Granitifiandre reports strong first quarter

May 15, 2006

15/05/06 - Granitifiandre has reported a strong start to the year.
The Group headquartered in Castellarano (province of Reggio Emilia, Italy) has posted 29.2% growth in first-quarter consolidated turnover to 46.7 million euro. Sales of brand products have increased substantially to 32.6 million euro (up 26.7% on the same period last year).

The good results have been achieved both in the domestic market (+17.5%, but with a 2% decrease in contribution to total brand turnover) and in the European markets, which have increased by 22.1% overall with significant increases in Spain (+55%), France (+12%), Russia (+88%), Holland (+50%), Belgium (+52%), Czech Republic (+115%) and Germany (+33%).
The increases in Europe reflect the positive contribution of the German subsidiary Porcelaingres, which generated a turnover of 4.8 million euro during the first quarter of the year.

Two-figure growth has also been reported in the rest of the world (+43.7%), particularly in the United States where StonePeak has achieved revenues of 4.8 million euro.
In the USA the sales activity has benefited from the merger by incorporation of the North American sales branch Trans America, which reported a turnover of 2.4 million euro in the months of February/March.
In particular, StonePeak has secured two major orders, one for the supply of brand products for a chain of fashion stores to a value of USD 2.1 million and the other an agreement with one of the main US distributors for USD 1.5 million.

However, the start-up of the American subsidiary has had a negative effect on the groupâ€™s profitability.
This, together with the increase in energy costs and the variations in euro/dollar exchange rate, has reduced EBITDA to 5.5 million euro (compared to 5.9 million euro in 2005) and EBIT to 2.2 million euro (3.6 million euro in 2005).
The Groupâ€™s net result is 1.3 million euro in the red compared to 2.3 million euro profits in the first quarter of 2005. The parent company Granitifiandre Spa posted a turnover of 30 million euro (up 20.9%), EBITDA of 5.7 million euro (up 14.3%) and EBIT of 4.2 million euro (up 19.4%).