(Alliance News) - Masi Agricola Spa reported Monday that first quarter revenues fell 8.5 percent year-on-year to EUR17.4 million from EUR19 million.

The company recalls that first-quarter revenues in 2022 had achieved an exceptional 38% increase over the counter-period, due to the recovery of consumption in horeca after the pandemic, and at the same time to an extraordinary and generalized re-stocking of the network to cope with the difficulties in international logistics, as communicated in the period statement. A phenomenon that subsequently saw a slowdown in the continuation of the fiscal year, coming to a halt in the fourth quarter until a current normalization.

In addition, Q1 2022 revenues also included one-off sales of nearly EUR500,000 from a Masi-branded wine exclusively for a major European retailer; in general, the rising cost of money is leading the customer network to reduce stock coverages.

Ebitda fell to EUR3.0 million from EUR4.7 million.

Net financial debt increased to EUR13.1 million from EUR7.7 million at the end of 2022, mainly due to an increase in closing inventories resulting from Top Wines' procurement needs, also in the presence of particularly significant vintages.

Masi Agricola's stock is at parity at EUR4.40 per share.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

Comments and questions to redazione@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2023 Alliance News IS Italian Service Ltd. All rights reserved.