The Group reported very positive half-year results with a 23% increase in net turnover over the period to €1,669 million and a 42.8% increase in EBITDA-A, rose to €227 million. Our CAGR has risen 23% over the past 3 years.
In addition to the increase in demand, the positive results were also influenced by the incorporation of Tilda, which saw sales growth of more than 50%, the defensive nature of our products in adverse situations and the excellent performance of our instant, premium and microwave categories.
By business area, both rice and pasta grew in excess of 20%. The contribution of the US pasta division is notable, reporting EBITDA in the first half of the year which equaled that of the whole of last year. Also noteworthy was Garofalo, which reached the half-year mark with record earnings and growth in most of its markets.
The consolidated results for the first half of the year reflect the Group’s ability to respond to a robust increase in demand, which the Group was able to satisfy thanks to the efficient organization of production.
What these results also reflect is that the product portfolio is properly balanced, enabling the Group to successfully respond to two vastly different types of demand during this crisis: while some consumers have sought refuge in the more traditional categories others have made up for not being able to eat out by increasing their consumption of premium products at home.
During this time the Group has continued to address the social and health emergency brought about by the pandemic, launching a number of initiatives in the countries where it operates. As a result, social responsibility initiatives undertaken as of June 30 we invested more than €9 million, not to mention other operating expenses stemming from higher labor and logistics costs and inflation in raw material prices.
