SOGEFI (CIR GROUP): RESULTS FOR FIRST 9 MONTHS 2019
Revenues held up well: € 1,149.0m, -2.2% at constant exchange rates in market down by 5.9%
EBITDA at € 130.7m (€ 141.6m in 2018)
Profitability improves in Q3 2019 (12%) vs Q1 (10.6%) and Q2 (11.6%)
Net debt (before IFRS 16) lower at € 264.6m (€ 286.2m at 09/30/2018)
Milan, October 25 2019 – The Board of Directors of Sogefi S.p.A., which met today under the chairmanship of Monica Mondardini, approved the Interim Financial Report of the group as of September 30 2019. Sogefi, a company of the CIR Group, is one of the main global producers of automotive components in three sectors: Air and Cooling, Filtration and Suspensions.
Laurent Hebenstreit, Chief Executive of Sogefi, made the following statement:
“In a difficult third quarter in which car markets were down by 3.2% in terms of volumes, Sogefi outperformed the market, reporting sales that are in line with the previous year and obtaining an EBIT margin that is continuing to improve compared to the first two quarters”.
Revenues
In the first nine months of 2019, the world car market reported a decline in production of 5.9% compared to the same period of 2018: -4.3% in Europe, -2.2% in North America, -11.6% in Asia and -3.3% in South America. In the third quarter, the decline was more contained (-3.2%), with Europe stagnating and the other main markets declining.
Sogefi reported revenues of € 1,149.0 million, down by 2.2% at constant exchange rates and by 3.2% at historical exchange rates compared to the same period of 2018, holding up better than the market, thanks to business in Europe.
Performance of revenues by geographical area
By geographical area, revenues at constant exchange rates were down by 1.6% in Europe, by 4.2% in North America and by 13% in Asia, while in South America they posted a rise of +8.6%.
Performance of revenues by Business Unit
By Business Unit, at constant exchange rates, the revenues of Suspensions declined by 4.2% (-7.3% at current exchange rates), those of Air and Cooling were down by 3.5% (-1.6% at current exchange rates) while Filtration reported growth in revenues of 1.1% (+0.1% at current exchange rates).
Operating results and net income
EBITDA came in at € 130.7 million versus € 141.6 million in the first nine months of 2018; with constant accounting criteria and excluding for the previous year the non-recurring gain of € 6.6 million on the closure of quality claims in Systèmes Moteurs S.A.S., profitability (EBITDA/Revenues%) came to 11.4%, compared to 12% in the same period of 2018. In the third quarter, profitability (12%) recovered compared to the figures for the previous two quarters (10.6% and 11.6% in the first and second quarters respectively) to a higher level than that reported for the third quarter of 2018 (with constant accounting criteria and excluding the above-mentioned non-recurring gain).
EBIT came to € 37.4 million versus € 56.3 million in the first nine months of 2018. Profitability (EBIT/Revenues %) was 3.3% down from 4.3% in the first nine months of 2018 (with the same accounting criteria and excluding the above-mentioned non-recurring gain). Profitability in the third quarter of 2019 shows an improvement from the third quarter of 2018 (from 3.2% to 3.5%) (with the same accounting criteria and excluding the above-mentioned non-recurring gain).
The operating result held up well in the main markets, Europe and North America, thanks to the actions put in place during the period, while the unfavourable performance of the Chinese market and that of South America, together with the start-up costs of the filter production plant in Morocco had a negative impact.
Income before taxes and minority shareholder interests amounted to € 19.8 million (€ 35.9 million in the first nine months of 2018) after financial expense of € 17.6 million versus € 20.4 million in the first nine months of 2018.
Net income came in at € 8.3 million, down from € 20.4 million in the first nine months of 2018, after tax expense of € 12.6 million in the first nine months of 2019, versus € 16.5 million in the same period of 2018. The higher impact of taxes reflects the composition of the result with some areas showing significant earnings and other areas where losses linked to the start-up of businesses or to ongoing difficulties in the market led to the decision not to set aside deferred tax assets.
Net debt
Free Cash Flow in the first nine months of 2019 was a negative € 4.3 million compared to an absorption of € 22.7 million in the same period of 2018, which included the disbursement for the acquisition of the minority interests in the Indian branch (€ 16.7 million).
The net debt totalled € 327.7 million at September 30 2019, including € 63.1 million resulting from the application of IFRS 16. Excluding this amount, the net debt at September 30 2019 would be € 264.6 million, down from the figure at September 2018 (€ 286.2 million) and substantially in line with the net debt at December 2018.
Shareholders’ equity
At September 30 2019 equity, excluding minority shareholder interests, totalled € 197.2 million (€ 192.9 million at December 31 2018).
Employees
The Sogefi Group had 6,663 employees at September 30 2019, compared to 6,967 at December 31 2018. The reduction was due not only to the decline in business but also to the disposal in 2019 of the Fraize plant (127 employees at December 31 2018 and 122 at September 30 2018).
Outlook for the year
In the last few months, sector sources have revised down their expectations for world car production in the fourth quarter and are now forecasting a decline of 5.5% (in line with what was reported for the first nine months of the year), compared to their previous forecast of -1%. On the basis of these general prospects, as well as other specific factors, Sogefi expects that sales in the last quarter compared to the previous year will be in line with the evolution of the market and that the EBIT margin will improve slightly in comparison with the fourth quarter of 2018.
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The executive responsible for the preparation of the Company’s financial statements, Yann Albrand, hereby declares, in compliance with the terms of paragraph 2 Article 154-bis of the Finance Consolidation Act (TUF), that the accounting figures contained in this press release correspond to the results documented in the Company’s accounts and general ledger.
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The documentation and information contained in this area of the website are not, and must not be sent by, or transmitted to or distributed to, directly or indirectly, persons resident or physically present in the United States of America, Australia, Canada, Japan, and do not constitute and cannot be interpreted as an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell financial instruments addressed to U.S. Persons - as defined under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or to persons resident in Other Countries. The shares of COFIDE – Gruppo De Benedetti S.p.A. – which will change its company name to “CIR S.p.A. – Compagnie Industriali Riunite” on the effective date of the merger by incorporation with CIR S.p.A. – Compagnie Industriali Riunite - referred to in this area of the website have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, and may not be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration thereunder.
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