Belgian industrial group Picanol's revenue grows 26% in HY1 in FY22

However, the adjusted EBITDA of machines and technologies segment decreased by 64 per cent compared to last year due to the negative impact of rising raw material prices, transportation costs and costs of late deliveries, which could not be translated into higher selling prices, partly due to the large order book, the company said in a press release.

As per HY1 FY22, the group net financial debt decreased from €34.9 million at year-end of 2021 to €14.5 million. Leverage amounts to 0.0x as per HY22, compared to 0.1x as per year end of 2021.

Short-term borrowings for €183.9 million and €207.4 million long-term borrowings are almost entirely compensated by cash and cash equivalents (€376.9 million). The short-term borrowings include the bond, issued in 2015 with a maturity of 7 years, for an amount of €130.5 million, which matured and was reimbursed in July 2022. Excluding the IFRS 16 lease liabilities, the group net cash position as per HY1 FY22 would have amounted to €41.6 million compared to €21.6 million as per year-end 2021.

The HY1 FY22 profit amounted to €51.2 million compared to €75.4 million in HY1 FY21. The profit was negatively impacted by the non-realised financial loss on the Rieter shares, resulting from the fair value revaluation at the share price of June 30 (€-33.3 million). The HY1 FY22 cash flow from operating activities amounts to €103.7 million, compared to €187.0 million in HY1 FY21.

The group anticipates a continued high level of uncertainty in the second half of 2022, as well as in 2023, due to the current conflict in Eastern Europe, the difficult supply chain circumstances, and other challenges following the coronavirus pandemic. The development of customer demand and sales margin could therefore come under pressure. However, based on currently available information, Picanol Group expects that the 2022 adjusted EBITDA will be higher than the 2021 adjusted EBITDA (€430.3 million). This revised outlook for the 2022 financial year reflects the strong first half of the year, while the result for the second half is expected to be in line with the same period in the previous year.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RR)