February 28, 2013
Prysmian S.p.A. disclosed the company’s consolidated financial statements and separate financial statements for 2012. “In a difficult market, particularly in Europe, Prysmian has achieved a positive performance in operating earnings mostly in its high value-added businesses. This result, combined with synergies from the integration with Draka achieved faster than expected, has allowed us to fully reach the targets announced to the market”, comments CEO Valerio Battista.
Financial Results
Group sales amounted to €7,848 million compared with the 2011 pro-forma figure of €7,973 million. The Group achieved double-digit growth for large submarine, interconnection and offshore wind farm projects. Some industrial cable applications, such as offshore Oil & Gas and elevator cables, also performed well. Optical telecom cables were affected by a slowdown in the fourth quarter, mainly due to the suspension of incentives in North and South America. Sales trend by geography showed a recovery in North America and a good performance in Northern Europe. On the whole, the South American market held up well while Asia Pacific reported mixed trends in different regions. Group Adjusted EBITDA increased to €647 million, up 10.4% from the 2011 pro-forma figure of €586 million.
Integration with Draka and Strategy Development
The process of integration with Draka has been carried out quickly, allowing to achieve higher than expected synergies (€65 million cumulative at the end of 2012 compared with a target of €45 million).
Investments for Organic and External Growth
On April 1st, the Group acquired non-controlling interests in the Brazilian companies of Telcon and Draka Optical Fibre, thus gaining 100% control over these companies; in November, it completed the acquisition of Global Marine Energy in UK, with the intent of expanding its installation capabilities and services for submarine cables and systems. Approximately €88 million has been spent on investments in new production capacity for strategic businesses. In particular, in the submarine cables business, the Group has expanded production capacity at its centre of excellence in Arco Felice (Naples), Italy, and it has started production in Finland to serve the growing market of links for offshore wind farms in Northern Europe. In the high voltage underground cable business, the Group has invested to expanded production capacity in China, Russia and France.