ATHEX: PLAT
Reuters: THRr.AT
Bloomberg: PLAT GA
The purpose of the current press release is to present the Group’s financial results for the 9-month period of 2019 and to highlight the basic factors that contributed to such.
The key features of the period did not differ significantly compared to the first half of the year, although the profitability of the third quarter posted an improvement compared to the corresponding quarter of 2018, according to the Management’s estimates. Specifically, the 9-month period of the fiscal year 2019 was characterized by the following:
· Increase in the consolidated turnover by 1.9% and marginal drop in the volume of consolidated sales by 0.2% which is attributed to the lower volume realized from the Technical Fabrics Sector.
· Decreased demand in the geosynthetics sector in the US market, in the carpet backing sector and the products of big bags for the fertilizer market. The above decrease was offset by the increase in the sales volume from the new investments in the subsidiary company in Scotland as well as the Greek subsidiaries in the Packaging Sector.
· Decrease of Gross Profit by 1.8 percentage points and compression of Gross Profit margin which was due to the Technical Fabrics Sector and mainly to the compression of the carpet backing margins because of the declining market trend and the significantly stronger competition arising from low cost countries. The improvement in the profit margins of the Greek subsidiaries of the Group in the Packaging and Technical Fabrics Sector partially offset the loss in the profit margin of the Technical Fabrics Sector concerning the foreign companies of the Group.
· Relatively low effect on the results of the Group from the positive foreign exchange differences.
It is noted that in the context of the internal restructuring of the Group's holdings with the aim of improving the financial results, the Management decided the following: (a) the permanent cessation of the labor intensive manufacturing process of woven big bags (FIBC) in Sofia, Bulgaria, an operation which is under the supervision and control of the subsidiary company Thrace Ipoma AD, and the replacement of the volume produced by existing as well as new sub-contractors, and (b) focusing on Europe's activities and reducing the presence in the geotextile market of America. For this reason, the Group decided to transfer the needle-punch production line from the wholly owned by 100% subsidiary Thrace Linq Inc which is headquartered in South Carolina, USA, to the wholly owned by 100% subsidiary Don & Low Ltd, based in Forfar, Scotland, with the aim of strengthening and further consolidating the Group’s products in the markets of Great Britain and Northwestern Europe.
Specifically, the major financial figures of the Group during the 9-month period of the current year as compared to the same period of 2018 settled as follows:
(amounts in EUR million) |
9-Month 2019 |
9-Month 2018 |
% Change |
Consolidated Turnover |
254.36 |
249.56 |
+1.9% |
Consolidated Gross Profit |
50.40 |
51.31 |
-1.8% |
Consolidated ΕΒΙΤ* |
13.75 |
14.93 |
-7.9% |
Consolidated EBITDA* |
25.47 |
25.16 |
+1.2% |
Consolidated EBT |
11.79 |
12.21 |
-3.5% |
Consolidated EATAM |
8.00 |
8.65 |
-7.5% |
Basic Earnings per Share (in Euro) |
0.1829 |
0.1978 |
-7.5% |
The total Equity on 30.09.2019 amounted to € 142.2 million compared to € 141.6 million on 31.12.2018 and the Net Bank Debt amounted to € 84.6 million compared to € 78.3 million on 31.12.2018. The ratio Net Bank Debt / Total Equity settled at 0,60x compared to 0.55x on 31.12.2018.
* Note
Alternative Performance Measures (APM):During the description of the developments and the performance of the Group, ratios such as the EBIT and the EBITDA are utilized.
EBIT (The indicator of earnings before the financial and investment activities as well as the taxes): The EBIT serves the better analysis of the Group’s operating results and is calculated as follows: Turnover plus other operating income minus the total operating expenses, before the financial and investment activities. The EBIT margin (%) is calculated by dividing the EBIT by the turnover.
EBITDA (The indicator of operating earnings before the financial and investment activities as well as the depreciation, amortization, impairment and taxes): The EBITDA serves the better analysis of the Group’s operating results and is calculated as follows: Turnover plus other operating income minus the total operating expenses before the depreciation of fixed assets, the amortization of grants and the impairments, as well as before the financial and investment activities. The EBITDA margin (%) is calculated by dividing the EBITDA by the turnover.