Piovan grows again in the first half of 2023

The Board of Directors of Piovan reviewed and approved the Consolidated Half-Year Financial Report as of 30 June 2023. 

“The growth in revenues and - above all - the marked improvement in profitability achieved in the first half of 2023 can mainly be attributed to the good balance of our business portfolio, both in terms of end-markets and geographies, to the implementation of our strategy always focused on the needs of our customers, and to the first positive results deriving from the integration of the Group in North America”, declared Nicola Piovan (picture above), Executive Chairman of Piovan.

“The Group also confirms its ability to seize the opportunities arising from the ecological transition, both by contributing to the circular economy in the packaging sector and the development of technological solutions that enable the reduction of fossil fuels in electric mobility. Solutions that require an increasingly innovationoriented approach, which has always been part of our DNA”, added Filippo Zuppichin, Chief Executive Officer of Piovan.

In the first half of 2023 total revenues and other income of Piovan Group amounted to 290.1 million euros, growing strongly compared to 238.1 million euros in the first half of 2022 (+21.9%). In the first half of 2023, Ebitda totaled 37.5 million euros, an increase of 40.2% compared to 26.7 million euros in the first half of 2022 (12.9% margin on total revenues and other income versus 11.2% in the first half of 2022). In the first half of 2023, Adjusted Ebitda totaled 37.7 million euros (excluding certain non-recurring components or non-core activities), for a margin on total revenues and other income of 13%, increasing by 37.9% compared to Adjusted Ebitda in the first half of 2022. In the first half of 2023, Ebit totaled 30.6 million euros, up from 18.6 million euros in the first half of 2022.

Revenue in North America mainly grew as a result of the increased market shares, the good performances of the subsidiary Pelletron US and of the food area, and in part also driven by the positive impact of the euro/dollar exchange rate. Growth in Asia, up by 64.6%, shows signs of recovery in the Asian market, also thanks to the winning of some major orders at the end of 2022 and early 2023, which had seen a slowdown in the first part of 2022 following the lockdowns in the first part of the year related to the re-emergence of Covid outbreaks. Performance in Europe, while positive, reflects the fact that major projects underway in the food area had a final destination of North America and are developed in Europe. Finally, South America continued to perform well, with growth of 35.4%.

For what concerns the dynamic of revenue by business segment in the first half of 2023, it should be noted that Technical Polymers Systems revenue increased by 27.3%, driven by good performances in all the geographical areas. In particular, the increase is attributable to the increased use of recycled materials in rigid packaging, a sector in which the Group is a leader, the good performance of the automotive sector, whereby the transition to electric models requires a significant transformation of metal components into technical polymers; and to investments in new pipelines, and more generally in high technical content components; Food & Industrial Applications Systems revenue decreased compared to the first half of 2022 due to the timing of development of a number of projects, mainly in the North American market, that are to be completed in the second half of 2023, and to the collection of orders for powder processing systems in the Technical Polymers market, which took some production capacity away from food powder processing systems in the Food & Industrial Applications market; the Services market reported revenue growth of 30.3% on the same period of the previous year, confirming the development expectations of the Group, which is also focusing on growth in this market.

The Group confirms its desire to continue along the strategic path undertaken, focusing on increasing its contribution to the circular economy by developing products and solutions for the recycling value chain, increasing acquisitions, and working to achieve greater market share in the Food & Industrial Applications segment. With regard to developments in European legislation concerning the production and use of plastic, there is a possibility of changes in the marketplace. In particular, legislation could promote the use of recycled plastic or biodegradable polymers at the expense of virgin, petroleum-based polymers. For Piovan Group, this European legislation represents an opportunity to sell technologies developed in recent years for the automation, processing and screening of recycled and biodegradable plastics, sectors in which the Group has developed a strong leadership also thanks to several patents related to recycling and where it has a technological advantage over its competitors. The Company currently estimates that about 32.4% of the automations sold in the packaging, fiber and recycling segments are being used in order to make use of recycled material.