- The Group’s first-quarter earnings far outstrip those obtained in the same period of last year, already at record levels, demonstrating yet again the soundness of the Group and our strategy.
- In view of the rainfall in March, an upturn is expected in rice sowing in southern Spain, optimising our installed capacity.
- The fresh pasta business confirmed its recovery with strong growth during the period.
- With CAPEX forecast at over €177.5 million this year, our major strategic investment projects in fresh pasta in France and cups in North America and Spain will be concluded during 2024.
Madrid, 24 April 2024. We have closed an outstanding quarter, in which we outstripped the already extraordinary earnings posted in the first three months of 2023. This milestone confirms the success of our growth lines and the excellent evolution of our two divisions and their respective brands.
Similarly, our most important financial metrics achieved satisfactory growth during the period.
We chalked up a Net Profit of €53.7 million, up 22.7% on the same period of last year.
Our adjusted EBITDA grew by 13.9% year on year to €109.6 million, boosted largely by the positive evolution of our Pasta Division.
The net turnover rose to €806.5 million, more or less on a par with the first quarter of 2023, as a result of the smaller business of the Rice Division in Spain due to the drought and price adjustments in some markets, demonstrating our commitment to consumers.
Meanwhile, we have reduced our Net Debt to €507 million, €63.4 million less than at year-end 2023, even after investing €34.3 million in CAPEX during the quarter.
Core businesses
Rice Division
In raw materials, the rainfall in March has opened up new industrial prospects for the last quarter in Spain, as it will almost certainly be possible to grow rice in Andalusia and Extremadura. Moreover, farm gate prices of aromatic rice varieties from Asia came down, although the purchase costs were subsequently raised by the inflation in freight.
The evolution of the Group’s business was good in the Middle East, headed by our brands Tilda and Abu Bint, and we made a strong entry in certain African countries, such as Ghana.
On the whole, the Division posted a turnover of €629.6 million and an adjusted EBITDA of €82.9 million.
Pasta Division
The Pasta Division has closed an extraordinary quarter, boosted by the growth of consumption, the positive development of the fresh pasta business and the suppression of prices of energy and our main raw materials.
Olivieri performed well in Canada, with double-digit growth, tripling the growth rate of the category, and Garofalo achieved major growth in our principal markets.
The Division posted a turnover of €178,2 million and an adjusted EBITDA of €31.1 million.
