Carel Group posts positive Q3 earnings

The Carel Group has released its consolidated revenues as at September 30, 2020. With consolidated revenues of €248m (Au$401.8m), the company posted a positive result of 0.1 per cent (+1.2 per cent at constant exchange rates) with respect to the same period of 2019 – showing growth compared to the first six months of 2020. Consolidated EBITDA of €48.5 million (Au$78.6m) is down by 2.2 per cent compared to the nine months of 2019.

“The results approved today are cause for particular satisfaction for the Group because they were achieved within the extremely complex environment that came into being in 2020,” says the Group’s CEO Francesco Nalini.

“Revenues entered positive territory, despite the temporary shutdown, in February and April, of two of our most important plants in Italy and China, accounting for approximately 60 per cent of all our production capacity.”

The ratio of EBITDA to revenues, which stood at 19.6 per cent, exceeded the levels both at the end of 2019 and in the first half of this year.

According to Nalini, this was due in part to the cost containment initiatives implemented beginning in March, the effects of which were seen primarily in the last two quarters.

“This earnings performance had a positive effect on the Group’s financial position: net financial debt declined by approximately €13m ($21m), a decrease of 20 per cent compared to December 2019,” he says.

“As always for Carel, a milestone is never an end to a journey but a starting point, and this will also be true in this case: the Group is in fact continuing with the utmost commitment in the implementation of its strategic guidelines in order to further consolidate its development in the wake of innovation and environmental sustainability.”

The EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) market, which accounts for approximately 72 per cent of Carel’s revenues, returned to positive territory, compared to the first nine months of 2019.

The North American market, which accounts for approximately 12 per cent of the Group’s revenues, reported a 9 per cent reduction in revenues. Compared to the first part of the year, the company says the latest figure indicates a slight growth.

The South American market, which represents approximately 2 per cent of the Group’s total turnover, reported 4.0 per cent growth, mainly driven by the positive performances seen in Brazil, which offset the negative results in other regions affected by the COVID-19 epidemic.