Press Release
BOARD APPROVES RESULTS FOR THE 4TH QUARTER OF 2007
CEMBRE (a STAR listed company) CLOSES 2007
REPORTING AN 14.2% INCREASE IN PRE-TAX PROFIT
- Consolidated sales 2007 up 11.4% (domestic sales up 5.9% exports up 15.7%)
- Consolidated Ebitda 2007 reaches €21,7 million, up 13.5%
- January 2008 consolidated sales up about 15% on the same month of 2007
Consolidated figures (€ ‘000) |
2007 | Sales marg. % | 2006 | Sales marg. % | % ch. |
4rd Qtr. 2007 |
Sales marg. % | 4rd Qtr. 2006 | Sales marg. % | % ch. |
Sales |
93.412 | 100 | 83.870 | 100 | 11.4 | 22.923 | 100 | 22.277 | 100 | 2.9 |
Gross operating profit |
21.706 | 23.2 | 19.131 | 22.8 | 13.5 | 4.620 | 20.2 | 5.150 | 23.1 | -10.3 |
Operating profit |
18.416 | 19.7 | 15.941 | 19.0 | 15.5 | 3.754 | 16.4 | 4.295 | 19.3 | -12.6 |
Pre-tax profit |
18.114 | 19.4 | 15.861 | 18.9 | 14.2 | 3.663 | 16 | 4.279 | 19.2 | -14.4 |
Brescia, February 14, 2008 - The Board of Directors of Cembre Spa – a company listed in the STAR segment of the Milan Stock Exchange and one of the largest European manufacturers of electrical connectors and tools for their installation – chaired by the Managing Director Giovanni Rosani, approved at today’s meeting the Report on the 4th Quarter of 2007.
In the 4th Quarter of 2007, consolidated revenues grew by 2.9% from €22.3 million in the 4th Quarter of 2006 to €22.9 million in the same period in 2007. Consolidated sales of the Cembre Group for 2007 as a whole grew by 11.4% on 2006, up from €83.9 million in 2006 to €93.4 million.
In 2007, a total of 42% of sales were represented by Italy (44.2% in 2006), 46.4% by the rest of Europe (45.7% in 2006) and 11.6% by the rest of the world (10.1% in 2006). In 2007, consolidated domestic sales grew by 5.9%, while exports increased by 15.7%. In the 4th Quarter, domestic sales were stable on the same period in 2006, while exports grew by 4.6%.
Consolidated gross operating profit (Ebitda) for 2007 amounted to €21.7 million, corresponding to a 23.2% margin on sales, up 13.5% on €19.1 million reported in 2006 (22.8% of sales). In the 4th Quarter of 2007, gross operating profit declined to €4.6 million, corresponding to a 20.2% margin on sales, down 10.3% on €5.1 million reported in the 4th Quarter of 2006 (23.1% of sales). Gross operating profit for the 4th Quarter of 2007 was negatively affected by the growth as a percentage of sales of raw material costs due in particular to the increase in copper prices, in addition to the higher cost of personnel, due in part to the increase in the number of employees from 489 in 2006, to 525 in 2007.
Consolidated operating profit (Ebit) for 2007 amounted to €18.4 million, representing a 19.7% margin on sales, up 15.5% on €15.9 million in 2006 (a 19% margin on sales). Operating profit for the 4th Quarter of 2007 declined to €3.8 million, representing a 16.4% margin on sales, down from €4.3 million (a 19.3% margin on sales) in the 4th Quarter of 2006.
Consolidated profit before taxes for 2007 amounted to €18.1 million, representing a 19.4% margin on sales, up 14.2% on €15.9 million in 2006, when it represented an 18.9% margin on sales. In the 4th Quarter of 2007, consolidated profit before taxes for amounted to €3.7 million, representing a 16% margin on sales, down 14.4% on €4.3 thousand in the 4th Quarter of 2006, when it represented a 19.2% margin on sales. Consolidated profit before taxes was negatively affected by the interest expense on short-term loans extended to the parent company and the unfavorable foreign-exchange performance.
The net financial position declined from €1.1 million at December 31, 2006 to an indebtedness of €1.7 million at the end of December 2007. The balance was affected by €6.9 million of capital expenditure for the period, the payment at the end of May 2007 of €3.7 million in dividends for the 2006 financial year, the increase in net current assets due primarily to the growth of inventories from €26 million to €31.7 million, and the payment in June of €3 million in taxes by the parent company. The net financial position at September 30, 2007 amounted to €0.1 million, and was affected in the 4th Quarter of 2007 by the acquisition of the new main office of the German subsidiary for €2.6 million.
“Despite the unfavorable market situation, we managed to achieve growth also in the 4th Quarter. In January 2008, consolidated revenues grew by about 15% on the same period in 2007, marking a performance which makes us confident of achieving growth also in the 1st Quarter of 2008” declared Cembre’s Managing Director, Giovanni Rosani.
Consolidated results for 2007 were affected to a relevant degree by a non recurrent operation generated by new norms regulating employee termination indemnities that came into effect January 1, 2007. The restatement using different actuarial assumptions of termination indemnities accrued at December 31, 2006 resulted in a reduction of about €1 million in the value of the same. As required under paragraph 111 of IAS 19, such reduction was recorded in full in the income statement for 2007. Figures for 2007 and the related changes on the previous year, net of the effect of the mentioned event, are shown in the table below.
| (€ ‘000) | 1° Half 2007 Restated |
% of sales | 1° Half 2006 |
% of sales | Change% |
Sales |
93.412 | 100 | 83.870 | 100 | 11,4 |
Gross
operating
profit |
20.680 | 22,1 | 19.131 | 22,8 | 8,1 |
Operating
profit |
17.390 | 18,6 | 15.941 | 19,0 | 9,1 |
Pre-tax profit |
17.088 | 18,3 | 15.861 | 18,9 | 7,7 |
Consolidated Financial Statements at December 31, 2007
The Quarterly Report at September 30, 2007 has not been audited
Cembre designs, manufactures and distributes electrical connectors and cable accessories. It enjoys a leadership position in Italy and significant market shares in the rest of Europe.
It is also the world's largest producer of connector installation tools (mechanical, pneumatic and hydraulic) and tools for cable shearing. The products it has developed for connection to the rail and for other railway applications are used by the main companies in this sector round the world.
Cembre owes its success to an insistence on innovative, high-quality products, a broad and thorough collection, and an extensive distribution network both in Italy and abroad.
Founded in Brescia in 1969, the Cembre Group is now a full-fledged international force. Along with the parent company in Brescia it has seven subsidiaries: five trading companies (in Germany, France, Spain, the United States and Norway) and two manufacturing and trading subsidiaries (Cembre Ltd. in Birmingham, U.K. and General Marking S.r.l. in Bergamo), for a total workforce of 522 as of September 2007. Since 1992 its products have been certified by Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance for the design and production of accessories for cables, electrical connectors and tools for their installation.
Cembre has been listed on the Italian Stock Exchange since December 15, 1997, and on the STAR section since September 24, 2001.
The financial statements and accounts of all companies of the Cembre Group are audited by independent auditors Ernst & Young.
The manager responsible for preparing the Company’s financial reports, Claudio Bornati, declares, pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 154 bis of the Consolidated Law on Finance, that the accounting information contained in this press release corresponds to the document results, books and accounting records
Contact:
Ferruccio Peroni (Peroni e Vitale comunicazione) f.peroni@peronievitale.it
For further information please contact Mr. Claudio Bornati
Cembre S.p.A. - Tel. +390303692269
