with a loss of 1.9 million euro in the first half of 2014.