During the fourth quarter of 2019, the Sabaf Group recorded sales of €40.7 million, an increase of 12.3% versus the figure of €36.2 million in the corresponding period of the previous year. The increase in revenue is attributable to the acquisition of the C.M.I. Group, whose sales contributed €7.4 million during the period. This results collaborated to the consolidation of the whole year. In 2019, revenue totalled €155.9 million, up by 3.5% over the same period of 2018 (-8.9% taking into consideration the same scope of consolidation). EBITDA was €27 million (or 17.3% of turnover), down by 9.8%, EBIT totalled €11.9 million (or 7.6% of turnover) down by 27.5%, and the net profit attributable to the Group was €10.3 million, down by 34.1% compared to 2018.
In 2019, positive free cash flow, which benefited from a reduction in net working capital of €16.3 million, was €28.9 million (€14.3 million in 2018). In addition to the lower levels of activity, the improvement in net working capital was achieved as a result of structural actions on internal logistics, which made it possible to significantly reduce stocks of work in progress. Quarter investments totalled €4.9 million, bringing total investments for the year to €12 million (€11.5 million in 2018).
The trend in sales and orders in the first quarter of 2020 shows a strong recovery in the Group’s level of activity. “The improved tone of strategic markets – the company explains – is accompanied by a significant increase in our supply shares to some large customers, following the implementation of projects developed by the Group in recent years. The markets where the highest growth rates are expected are North America and South America. Based on the negotiations concluded with its main customers, the Group estimates that it can achieve sales of €185 million for the entire 2020 financial year and a solid improvement in gross operating profitability (EBITDA %) compared with 2019. These forecasts assume a macroeconomic scenario not affected by unpredictable events; if the economic situation were to change significantly, actual figures might diverge from the forecasts”.
