Press Release
The Shareholders Meeting approved the 2007 Financial Statements
and the proposed allocation of net profit
CEMBRE (a STAR listed company):
DIVIDEND GROWS BY 18.2%
Brescia, April 29, 2008 - The Ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting of Cembre Spa – a STAR segment
listed company and one of the largest European producers of electrical connectors and tools for their
installation – called today at 9:30am and chaired by Carlo Rosani, aided in the meeting by Managing
Director Giovanni Rosani, approved the Statutory Accounts of Cembre SpA at December 31, 2007
and the proposed allocation of net profit, resolving the distribution of a €0.26 dividend for each of
the shares in circulation, representing an 18.2% increase on the €0.22 dividend distributed for the
2006 financial year.
The ex-dividend date is May 19, 2008, while dividends will be paid out from May 22.
Parent company Cembre S.p.A. closed 2007 reporting sales of €73.6 million, up 12.5% on 2006.
Operating profit grew by 14.5% from €11.9 million in 2006 to €13.7 million in 2007.
Net profit of
the parent company amounted to €9 million, as compared with €6.7 million, up 34.8%. In 2007 the
parent company received €0.46 million from UK subsidiary Cembre Ltd. In 2006 no dividend was
paid out by subsidiaries.
The 2007 Consolidated Financial Statements, whose highlights are shown below, were presented to
the Shareholders’ Meeting.
Consolidated figures (€ ‘000) |
2007 | marg.% | 2006 | marg.% | ch.% |
Consolidated Sales |
93.417 | 100 | 83.870 | 100 | 11.4 |
Consolidated Gross
operating
profit |
21.710 | 23.2 | 19.131 | 22.8 | 13.5 |
Consolidated Operating
profit |
18.420 | 19.7 | 15.941 | 19.0 | 15.6 |
Consolidated Pre-tax profit |
18.118 | 19.4 | 15.861 | 18.9 | 14.2 |
Consolidated Net profit |
11.896 | 12.7 | 9.327 | 11.1 | 27.5 |
Consolidated Net financial position |
(1.720) | 1.071 |
In 2007, consolidated revenues grew to €93.4 million, up 11.4% from €83.9 million in 2006.
Consolidated operating profit (Ebit) for 2007 amounted to €18.4 million, representing a 19.7%
margin on sales, up 15.6% on €15.9 million in 2006 (a 19% margin on sales).
Consolidated profit before taxes for 2007 amounted to €18.1 million, representing a 19.4% margin
on sales, up on €15.9 million in 2006, when it represented an 18.9% margin on sales, despite the
negative effect of the interest expense on short-term loans extended to the parent company and the
unfavorable foreign-exchange performance.
Consolidated net profit for the year amounted to €11.9 million, representing a 12.7% margin on
sales, grew by 27.5% on 2006, when it amounted to €9.3 million and represented an 11.1% margin
on sales. Consolidated net profit was affected by the reduction in the current tax expense of the
parent company and the restatement of deferred tax assets and liabilities as a result of the reduction
of tax rates introduced by the 2008 Budget Law, resulting in the recording at the consolidated level
of a €0.3 million reduction in tax liabilities.
“Positive results achieved in 2007 allow us to increase the dividend from €0.22 to €0.26 per share.
We will continue to pursue a stronger operating efficiency and the widening of our product range,
with the development of new products. We are thus confident that the company will continue to grow
despite less favorable market conditions in 2008 than in the previous year. In the first three months
of 2008, sales grew 6.5% on the same period of 2007; we consider this result positive, stating that,
in the first quarter 2007, sales had increased strongly and that in march 2008, we had less working
days than in 2007 (Easter holidays).” observed Cembre’s Managing Director, Giovanni Rosani.
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.
Attachments to Consolidated Financial Statements at December 31, 2007
In the present press release use is made of certain alternative performance indicators that are not envisaged in IFRS-EU accounting principles, and whose significance and content are illustrated below, in line with the CESR/05-178b recommendation published on November 3, 2005:
Gross operating profit (EBITDA): defined as the difference between sales revenues and costs for materials, of services received, and the net balance of operating income and charges. It represents the profit before depreciation, amortization and write-downs, cash flow from financial activities and taxes.
Operating profit (EBIT): defined as the difference between Gross operating profit and the value of depreciation, amortization and write-downs. It represents the profit achieved before financial activities and taxes.
Net financial position: represents the algebraic sum of cash and cash equivalents, financial receivables and current and non-current financial debt.
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 major companies in the 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.
Established 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
525 as of December 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.
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
