Financial indicators for ceramic sanitaryware manufacturers follow divergent trends

The first edition of the study entitled "Financial statement analysis of world sanitaryware manufacturers" produced by the Acimac Research Department is now available.

Published as part of the "Financial Statement Analysis" series, the study contains the economic and financial data for the three-year period 2011-2013 of 99 companies, including 37 in Italy, 37 in other EU countries and 25 in the rest of the world.

The survey analyses the economic and financial performances of individual companies and the average results of various geographical areas.

The 37 Italian companies analysed have the highest levels of production efficiency of the entire sample, with an added value margin (ratio between added value and turnover) of more than 35%.

However, this added value is almost entirely eroded by labour costs, which amount to almost 31% of turnover and result in an EBITDA margin of just 5.6%. There is therefore no correspondence between the high intensity of capital used in the automation of production processes and the continued high cost of labour. This means it is necessary to continue the restructuring process in terms of production technology and personnel in order to optimise labour productivity.

The situation is more positive in the rest of Europe, where the 37 analysed companies have good levels of ROE (6.3%) and ROI (4.2%). Added value margin is lower than that of Italian companies, but labour costs per employee are also lower resulting in a ULC (unit labour cost) of 22.5% of turnover compared to Italy's figure of 31%. Moreover, European companies have a higher average degree of capitalisation than their Italian counterparts.

The financial statement figures for other countries (non-EU Europe and rest of the world) are even better in terms of financial performance and structure. The labour cost per employee is one third of the Italian figure, with a ULC index of about half.

In spite of their lower labour productivity, these companies make intensive use of labour and are therefore able to achieve gross margins that on average are double those of their Italian counterparts. Their 2013 EBITDA margin was 12.7% (compared to 5.6% in Italy). Net profits amounted to more than 6% as a three-year average.

View technical page and table of contents of the study