Earnings Release • May 12, 2022
Earnings Release
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| Informazione Regolamentata n. 1938-58-2022 |
Data/Ora Ricezione 12 Maggio 2022 16:57:57 |
Euronext Star Milan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Societa' | : | AQUAFIL | |
| Identificativo Informazione Regolamentata |
: | 162124 | |
| Nome utilizzatore | : | AQUAFILNSS02 - Tonelli | |
| Tipologia | : | REGEM | |
| Data/Ora Ricezione | : | 12 Maggio 2022 16:57:57 | |
| Data/Ora Inizio Diffusione presunta |
: | 12 Maggio 2022 16:57:58 | |
| Oggetto | : | approved the Company's consolidated 2022 |
The Board of Directors of Aquafil S.p.A. operating and financial results at March 31, |
| Testo del comunicato |
Vedi allegato.
CROSS-LISTING PROCESS STARTED IN THE UNITED STATES
Arco, May 12, 2022 — The Board of Directors of Aquafil S.p.A. [ECNL:IM] approved the Company's consolidated operating and financial results at March 31, 2022:
"We achieved an excellent performance in the first quarter, with a 31% increase in turnover compared to the same period of 2021, bearing witness to the strong performance of demand and the recovery of costs through higher selling prices, despite the lingering period of uncertainty.
ECONYL® branded products accounted for over 42% of revenues generated by fibers, reaching an all-time high in terms of volumes. Together with the robust growth in the United States and a solid quarter in Asia Pacific, they enabled an improvement in overall margins.
1 EBITDA is calculated as per the tables in Appendix 2 to this press release.
It is a pleasure to announce the start of a process that will culminate in a cross-listing of the ordinary shares on the OTCQX International segment of the US over-the-counter market. The goal is to better introduce the Group to the US capital markets, which, along with their European counterparts, are among the most developed for sustainable, circular and innovative companies such as our own. The QX International segment is home to the best and largest OTC companies and the transaction also falls within the framework of the development and growth of our activities in a geographical area of increasing strategic importance to us. We are absolutely certain that the process we have begun will enable greater value creation for all our shareholders.
The current international situation demands attention and the challenges in 2022 are certainly not yet over. The continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, in addition to the resurgence of the pandemic in China, are important events and could cause risks to the stability of demand or availability of production elements, which are limited to part of the European market and for the moment we are managing without significant effects.
We remain optimistic regarding the future, despite the contingent situation, also due to the increasing interest in our range of sustainable, circular ECONYL® branded products."
Revenues amounted to €171.2 million at March 31, 2022, with a 31.0% increase compared to the same period of the previous year. Said change is attributable to higher average selling price as a result of its adjustment to the price increase of raw materials and other cost factors, as well as to a better sales mix. The variation has been more than offset, compared to the same period of the previous year, the slight decline of volumes sold (4.1%), almost entirely due to the Polymers product line, which had recorded an excellent performance in 2021.
In detail, sales performance by geographical area and product line is reported below:
| I Quarter | BCF (fiber for carpet) | NTF (fiber for fabric) | Polymers | Total | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $E$ mil | 2022 | 2021 | Δ | $\Delta\%$ | 2022 | 2021 | Δ | Δ% | 2022 | 2021 | Δ | $\Delta\%$ | 2022 | 2021 | Δ | $\Delta\%$ | % 22 | % 21 |
| EMEA | 59.4 | 43.4 | 16,0 | 36,8 % | 28.4 | 21.3 | 33,4% | 14.5 | 12,5 | 2.0 | 16,0 % | 102.3 | 77.2 | 25.1 | 32,5 % | 59.7% | 59.1% | |
| North America | 33,9 | 19,3 | 14,6 | 75,8% | 7.4 | 7.2 | 0.2 | 2,1% | 0.2 | 1.2 | (1,0) | $(79, 9)$ % | 41,5 | 27,7 | 13,8 | 49.9% | 24,2% | 21,2% |
| Asia Oceania | 25.2 | 24.7 | 0,5 | 2.2% | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 81.2% | 0.4 | 0,1 | 0.3 | 250,7% | 26.6 | 25.3 | 1,3 | 5.0% | 15.6 % | 19.4 % |
| RoW | 0,2 | 0,1 | 0,1 | 0.0% | 0,6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0,0,96 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0% | 0,8 | 0,4 | 0,4 | 87.3% | 0,5% | 0,3% |
| Total | 118,7 | 87,4 | 31,2 | 35,7 % | 37.4 | 29,4 | 7,9 | 27,0 % | 15,1 | 13,8 | 1.3 | 9.7% | 171,2 | 130,6 | 40,5 | 31,0% | 100,0% | 100,0% |
| 69,3% | 66,9% | 21,8% | 22,5% | 8,8% | 10.6% | 100.0% 100.0% |
2The evolution of the Group's revenues from one reporting period to another may be influenced by the performance of raw materials' prices, which is reflected in final sales prices through predefined contractual mechanisms. Accordingly, to ensure a proper understanding of its results, the Group presents its revenue performance in terms of first choice "volumes sold", as defined in Note 1 above.
EMEA revenues amounted to €102.3 million at March 31, 2022, with a 32.5% increase compared to the same period of the previous year. In terms of volumes sold, a decrease of approximately 6.4% was reported compared to the first quarter of 2021. An analysis by product line performance shows that:
In North America, revenues amounted to €41.5 million at March 31, 2022, with a 49.9% increase compared to the same period of the previous year. Volumes sold rose approximately 13.5% compared to the first quarter of 2021. An analysis by product line performance shows that:
In Asia and Oceania, revenues amounted to €26.6 million at March 31, 2022, with a 5.0% increase compared to the same period of the previous year. Said increase is entirely attributable to higher selling prices which more than offset the approximately 17.5% decline of volumes sold, totally due to the residential sector.
Revenues from ECONYL® branded products accounted for 42.2% of revenues generated from fibers at March 31, 2022. The 73.3% increase compared to the first quarter of 2021 is attributable both to the strong recovery of the contract sector in the BCF product line and the steady growth of the NTF product line.
EBITDA at March 31, 2022 amounted to €24.8 million, up 35.4% compared to €18.3 million in the same period of the previous year.
EBITDA Margin was 14.5% compared to 14.0% in the same period of the previous year. The increase for the period is attributable both to the alignment between selling prices and unit consumption values of raw materials and energy costs, and to the better sales mix which characterized the quarter.
EBIT amounted to €12.5 million at March 31, 2022 compared to €6.1 million in the same period of the previous year. The change is mainly attributable to the change in EBITDA.
Net financial charges amounted to €(0.6) million at March 31, 2022 compared to €(1.4) million for the same period of the previous year.
The result reflected (a) the performance of financial charges, which stood at €1.8 million in the first quarter of 2022 compared to €2.0 million in Q1 2021, mostly as a result of the lower financial debt; (b) the balance of financial income which stood at €1.6 million in the first quarter of 2022 compared to €0.2 million in Q1 2021 as a result of the mark-to-market evaluation of hedging instruments, and (c) the value of exchange losses which amounted to €0.4 million in the first quarter of 2022 compared to exchange gains of €0.4 million in the same period of the previous year.
Income taxes amounted to €2.8 million at March 31, 2022 compared to a €1.3 million in the same period of the previous year. The change reflected the increase in profit before taxes, which went from €4.7 million to €11.9 million.
Net profit amounted to €9.1 million at March 31, 2022 compared to €3.5 million in the same period of the previous year.
At March 31, 2022, net investments — excluding those recognized in application of IFRS 16 amounted to €7.7 million compared to €5.8 million in the same period of the previous year. Investments focused mainly on activities aimed at stepping up industrial efficiency and improving the existing plants in technological terms, in addition to strengthening the Group's production capacity. No acquisitions were carried out in the reporting period.
At March 31, 2022, net working capital increased by €31.2 million, which is almost entirely attributable both to the price increase of raw materials and higher purchases of raw materials made in the period.
The Group's net financial position amounted to €200.9 million at March 31, 2022 compared to €179.3 million at December 31, 2021. Said change is due to cash generated by operating activities for €23.3 million which was however affected by the increase of net working capital for €31.2 million, net investments for €7.7 million, financial charges and taxes paid amounting to €0.5 million, the non-monetary change relating to the application of IFRS16 for €4.0 million, as well as the purchase of treasury shares for €1.6 million.
At March 31, 2022, the ratio of the NFP to LTM EBITDA3 was x2.56, improving compared to x2.49 at December 31, 2021.
3 LTM EBITDA means the EBITDA referred to the 12 months preceding the closure of the reporting period.
Unfortunately, the first quarter of 2022 saw the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which is having and will continue to have, negative consequences for global growth and financial markets. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic recently showed major signs of a resurgence in China.
These first few weeks after the end of the quarter have yielded limited impacts on demand, most concentrated in the Polymers product line. Measures to recoup the increase in the cost of factors of production through selling prices continued.
However, there remains a possibility that major events such as those outlined above may result in a reduction in demand and/or the unavailability of some factors of production.
The Board of Directors resolved to begin a process aimed at obtaining the listing of the ordinary shares also on the North American over-the-counter market managed by the OTC Market Group, in the OTCQX International segment — the main segment, in which the largest companies operate. The Cross-listing will allow the ordinary shares to be traded on both the Italian and American markets.
Aquafil is partnering in the transaction with Golden Eagle Capital Advisors Inc., a company that is part of an international financial group specializing in supporting companies with planning and implementing cross-trading strategies.
On March 15, 2022, the Company's Board of Directors, with regard to the plan to purchase treasury shares authorized by the Shareholders' Meeting on October 20, 2021 pursuant to Article 144-bis of Consob Regulation No. 11971/1999, resolved to execute a further plan for purchasing a total maximum amount of 512,000 treasury shares (equal to approximately 1% of the total share capital) to be implemented from March 21, 2022 to July 29, 2022 on the electronic stock exchange (as of October 25, 2021 "Euronext Milan") organized and managed by Borsa Italiana S.p.A. ("MTA/EM"), at a maximum price of €10.00 per share. The Company will implement this purchasing program through a specialized intermediary, granting a specific assignment for this purpose to Intermonte. In particular, pursuant to Article 4, paragraph 2(b), of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No. 1052 of March 8, 2016, the intermediary in charge of coordinating and executing transactions in treasury shares will act with full independence, including in terms of the times at which to purchase the shares, in accordance with this mandate and the shareholders' resolution passed.
Purchase transactions may be executed on the MTA/EM market, in one or more tranches, in accordance with the legal limits, and on markets regulated according to the operating methods established by the organization and management regulations for such markets and agreed upon with Borsa Italiana S.p.A., which permit parity of treatment of shareholders, pursuant to Article 132 of Legislative Decree No. 58 of 24 February 1998 (as further amended and supplemented) and Article 144-bis, paragraph 1(b), of Consob Regulation No. 11971/1999, as well as in accordance with Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 and related European and Italian implementing provisions, and, where applicable, admitted market practice in effect from time to time. The shares will be purchased at a price per share that will be set from time to time for each transaction, having regard to the method selected for undertaking the transaction and in accordance with any pro tempore applicable European and national regulatory provision.
At market closing on March 15, 2022, the Company held 457,090 treasury shares, equal to 0.8924% of share capital, for a total purchase value of €3,469,251.
On March 15, 2022, the Company announced that, after the definition of a Memorandum of Understanding on February 12, 2021, a "Business Alliance Agreement" was signed today between Aquafil and ITOCHU in order to further expand and accelerate the development of circular nylon.
The General Shareholders' Meeting held on April 28, 2022:
* * *
Declaration of the appointed manager
"The Manager responsible for preparing the Company's financial reports, Sergio Calliari, declares, pursuant to Paragraph 2 of Article 154-bis of the Consolidated Finance Law, that the accounting information contained in this press release corresponds to the company's records, ledgers and accounting entries."
* * *
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on the Aquafil Group's current expectations and projections regarding future events and are, by their very nature, subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These statements refer to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur or take place in the future, and, as such, undue reliance should not be made on them. Actual performance could differ significantly from the contents of such statements due to a variety of factors, including constant volatility and a further deterioration of capital and financial markets, changes in macroeconomic conditions and economic growth and other changes in business conditions, changes in the law and institutional context (in Italy and internationally), and many other factors, most of which are beyond the Group's control.
* * *
Aquafil is a pioneer in the circular economy also thanks to the ECONYL® regeneration system, an innovative and sustainable process able to create new products from waste and give life to an endless cycle. The nylon waste is collected in locations all over the world and includes industrial waste but also products – such as fishing nets and rugs – that have reached the end of their useful life. Such waste is processed to obtain a raw material – caprolactam – with the same chemical and performance characteristics as those from fossil sources. The polymers produced from ECONYL® caprolactam are distributed to the Group's production plants, where they are transformed into yarn for rugs carpet flooring and for clothing.7
Founded in 1965, Aquafil is one of the main producers of nylon in Italy and worldwide. The Group employs over 2,800 people, at 19 production sites located in nine countries and in four different continents, more precisely in Italy, Slovenia, Unites States, China, Croatia, Scotland, Thailand, Australia and Japan.
Karim Tonelli [email protected] mob: +39 348 6022.950
Barabino & Partners IR T: +39 02 72.02.35.35 Stefania Bassi [email protected] mob: +39 335 6282.667 Agota Dozsa [email protected] mob: +39 338 7424.061
Barabino & Partners Federico Vercellino [email protected] T: +39 02 72.02.35.35 mob: +39 331 5745.17
| CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT | First Quarter | of wich | First Quarter | of wich |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €/000 | 2022 non-current | 2021 non-current | ||
| Revenue | 171.160 | 296 | 130.640 | |
| of which related parties | 13 | 13 | ||
| Other Revenue | 1.256 | 91 | 826 | |
| Total Revenue and Other Revenue | 172.416 | 387 | 131.466 | 5 |
| Raw Material | (78.567) | (91) | (62.764) | |
| Services | (38.860) | (354) | (24.316) | (72) |
| of which related parties | (526) | (109) | ||
| Personel | (31.387) | (347) | (27.315) | (111) |
| Other Operating Costs | (1.234) | (55) | (795) | (8) |
| of which related parties | (17) | (17) | ||
| Depreciation and Amorti zation | (10.919) | (11.328) | ||
| Doubtful debt prevision | (17) | (110) | ||
| Provisions for risks and charges | 25 | |||
| Capitalization of Internal Construction Costs | 1.004 | 1.225 | ||
| EBIT | 12.463 | (460) | 6.071 | (186) |
| Other Financial Income | 1.694 | 237 | ||
| Interest Expenses | (1.872) | (2.032) | ||
| of which related parties | (31) | (45) | ||
| FX Gains and Losses | (383) | 434 | ||
| Profit Before Taxes | 11.902 | (460) | 4.709 | (186) |
| Income Taxes | (2.782) | (1.215) | ||
| Net Profit (Including Portion Attr. to Minority) | 9.120 | (460) | 3.494 | (186) |
| Net Profit Attributable to Minority Interest | $\Omega$ | $\Omega$ | ||
| Net Profit Attributable to the Group | 9.120 | 3.494 |
| RECONCILIATION FROM NET PROFIT TO EBITDA €/000 |
First Quarter 2022 |
First Quarter 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Net Profit (Including Portion Attr. to Minority) | 9.120 | 3.494 |
| Income Taxes | 2.782 | 1.215 |
| Amortisation & Depreciation | 10.919 | 11.328 |
| Write-downs & Write-backs of intangible and tangible assets | (9) | 102 |
| Financial items (*) | 1.542 | 1.998 |
| No recurring items (**) | 460 | 186 |
| EBITDA | 24.814 | 18.327 |
| Revenue | 171.160 | 130.640 |
| EBITDA Margin | $14.5\%$ | 14.0% |
| RECONCILIATION FROM EBITDA TO EBIT ADJUSTED $\epsilon/000$ |
First Quarter: 2022 |
First Quarter 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| EBITDA | 24.814 | 18.327 |
| Amortisation & Depreciation | 10.919 | 11.328 |
| Write-downs & Write-backs of intangible and tangible assets | 9 | 102 |
| EBIT Adjusted | 13.904 | 6.896 |
| Revenue | 171.160 | 130.640 |
| EBIT Adjusted Margin | 8.1% | 5.3% |
(*) The financial items include: (i) financial income of Euro 1.7 million and Euro 0.2 million respectively in the periods ending March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2021 (ii) financial charges and other other bank charges of Euro 1.8 million and Euro 2.0 milion respectively in the periods ending March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2021, (iii) cash discounts of Euro 1.0 million end Euro 0.6 million respectively in the periods ending March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2021, and (iv) exchange loss of Euro 0.4 million and exchange gains of Euro 0.4 million respectively in the periods ending March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2021.
(**) This includes (i) non-recurring charges related to the expansion of the Aquafil Group for Euro 0.01 million and Euro 0.05 million respectively in the periods ending March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2021, (ii) non-recurring ECONYL* development charges of Euro 0.37 million in the period March 31, 2022 (iii) restructuring charges of Euro 0.09 million in the periods ending March 31, 2022 (iv) other non-recurring income of Euro 0.01 million and other non-recurring charges Euro 0.13 million respectively in the periods ending March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2021
| CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET | At March 31, At December 31, | |
|---|---|---|
| €/000 | 2022 | 2021 |
| Intangible Assets | 23.254 | 23.551 |
| Goodwill | 15.034 | 14.735 |
| Tangible Assets | 243.774 | 240.489 |
| Financial Assets | 1.886 | 710 |
| of which related parties | 318 | 318 |
| Investments & Equity metod | 1.018 | 1.018 |
| Other Assets | 576 | 626 |
| Deferred Tax Assets | 13.349 | 12.269 |
| Total Non-Current Assets | 298.891 | 293.398 |
| Inventories | 204.243 | 177.243 |
| Trade Receivable | 38.147 | 31.233 |
| of which related parties | 20 | 71 |
| Financial Current Assets | 225 | 860 |
| Current Tax Receivables | 318 | 423 |
| Other Current Assets | 14.378 | 12.853 |
| of which related parties | 1.112 | 3.152 |
| Cash and Cash Equivalents | 142.561 | 152.656 |
| Asset held for sales | 0 | |
| Total Current Assets | 399.874 | 375.268 |
| Total Current Assets | 698.765 | 668.666 |
| Share Capital | 49.722 | 49.722 |
| Reserves | 105.299 | 91.708 |
| Group Net Profit for the year | 9.120 | 10.670 |
| Group Shareholders Equity | 164.141 | 152.101 |
| Net Equity attributable to minority interest | 1 | 1 |
| Net Profit for the year attributable to minority interest | 0 | 0 |
| Total Sharholders Equity | 164.142 | 152.102 |
| Employee Benefits | 5.805 | 5.910 |
| Non-Current Financial Liabilities | 275.214 | 263.421 |
| of which related parties | 7.165 | 6.359 |
| Provisions for Risks and Charges | 1.891 | 1.929 |
| Deferred Tax Liabilities | 11.834 | 11.158 |
| Other Payables | 10.360 | 10.813 |
| Total Non-Current Liabilities | 305.104 | 293.230 |
| Current Financial Liabilities | 69.688 | 69.438 |
| of which related parties | 1.906 | 2.240 |
| Current Tax Payables | 2.569 | 1.721 |
| Trade Payables | 131.975 | 126.566 |
| of which related parties | 813 | 352 |
| Other Liabilities | 25.287 | 25.608 |
| of which related parties | 230 | 230 |
| Total Current Liabilities | 229.519 | 223.334 |
| Total Equity and Liabilities | 698.765 | 668.666 |
| CASH FLOV STATEMENT waa |
At March 31, 2022 |
At March 31, 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Operation Activities | ||
| Net Profit (Including Portion Attr. to Minority ) | 9.120 | 3.497 |
| of which related parties | (561) | (158) |
| Income Taxes | 2.782 | 1.215 |
| Financial income | (1.694) | (57) |
| of which related parties | ||
| Financial charges | 1.872 | 2.032 |
| of which related parties | 7311 | (45) |
| FX (Gains) and Losses | 383 | (434) |
| (Gain)/Loss on non - current asset Disposals | (56) | [31] |
| Provisions & write-downs | 17 | 110 |
| Write-downs of financial assets (receivables) | (25) | (7) |
| Amortisation, depreciation & write-downs | 10.918 | 11.301 |
| Cash Flow from Operating Activities Before Changes in NVI | 23.316 | 17.626 |
| Change in Inventories | (27.001) | 590 |
| Change in Trade and Other Payables | 5.409 | 6.744 |
| of which related parties | 461 | 149 |
| Change in Trade and Other Receivables | (6.889) | (7.095) |
| of which related parties | 51 | 43 |
| Change in Other Assets/Liabilities | (2.696) | 1.140 |
| of which related parties | 2.040 | (75) |
| Net Interest Expenses paid | (178) | (1.976) |
| Income Taxes paid | (78) | |
| Change in Provisions for Risks and Charges | (242) | (255) |
| Cash Flow from Operating Activities (A) $\qquad \qquad \blacksquare$ |
8.358 | 16.774 |
| Investing activities | ||
| Investment in Tangible Assets | (7.226) | (4.976) |
| Disposal of Tangible Assets | 76 | 31 |
| Investment in Intangible Assets | (550) | (864) |
| Disposal of Intangible Assets | ||
| Cash Flow used in Investing Activities (B) $\overline{\phantom{a}}$ |
7.701 $\overline{a}$ |
5.809 |
| Financing Activities | ||
| Increase in no current Loan and borrowing | 20.000 | |
| Decrease in no current Loan and borrowing | (10.854) | (30.592) |
| Net variation in current and not current fiancial Assets and Liability incluede | 2.357 | (1.428) |
| of which related parties | 472 | (590) |
| Net variation non-monetary increase IFRS16 | (3.982) | (502) |
| of which related parties | $\mu$ my | |
| Dividends Distribution | ||
| of which related parties | ||
| Increase (decrease) Share Capital | ||
| Acquisition of treasury shares | (1.558) | |
| Cash Flow from Financing Activities (C) | 5.964 | [32.522] |
| Net Cash Flow of the Year (A)+(B)+(C) | (10.095) | (21.557) |
| NET FINANCIAL DEBT | At March 31, | At December 31, |
|---|---|---|
| €/000 | 2022 | 2021 |
| A. Liquidity | 142.561 | 152.656 |
| B. Cash and cash equivalents | ||
| C. Other current financial assets | 225 | 860 |
| D. Liquidity $(A + B + C)$ | 142.786 | 153.516 |
| E. Current financial debt (including debt instruments but excluding the current | (1.734) | (203) |
| portion of non-current financial debt) | ||
| F. Current portion of non-current financial debt | (67.954) | (69.236) |
| G. Current financial debt $(E + F)$ | (69.688) | (69.438) |
| H. Net current financial debt (G - D) | 73.098 | 84.078 |
| I. Non-current financial debt (excluding current portion and debt instruments) | 190.803 | (180.185) |
| J. Debt instruments | (83.197) | (83.210) |
| K. Trade payables and other non-current payables | ۰ | |
| L. Non-current financial debt $(I + J + K)$ | (274.001) | (263.396) |
| M. Total financial debt $(H + L)$ | (200.903) | (179.318) |
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