CREATING VALUES BY INVESTING IN THE FUTURE
by CARLO PESENTI and LAURA ZANETTI
Trust in the future and in the transformative power of humanity becomes an invaluable resource in a global context that is characterised by geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties. Investing in the future does not just mean allocating financial resources; above all, it involves cultivating trust in people and ideas: in fact, it is through innovation, research, development and education that we can shape a more promising future. This is what we do, and we want to try and tell it through a project called Gres Hub and a new column called genITM, which talks about the people who work in the Group's companies.
Gres Hub is a non-speculative intervention with a strong social connotation that will see the redevelopment of a former industrial district owned by Italmobiliare, which extends for 60,000 m2 in a highly strategic area for the city of Bergamo. Combining beauty and social impact, Gres Hub wants to be an aggregating and attractive magnet that unites people, creates spaces and moments in which citizens connect and share experiences, and contributes to the cultural and social growth of people and the local area. A work that redresses the link with the neighbourhood, the neighbourhood with the city, and the past with the present. Because a vision of the future starts from a memory of our roots. It is a project that responds to the holding company's ESG strategy –split into four fundamental levers: Governance and value chain; Climate strategy; Health, safety and well-being; Development of human capital – as it will allow an area owned by the company to be enhanced through the creation of value for the territory and, at the same time, for the people who live there. The first important piece of this intervention is gres art 671: a new artistic and cultural hub which, as Giorgio Gori, Mayor of Bergamo, pointed out, "could be in any major European capital. Indeed, it helps us imagine the city in a new, larger dimension, no longer provincial but international."
Projects, certainly, but above all people. Because it is the motivation, commitment, competence and individual characteristics of people that determine the success of any project, contributing significantly to diversity of thought and innovation within an organisation. People bring unique experiences, varied perspectives and specialised skills that mix and blend into a fabric rich in creativity and original solutions. And it is precisely to tell the stories of the people who work at our various Group companies that, from this issue of the newsletter, we have decided to introduce a new column: genITM, a synthesis of generation Italmobiliare. A broad and inclusive concept, aimed at representing and enhancing differences, while upgrading the fact that everyone belongs to the same group, our Group.
Because, whether behind an office desk or working in production, diversity represents an invaluable resource for tackling complex challenges and developing new and effective approaches. In this first issue of the genITM column, we have decided to give space to our younger employees, particularly those whose work for the Group features a high degree of craftsmanship. Precisely those young craftsmen and women who - if you read the news - seem impossible to find. But we found them and discovered that they are not only very skilful, but also extremely proud of their work.
Shifting the focus from individuals to the parent company as a whole, we believe it is important to emphasise the good results achieved during the first nine months of the year, when we recorded positive trends linked to the development and continuous improvement of our Portfolio Companies' efficiency. The Group's consolidated turnover stands at 418.5 million euro, 14.1% up on the same period of 2022, mainly thanks to the positive contribution of Caffè Borbone, CDS | Casa della Salute and Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, as well as the inclusion of SIDI Sport in the scope of consolidation. The gross operating profit, equal to 66.7 million euro, increased by 50% compared with the same period of the previous year, mainly thanks to excellent performances on the part of Caffè Borbone, Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella and Italgen.
The sale of Florence InvestCo to Permira was also finalised in October. Gruppo Florence is a project that we are very proud of because it is a classic example of our ability to create value: from the idea of creating a hub of Italian industrial excellence in the sector of luxury textile manufacturing on behalf of third parties to the identification of the people and the first businesses to start the initiative; from the definition of the strategy to the choice of a suitable partner that could reliably take on the project for further development. The establishment and development of Gruppo Florence made it possible to create sustainable value for the companies involved, their employees, the supply chain and all of the stakeholders in general, including the shareholders, obviously. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that InvestCo Italmobiliare received 78.2 million euro from the sale of Florence against an investment of 30.7 million euro, an MoM return of 2.5% and an IRR of 51.2%.
The development and enhancement of the Portfolio Companies also continues naturally through full ESG integration at all stages of the investment. In particular, the Group is further refining its decarbonisation strategy. Last March, membership of the Science Based Targets initiative was formalised, when Italmobiliare took a commitment to set and pursue short- and long-term objectives for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in line with the net-zero scenario. The final phase of defining the decarbonisation objectives for 2030 is now underway and will be sent to the team of experts of the Science Based Target initiative for validation by the end of the year: with different methods and according to the challenging protocols that are envisaged, the objectives involve over 70% of the Net Asset Value and almost 100% of the Group's carbon footprint.