Biesse approves the results for the quarter ended 31st March 2014.

Excellent order intake for the Group: growth in consolidated revenues (+8.6%) and strong recovery in profitability continues

The Board of Directors Biesse S.p.A. – a company listed in the STAR segment of the Italian stock exchange, has today approved the Consolidated Financial Statements for the 1st Quarter of 2014. The results for the Biesse for the period 1/1/14 – 31/3/14 are as follows: 

• Net consolidated revenues of € 91.6 million (+8.6% compared with the same period of 2013) 
• Value Added of € 38.3 million (+12.8% compared with the same period of 2013) representing a margin on revenues of 41.9% (40.3% in 2013) 
• Gross operating margin (EBITDA) of € 7.4 million (+48.0% compared with the same period of 2013) representing a margin on revenues of 8.1% (5.9% in 2013) 
• Operating profit (EBIT) of € 3.9 million (€ 1.5 million in the same period of 2013) representing a margin on revenues of 4.3% (1.8% in 2013) 
• Pre-tax profit of € 3.3 million (€ 1.3 million in the same period of 2013) representing a margin on revenues of 3.6% (1.5% in 2013) 
• Net profit of € 1.6 million (€ 0.3 million in the same period of 2013) representing a margin on revenues 
• of 1.7% 

Orders

On the eve of the important wood sector trade fair XYLEXPO - Milan 13/17 May- the Group’s order intake was extremely positive, particularly for the “systems” segment which, in the opening months of the current year, booked orders for large scale plant and equipment of about € 15 million. This performance demonstrates the growing reputation of Biesse’s product range amongst the most demanding customers of solutions with a high technological content.
In line with the statistics reported by the leading trade associations (ACIMALL-UCIMU in Italy, VDMA in Germany) the Group’s order intake at 31 March 2014 was 21.6% higher than that reported at the end of the first quarter of 2013, and 22% higher than at 31 March 2012. This demand trend is reflected in the trend of the Group’s order portfolio (€ 83.5 million +7.4% compared to the position at end- 2013). 

Geographical breakdown of sales 

The geographical breakdown of consolidated revenues reveals that the domestic market accounts for 10.8% of consolidated revenues (12.1% in the first quarter of 2013 and 11.2% at end-December 2013). The Biesse generated 14.2% of its sales in the B.R.I.C. (Brazil-Russia-India-China) area compared to 18.6% in the same period last year and 17.7% at end-December 2013. 
At the end of March 2014 the breakdown of revenues by geographical area was as follows: 

• Western Europe: 41.0% (39.2% in IQ 2013) –including Italy- 
• Eastern Europe: 19.3% (17.2% in IQ 2013) 
• North America: 15.1% (15.4% in IQ 2013) 
• Australasia: 17.7% (17.5% in IQ 2013) 
• Rest of the World: 6.9% (10.6% in IQ 2013) 

“The year has begun with a very positive first quarter, both in terms of revenues/profitability, and in terms of orders intake - Mr Stefano Porcellini, the Chief Executive Officer of Biesse, commented following the Board of Directors’ meeting – and all of the indicators we have, both internally and of the main sector trends, give us reason to be comfortable about the prospects of achieving our objectives for 2014. The extremely positive trend of orders in March and April – if confirmed in the coming months – could indicate the possibility of a slight upgrade of the Group’s growth expectations. The financial situation reflects the strong positive trend of the timing of cash receipts due largely to the extremely high levels of reliability/product quality achieved by our products/plant over the past two years. The geographical outlook indicates a reduction in perceived risk in Turkey, and potential signs of recovery in Russia (despite the uncertainty of the current situation), while the trend in South America remains weaker. Demand in other markets remains very strong, with some signs of reawakening in the Italian and Spanish markets”.