(Finance) – CAREL Industriesa group listed on Euronext STAR Milan and active in the production of components to achieve high energy efficiency in the air conditioning and refrigeration markets, closed the first quarter of 2024 with consolidated revenues equal to 146.4 million euros, down 9%. Net of the change in scope linked to the consolidation of Kiona and Eurotec (7.3 million) and the marginal negative effect of exchange rates, the drop would have been equal to 13.3%.
L’Consolidated EBITDA is equal to 26.7 million euros, down by 20.3%. There profitability, understood as the ratio between EBITDA and Revenues was equal to 18.2% (20.8% at 31 March 2023). The consolidated net result is equal to 16.5 million euros, down by 10.9%, and only partially reflects the operating results thanks to particularly positive results deriving from the exchange rate trend and the capital gain linked to the acquisition of the remaining 49% of the capital CFM social networks.
“As already expected and anticipated, the first quarter of this year was characterized by one particularly challenging economic scenarioespecially in some geographical areas, which has been reflected in various sectors of both air conditioning and refrigeration – commented theCEO Francesco Nalini – Starting from the first, the segment most suffering was that of heat pumps which, in recent quarters, recorded a sharp and significant slowdown in Europe following some regulatory uncertainties, partially resolved, in the dynamics of interest rates and the price trend of energy commodities. Moving on to refrigeration, the strong recovery observed in North America was counterbalanced by a still stagnant European demand, although even in this geography some qualitative signs of improvement were glimpsed.”
“What has been described above is however temporary in nature: heat pumps play an essential role in the European decarbonisation strategy while energy efficiency and the transition towards more sustainable refrigerant gases remain two fundamental elements in the development of refrigeration in the coming decades – he added – In the short term we expect a gradual improvementconcentrated in second part of this year“.
There net financial position consolidated is negative for 78 million euros, including the accounting effect linked to the application
of IFRS16 equal to 32.5 million. The increase compared to the figure recorded at 31 December 2023 which was equal to 35.7 million is
due to the acquisition of the remaining 49% of the share capital of CFM. Excluding this element, the net financial position is substantially unchanged compared to the end of 2023: cash generation more than covered investments of approximately 5.4 million and the increase in working capital mainly due to seasonal effects.