Press Release
BOARD APPROVES THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE 3rd QUARTER OF 2008
CEMBRE (A STAR LISTED COMPANY): CONSOLIDATED SALES UP 2.8% IN THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF 2008
- The Board approves the Report for the 3rd Quarter of 2008, reporting a 4.3% growth in consolidated sales on the 3rd Quarter of 2007
- The consolidated net financial position at September 30, 2008 improves to an indebtedness of €0.8 million
Consolidated figures (€ ‘000) |
First nine months 2007 | Sales marg. % | First nine months 2006 | Sales marg. % | % ch. |
3rd Qtr. 2007 |
Sales marg. % | 3rd Qtr. 2006 | Sales marg. % | % ch. |
Sales |
72.478 |
100 |
70.489 |
100 |
2,8 |
22.347 |
100 |
21.418 | 100 | 4,3 |
Gross operating profit |
15.169 |
20,9 |
17.086 |
24,2 |
-11,2 |
4.520 |
20,2 |
4.164 | 19,4 | 8,5 |
Operating profit |
12.848 |
17,7 |
14.662 |
20,8 |
-12,4 |
3.747 |
16,8 |
3.317 | 15,5 | 13 |
Pre-tax profit |
12.598 |
17,4 |
14.451 |
20,5 |
-12,8 |
3.803 |
17 |
3.180 | 14,8 | 19,6 |
Brescia, November 13, 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 for the 3rd Quarter of 2008.
In the 3rd Quarter of 2008, consolidated revenues grew by 4.3% from €21.4 million in the 3rd Quarter of 2007 to €22.3 million in the same period in 2008.
Consolidated sales of the Cembre Group for the first nine months of 2008 grew by 2.8% on the same period in 2007, up from €70.5 million to €72.5 million.
In the first nine months of 2008, a total of 43.7% of sales were represented by Italy (41.8% in the first nine months of 2007), 45.1% by the rest of Europe (46.9% in the first nine months of 2007) and 11.2% by the rest of the world (11.6% in the first nine months of 2007). Consolidated domestic sales for the first nine months of 2008 grew by 7.7%, while in the same period exports were stable. In the 3rd Quarter, domestic sales grew by 13.6% on the same period in 2007, while exports declined by 2.3%.
Consolidated gross operating profit (Ebitda) for the first nine months of 2008 amounted to €15.2 million, representing a 20.9% margin on sales, down 11.2% on the first nine months of 2007 when it amounted to €17.1 million, representing a 24.2% margin on sales. Gross operating profit for the 3rd Quarter grew by 8.5%, from €4.2 million in the 3rd Quarter of 2007 (representing a 19.4% margin on sales), to €4.5 million in the 3rd Quarter of 2008 (representing a 20.2% margin on sales). The good operating performance in the 3rd Quarter of 2008, marking an improvement on the corresponding period in 2007, is due to a stronger growth in sales than in the first half of the year and a stable margin on sales.
Consolidated operating profit (Ebit) for the first nine months of 2008 amounted to €12.8 million, corresponding to a 17.7% margin on sales, down 12.4% on €14.7 million in the first nine months of 2008 (20.8% of sales). Consolidated operating profit improved also in the quarter from €3.3 million (15.5% of sales) in the 3rd Quarter of 2007, to €3.7 million (16.8% of sales) in the 3rd Quarter of 2008. Consolidated profit before taxes for the first nine months of 2008 amounts to €12.6 million (a 17.4% margin on sales), down 12.8% on €14.5 million in the first nine months of 2007 (a 20.5% margin on sales).
Consolidated profit before taxes for the 3rd Quarter of 2008 amounted to €3.8 thousand, representing a 17% margin on sales, up 19.6% on €3.2 million in the 3rd Quarter of 2007, when it represented a 14.8% margin on sales. In 3rd Quarter, net foreign exchange gains were positive, helped by the recovery of the dollar against the euro.
The consolidated net financial position improved from an indebtedness of €5.1 million at June 30, 2008, to an indebtedness of €0.8 million at September 30, 2008. The consolidated net financial position at September 30, 2007 was positive by €0.1 million.
“Consolidated sales for the first ten months of 2008 grew by 2.2% on the corresponding period in 2008. It is difficult to evaluate the future impact on our market of the current financial crisis, but the Group has however a solid financial position, which represents a strong advantage in facing the current global economic downturn” declared Cembre’s Managing Director, Giovanni Rosani.
As a result of a survey carried out in the 1st Quarter of 2008 on the usage of plant and equipment, Cembre decided to revise their amortization period to bring it into line with the expected useful life of the assets. The adjustment resulted in a €369 thousand reduction in the amortization expense for the first nine months of 2008 as compared with the amortization expense resulting from the application of depreciation schedules used in 2007. The longer useful life of plant and equipment resulting from the revision of estimates generated a reduction in the hourly cost used in the valuation of finished and semi-finished goods inventories. Profit margins were consequently negatively affected by the revision of amortization schedules. Had the same depreciation schedule applied in 2007 been applied to determine the value of inventories at March 31, 2008, these would have been higher by about €734 thousand. As it would be excessively onerous carry out the same simulation for subsequent periods, due in part to the introduction of a new information system in May, it is however not possible to provide a figure for September 30, 2008.
In 2007, in application of the reform of employee termination indemnities, a valuation of indemnities accrued at December 31, 2006 was carried out by a registered actuary, and the value of the same was restated. This resulted (as provided under paragraph 111 of IAS 19) in a €1,026 thousand reduction in the value of the provision, recorded under “Non recurring personnel costs” in the income statement for the first nine months of 2007, and the parallel recording of €339 thousand in deferred tax liabilities. The comparison between results for the first nine months of 2008 and 2007 is therefore affected by the above non recurring factors, resulting in an increase in profits for the first nine months of 2007 and a parallel reduction of the same for the first nine months of 2008.
Attachments: Financial Statements at September 30, 2008
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 545 as of September 2008.
Since 1990 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 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
