(Alliance News) - Saccheria F.lli Franceschetti Spa reported that revenues for the first quarter fell to EUR4.5 million from EUR5.5 million in the same period last year.

The company operates as a substitute for collection on behalf of Conai, whose revenues and costs in the income statement cancel out: not considering the effect of this contribution, operating revenues as of March 31, 2024 stood at EUR4.5 million compared to EUR5.5 million as of March 31, 2023.

Revenues from the main categories of both marketed and manufactured products amounted to EUR3.3 million for Big Bags from EUR4.0 million as of March 31, 2023); EUR500,000 from EUR700,000 for Fertilizer bags; and EUR400,000 from EUR300,000 for Small Bags, respectively.

Luigi Wilmo Franceschetti, chairman, and Luisa Franceschetti, managing director of Saccheria F.lli Franceschetti, said, "The first quarter of 2024 was heavily affected, especially in January and February, by the procurement difficulties related to the lengthening of delivery times for goods as a result of acts of piracy in the Suez Canal. Delays in deliveries, which were associated with an increase in the cost of deliveries, together with very low inventory levels at the end of 2023, led to a contraction in turnover determined not by a lack of orders - which in any case showed a contraction compared to the first quarter of 2023 - but by a lack of products."

"It should be noted that, in March, the delivery situation found a balance, which allowed a recovery in turnover that was in line with that of March 2023. Turnover in the first quarter shows a contraction of 18 percent, concentrated mainly in January and February and related to the above and the continuing national and international economic crisis. The product family with the largest decline in sales, in absolute value, is Big Bags; these products have a high inventory turnover and are those that were, as a result, most impacted by delivery delays."

"The reduction in sales of the Fertilizer Bags family can also be attributed to the heavy rains that have affected orders for this type of product. The e-commerce channel, despite also being affected by delivery delays, recorded sales in line with the figure for the first quarter of 2023. The company has put in place both coordination actions with suppliers and commercial actions that have made it possible to stem, in part, the impact of the drop in turnover on total margins."

The stock of Saccheria F.lli Franceschetti closed Tuesday down 2.4 percent at EUR1.22 per share.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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