The Covid-19 crisis has had a modest impact on the Group´s results, as it has managed to maintain a good level of activity and profitability.
- Revenues were affected by the outbreak of the pandemic, but recovered their usual rate from April. The introduction of new digital means to replace the presence in the acceptance of machines and thus proceed with their shipment made it possible to recover the billing rhythm and finally reach 66.5 million income.
- The Group maintained the EBITDA to revenue ratio at 12%, just one point lower than the previous year. It is an indicative of a level of profitability above the sector average.
- The Board of Directors will propose to the ‘General Shareholders´ Meeting’ the payment of a dividend of 0.17 euros per share, the same amount as the previous year.
Madrid, February, 26. Correa Group, manufacturer of industrial milling machines, recorded an ordinary income of 66.5 million euros in 2020, compared to the 74 million euros registered in 2019. This billing figure marks an important milestone for Grupo Correa. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, its stability strategy is consolidated and allows to continue with its business at a significant level of activity and profitability. The holding company, Nicolas Correa S.A, contributed to the Group with ordinary income of 52.9 million euros in 2020, just 3% lower than that obtained in 2019.
The higher costs derived from guaranteeing the safety and health of the workers, conditioning both the workstations and the facilities to the new regulations, quarantines, and donations of medical supplies, have been balanced by lower costs in the slowdown and reduction of mobility for the activity of commercial promotion and fairs.
Despite the critical global situation caused by covid-19, the Correa Group has managed to maintain its profitability ratios. The Group´s EBITDA amounts to 8.1 million euros, keeping the EBITDA-to-income ratio at 12%, just one point below the previous year, and above the average for the machine tool sector.
The Group´s pre-tax profit was 6.5 million euros, compared to the 8 million of the previous year. In percentage terms, it shows a profitability of 10%, which represents only a one point decrease compared to last year. Mainly, due to the reduction in turnover as a result of the pandemic. This value continues to place the Group at the head of the major European benchmarks for machine tool manufacturing, where on limited occasions there double-digit percentage returns.
The financial strength of Nicolás Correa allowed the company to maintain the shareholder remuneration commitment in 2020. The proposal of the Board of Directors, pending approval by the General Meeting of Shareholders, of the shareholder remuneration in 2021, charged to the result For Fiscal Year 2020, it is the payment of a dividend of 0.17 euros per share, the same amount as the previous year.
The 2020 financial year has left an order book for the Correa Group of 28.2 million euros. This portfolio situation is mainly due to the capture in the Asian market and the position in the world of renewable energies, a sector in which the Group has become a leading provider of milling solutions.
Geographically, China was the first market for the Group in 2020. It has a consolidated structure in the country itself, key in a year like this. China has been, at least in the industrial environment of Nicolás Correa, the only country that has recovered the rate of investment prior to the pandemic. Nicolás Correa, in 2020, has strengthened its position there, becoming a leading supplier of imported milling machines, especially large machines, despite competition from both Chinese and European manufacturers. The Group anticipates that this market will continue to lead the economic recovery in 2021, at least as far as the sector is concerned.
At a European level, the behavior of the markets has been uneven and marked by the restrictions of each country to minimize the impact of the pandemic.
In the domestic market, although it has been a difficult year at all levels, the Group has managed to maintain the sales level of previous years.
“We are leaving behind a difficult year, in which, thanks to a workforce committed to the values of effort and commitment that mark our strategy, we have managed to maintain the level of profitability of previous years. We face 2021 with the optimism that vaccines normalize the situation, so we can focus all of our efforts on the technological challenges of our activity, to offer the best solutions, in product and service to our customers ”, stated Carmen Pinto, CEO of Grupo Correa.
