CIR: results for first half 2022

  • Revenues at € 1,102.5 million, up by 10.4% from first half 2021
  • Positive results for Sogefi, results of KOS in recovery, results of financial management affected by the negative performance of the financial markets
  • Net income at break-even, negatively affected by the adjustment of fair value of the financial asset portfolio
  • Reduction of consolidated net debt of the operating subsidiaries
  • Net financial position of the parent company positive for € 313.3 million, after the disbursement of € 84.2 million for the buyback of own shares and despite the impairment recorded by the portfolio of financial investments in the current market situation

Milan, 29 July 2022 – The Board of Directors of CIR S.p.A. – Compagnie Industriali Riunite (“CIR” or the “Company”), which met today under the chairmanship of Rodolfo De Benedetti, has approved the Semi-Annual Financial Report as of 30 June 2022 presented by Chief Executive Officer Monica Mondardini.

Consolidated results

In the first half of 2022 the Company and its investees were operating in a complex environment due to the effects of the still ongoing pandemic, which have a direct impact on the social healthcare sector, to the increases in the cost of raw materials and energy, which affect the automotive sector, and the negative performance of the financial markets, which have had an impact on the results of the group’s investment portfolio. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has worsened the critical issues already present in relation to raw materials, energy, the financial markets and the weakness of certain economic sectors in Europe.

Against this backdrop, KOS continued to see a recovery of its activities which began in the second quarter of 2021, after the fall caused by the pandemic, and Sogefi managed effectively the many critical factors that impacted the market; while the results of financial management suffered the inversion of the trend in the markets, suffering losses in value across all of the main asset classes.

The consolidated revenues of the Group came in at € 1,102.5 million and were up by 10.4% on the first half of 2021, with positive dynamics in both sectors of the group’s business activities.  

The group reported a net result at break-even (-€ 0.2 million) versus net income of € 21.6 million in the first half of 2021. The decline was due to the lower returns on the financial investment portfolio, with the financial companies of the group (CIR, CIR International and CIR Investimenti) contributing a negative € 10.2 million to the consolidated net result after a positive contribution of € 9.3 million in the first half of 2021.

Consolidated net financial debt before IFRS 16 stood at € 95.6 million at 30 June 2022 compared to € 85.6 million at 31 December 2021 and € 41.4 million at 30 June 2021:

  • The net debt of the subsidiaries declined to € 408.9 million from € 418.0 million at 31 December 2021 and € 446.4 million at 30 June 2021;
  • The net financial position of the Parent Company (including the subsidiaries CIR Investimenti and CIR International) remains very positive at € 313.3 million and the reduction compared to 31 December 2021 (€ 332.4 million) and 30 June 2021 (€ 405.0 million) was due mainly to the buyback of own shares for € 84.2 million over the last 12 months and to a lesser extent to the impairment losses recorded by the financial investment portfolio in the current market situation.  

Consolidated net debt, including IFRS 16 payables, stood at € 969.8 million at 30 June 2022, and included € 874.2 million for rights of use that refer mainly of the subsidiary KOS (€ 805.3 million), which operates in premises that are generally leased.

The Group’s equity amounted to € 749.4 million at 30 June 2022 (€ 740.4 million at 31 December 2021).

KOS

In 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the activities of KOS, leading to a reduction in the number of guests entering the nursing homes and in the services provided in the rehabilitation units. The recovery began in the middle of 2021 and was confirmed in the first half of 2022, although pre-pandemic levels have not yet been reached.

In the first half of 2022, the Group’s revenues came to € 346.5 million, posting a rise of 6.5% on the same period of the previous year, thanks particularly to the recovery in the nursing home sector in Italy (+16.2%) and in Germany (+5.2%).

Recurring EBIT rose from € 8.3 million to € 11.5 million (total EBIT for first half 2021 came to € 20.9 million and included non-recurring income of € 12.6 million).

Sogefi

In the first half of 2022 the market continued to have difficulty in the sourcing of raw materials and components (which even caused the temporary closure of certain of the principal car manufacturers’ production facilities worldwide) and rises in the prices of raw materials and energy, made worse by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. World car production fell by 1.8% compared to the first half of 2021, with Europe at -7.6%, China and Mercosur in line (at +0.7% and -0.6% respectively), and NAFTA and India recovering (+4.7% e +16.4% respectively).

In this scenario, Sogefi reported revenues 12.3% higher than in the first half of 2021, due to the rise in selling prices to bring them into line with the cost of raw materials, and to the trend of exchange rates; production and sales volumes were substantially in line with first half 2021 with a positive performance compared to the market (-1.8%).

Recurring EBIT for the first half of the year was in line with that of the same period of 2021; total EBIT came to € 40.4 million versus € 47.3 million in 2021 because of higher restructuring costs (€ 4.1 million compared to € 1.3 million in the first half of 2021) and lower non-operating income (€ 3.9 million versus € 9.4 million in 2021).

The Group reported net income of € 20.8 million, in line with that of the first half of 2021, which was € 21.4 million.

Net debt (before IFRS 16) fell to € 216.4 million at 30 June 2022 from € 258.2 million at 31 December 2021 and € 261.4 million at 30 June 2021.

The first half of the year was positive for commercial activity too: the Filtration division was awarded various contracts for the supply of oil and air filters; the Air and Cooling division signed important contracts in NAFTA and Europe for the supply of thermal management products and cooling plates for electric mobility; the Suspensions division obtained contracts for components that will be produced in the new facilities in Romania and in China, even for electric vehicles. Despite the market challenges of the last two years, Sogefi has always been able to meet the needs of its clients, confirming its image of a supplier capable to deliver high quality products, with reliable service levels.

Financial management

In the first half of 2022 the impact on the markets of the war in progress and the rise in interest rates, decided on by the central banks to counter inflationary effects, was negative for all asset classes. Management of the financial assets of the parent company and the financial subsidiaries therefore reported a negative net result of € 5.1 million for adjustments made to the fair value of assets, with a return for the first half of –1.3% after income of € 12.4 million in the first half of 2021. In particular, the overall return on cash equivalent assets (shares, bonds, hedge funds) was -2.5%, while the remaining part of the portfolio (private equity and minority shareholdings) gave a positive return of 3.8%.

Significant events that have taken place since 30 June 2022

Since the close of the period there have been no significant events that could have an impact on the economic, patrimonial or financial information reported.

Outlook for the year

Visibility as to the performance of the Group’s businesses in coming months remains limited given the continuing uncertainty about the evolution of the pandemic (which has a direct effect on the healthcare sector in particular), the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the commodity and energy markets (which affect mainly the automotive sector) and the financial markets.

As far as KOS is concerned, thanks to the vaccination plan, there are expected to be less critical operational issues linked to the evolution of the pandemic. In this case the forecasts predict that the Rehabilitation and Acute services could return to pre-Covid levels already this year. For the nursing homes in Italy and Germany the time needed to return to full occupancy of the care homes is expected to be structurally longer, lasting at least until 2023. The company is in the process of performing an in-depth analysis of service models, in light of technological innovations and of the needs of its patients.

As for Sogefi, visibility as to the performance of the automotive market is limited because of the uncertainty about the macroeconomic scenario and how the public health situation will evolve, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the availability and prices of raw materials, and the logistics of transportation and sourcing from Asian markets. However, for 2022 S&P Global (IHS) is continuing to forecast 4.7% growth in world car production compared to 2021, with Europe at +10.7%, Nafta at +12.7%, South America at +6.9% and China remaining substantially stable (+0.4%). As for commodity prices, the first six months of 2022 saw further price rises and it is difficult to make forecasts for the second half of the year; the selling prices of Sogefi’s products have been adjusted to factor in these rises and after the further commodity and energy price rises since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Sogefi’s management is committed to reaching fair agreements with all its customers, as it did in the first half of the year, in order to continue commercial relationships that are sustainable in the long term.

Assuming that there are no factors or circumstances that could make the scenario even more complex than it is at present, the operating results of Sogefi and KOS for the whole year should be at least in line with those of last year.

As for the management of the financial assets of the holding company, given the uncertainty surrounding the geopolitical, macroeconomic and financial scenario, the second part of the year is expected to be just as volatile as the first half was. Despite the prudent management profile adopted, further impairment of the financial instruments in the portfolio cannot be ruled out.