Financial Results of year 2023

THRACE PLASTICS CO S.A.

23.04.2024

FINANCIAL RESULTS OF YEAR 2023

Demonstrating Resilience: Strong profitability of 44mil. with recurring EBITDA increase of 2.4%.

Proposed annual gross dividend of €0.23 / share

ATHEX:                PLAT

Reuters:               THRr.AT

Bloomberg:        PLAT GA

Full Year Highlights (Continuing Operations):

• Turnover of €345.4 mil.
• EBITDA amounted to €44.0 mil.
• Earnings before Taxes (EBT) amounted to € 21.3 mil.
• Net Debt amounted to €16.3 mil. including time deposits (amounting to €13.3 mil.)
• Proposed annual dividend of ~€0.23 per share, which, excluding the interim dividend that was already distributed, will result in a remaining dividend to be distributed of ~€0.17 per share (gross amount)

THRACE GROUP presents the financial results for the fiscal year 2023.

Annual Financial Results

In 2023, Turnover amounted to €345.4 mil. compared to €394.4 mil. in 2022, due to the historically high average sales prices of raw materials in the first months of 2022. The Group achieved in 2023 stable volumes sold compared to 2022 (109.8 thous. tons in 2023 vs. 109.2 thous. tons in 2022), despite the unfavorable market conditions, such as the weak demand in key sectors of the economy (construction, agricultural sector) and the lower demand in critical markets for the Group (European Union, United Kingdom and USA). 

EBITDA amounted to €44.0 mil., increased by 2.4%, compared to FY2022 recurring EBITDA of €43.0 mil. (from the traditional product portfolio). It is noted that FY2022 EBITDA had settled at €48.3 mil., including one-off profits of €5.3 mil. from the COVID-19 products. The improvement in the level of recurring profitability in 2023 clearly demonstrates the ability of the Group to achieve stable and recurring profitability, while maintaining the volumes sold at similar level compared to prior year, that being a strong indication of Group's potential to further improve its financial performance in the future.

Regarding the liquidity level of the Group, Net Debt amounted to €16.3 mil., including time deposits of €13.3 mil. The low level of Net Debt demonstrates the Group's strong financial position as well as the quality of its customer portfolio, its ability to invest while keeping its Net Debt relatively low, distributing at the same time significantly higher dividends compared to pre-pandemic levels. In parallel, from a financial standpoint, the Group has the ability to take advantage of any business opportunities that may arise, for further development and growth.

The investment plan of €30 mil. on a cash basis has been successfully completed with the implementation of pivotal projects in the two main business segments, in its facilities in Greece and abroad. At the same time the first stage of the new investment project in Thrace Greenhouses was completed, by expanding the greenhouses by 65 acres.

More specifically, the following table depicts the key financial figures from continuing operations of the Group during the fiscal year 2023, compared to fiscal year 2022:

*Note: EBITDA, EBIT and Earnings before Taxes (EBT) of 2022 include also profits from sales of COVID-19 related products amounted to €5.3 mil. The comparable FY2022 EBITDA from traditional portfolio of the Group amounted to €43.0 mil., therefore FY2023 EBITDA demonstrates an increase of +2.4%. 

Prospects of the Group

Regarding the annual profitability for the year 2024, the Management estimates that, despite the high uncertainty about the course of the global economy and of Europe in particular, the Group’s EBITDA profitability for the year 2024 is expected to fluctuate at higher levels than the ones of 2023. However, even if the Company does not revise its initial annual target, the recent crisis in the Middle East creates new conditions of uncertainty, the effects of which are impossible to determine at the given time, therefore any estimate of annual profitability is highly uncertain, while the Management of the Group monitors the market developments so to be able to implement the necessary actions, in order not to deviate from its plan.

For the first quarter of 2024, the Management estimates that Group's operating profitability (EBITDA), in absolute terms, will edge 5%-10% higher than in the first quarter of the previous year. This is due to specific actions taken on the Group level and specifically by the sales teams as well as the subsidiaries’ management teams but is also due to profits generated from new product categories and partnerships. Furthermore, there is stable demand in the sectors of infrastructure and packaging, an increase in demand in the agricultural sector, whereas there is still weak demand in the construction sector.   

Regarding the annual financial results, Mr. Dimitris Malamos, Thrace Group CEO, stated the following: "For another year, Thrace Group demonstrated resilience under unstable conditions, with further enhancement of its operating profitability, maintaining stable volumes sold, low net debt level while implementing a large investment plan, thus ensuring its long-term leadership position in its operating segments. With sustainability and innovation organically integrated into all of our practices and while investments’ implementation continues dynamically, the Group's strategy continues to generate consistent results. Our ongoing target is the value increase within our entire ecosystem: the employees of the Group, its customers and suppliers-partners, the consumers and investors community and generally the society”.

The Management of THRACE GROUP will host a Conference Call for the annual presentation to the Analysts, to present the financial year 2023 Financial Results. The Conference Call will take place on Friday, April 26, 2024. The details for the conference call will be announced in due time via a new press release by the Company on its website.

For further clarifications or information regarding the present release you may refer to the Department of Investor Relations and Corporate Announcements, tel.: + 30 210-9875081.