IMA Group posts €326 million first-quarter revenue (+6.5%)

IMA Group posted consolidated revenue of €326.1 million in the first quarter of 2019, 6.5% up on the €306.3 million in the same period in 2018. EBITDA also increased from €36.9 million to €38.7 million. EBIT totalled €21.9 million (compared to €28.1 million in the first quarter of 2018) and pre-tax profits €18.2 million (€24.8 million to 31 march last year).

The consolidated order book has reached €992.2 million (up 8.3% on the previous year’s €915.8 million) following the finalisation of numerous deals in the Group’s various business areas.

The IMA Group’s net financial debt stood at €403.1 million compared to the €165.3 million as of 31 March 2018. This figure increased by €137.9 million due to the introduction of the IFRS 16 accounting standard on 1 January 2019.

For the business year 2019 the Group is expecting to post sales of around €1.58 billion and EBITDA of approximately €280 million, including the effects of the new IFRS 16 accounting standard which was introduced on 1 January 2019 with a significant increase in net profit.

“We have begun 2019 with positive first-quarter results in terms of revenue and margins, in line with our growth expectations for the current year,” said Alberto Vacchi, Chairman and CEO of IMA. “The first quarter has also seen steady growth in our consolidated order book thanks to the favourable trend in sales of automatic machines and complete lines to our target sectors. In view of the continued good results and trends seen in the month of April, including a good level of order acquisition, we have a confident outlook for the coming year. As well as consolidating the IMA Digital programme, in 2019 we will focus in particular on IMA-NOP (IMA No Plastic), a project that fits in with the Group’s philosophy in terms of environmental sustainability. Following the European Parliament’s recent approval in Strasbourg of the EU directive restricting the use of a range of single-use plastic items, we expect to see growth in demand for automatic machines capable of reducing the use of plastics in packaging. Our Group has already developed a number of highly innovative solutions in collaboration with the leading market players, thereby anticipating the needs of the target market.”