Press Release

The CAREL Industries Board of Directors has approved the consolidated results as of 31 March 2021

  • Consolidated revenues of € 97.6 million, +24.0% compared to the first three months of 2020 (+26.9% at constant exchange rates). +21.9% on the first three months of 2019;
  • Consolidated EBITDA of € 22.0 million (22.5% of revenues), +53.2% compared to the first three months of 2020;
  • Consolidated net income of € 13.3 million, +75.6% compared to the first three months of 2020;
  • Negative consolidated net financial position of € 44.9 million, compared to € 49.6 million reported on 31 December 2020. Net of the accounting effect deriving from IFRS16, the consolidated net financial position stands at € 17.4 million, compared to € 21.4 at 31 December 2020

Brugine, 6 May 2021 - The Board of Directors of CAREL Industries S.p.A. ('CAREL' or the 'Company' or the 'Parent Company'), which met today, has approved the results as of 31 March 2021.

Francesco Nalini, Managing Director of the Group, commented: "The key event of the first quarter of the year was the launch of the global COVID-19 vaccine campaign, which restored optimism by enabling a strong economic recovery, particularly in certain regions including China (Q1 2021 GDP +18.3%) and the US (Q1 2021 GDP +6.4%). In this scenario, CAREL has managed to seize significant business opportunities thanks to the consistent and continuous implementation of its strategic mainstays: customer focus, production resiliency and constant innovation. This accelerated performance in the sectors that had already seen an improvement in the second half of 2020, together with a strong recovery in those that had suffered most during the pandemic: industrial air conditioning and food service refrigeration. This resulted in the highest revenue increase in the last 10 years amounting to +26.9% at constant exchange rates, which was then reflected in an increase in EBITDA of over 50% and in profit of over 75%. The extent of these results remains largely unchanged when compared to the 2019 numbers, which were not impacted by the pandemic. However, as is always the case with CAREL, these performances are not a point of arrival but of departure, and they give us even greater enthusiasm for tackling the challenges that 2021 will bring, not least the ongoing pandemic and the shortage of raw materials that is affecting the world economy."

Consolidated revenues

Consolidated revenues amount to Euro 97.6 million, compared to Euro 78.4 million as at 31 March 2020, an increase of 24.0%. Net of the negative impact of currency exchange rates, which weighed in at around Euro 2 million, mainly due to the weakness of the US and Brazilian currencies, the increase would be +26.9%. These results take on an even more positive connotation if one considers that growth remains well above 20% even when comparing them with the revenue level recorded in the first quarter of 2019, which does not include any pandemic impact.

The performance described above is based on two main elements: the first is a generalised optimism linked to the COVID-19

worldwide vaccination campaign that started in December and January: this, together with other elements, led to a strong rebound in the economy in some key geographical areas (China and the United States) and, therefore, a generalised increase in demand; the second is once again confirmation of the Group's ability to seize significant business opportunities in particularly difficult scenarios (as happened in the first part of 2020) as well as in strong expansion scenarios such as the current one. From this point of view, it is important to emphasise that the increase is more than 20% (at constant exchange rates) in all geographical areas and in the two macro sectors "HVAC" and "Refrigeration", testifying to the flexibility and resilience of CAREL's strategy, capable of adapting to the most diverse markets and locations.

The Group's largest region, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), which accounts for 73% of revenues, closed the first quarter of 2021 with a 22.1% increase on a constant currency basis, thanks to a general acceleration in demand, to the recovery of certain industrial sectors that had been significantly impacted by the pandemic in 2020 (e.g. automotive) and to particularly strong performances in the high-efficiency heat pump and data centre cooling sectors. There was also excellent progress in refrigeration applications: a new drive

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to invest in the food retail sector, also due to the European regulations on environmental sustainability, combined with a recovery in the food service sector. APAC (Asia-Pacific), which represents about 14% of the Group's revenues, shows an increase (at constant exchange rates) of 47.3% compared to the results recorded in the same period last year (and impacted by the closure of the Souzhou plant for a few million Euro). This performance is proof of the effectiveness of the strategy implemented by the Group in the region, based on a strong focus on the end customer and a broad and flexible production footprint (tripling the size of the Souzhou plant between 2018 and 2019), which has proved successful even at a time when demand is booming (Q1 2021 GDP in China +18.3%). North America, which represents approximately 11% of the Group's revenues, posted a 29.9% increase (net of foreign exchange impact). The turnaround from the 2020 poor results is due to the combination of improved execution and implementation of the Group's strategic and operational policies together with a strong upturn in the economic scenario. Finally, South America (which accounts for approximately 2% of the Group's total turnover), net of the negative currency exchange effects, recorded an increase of 62.0%, mainly due to the positive performance recorded in Brazil.

As far as the individual business areas are concerned, net of currency exchange effects, both registered increases of more than 25%. In fact, Refrigeration is up 28.4% (25.0% at actual exchange rates), benefiting from the recovery of the investment cycle in the food retail sector (supermarkets/hypermarkets/convenience stores), together with the constant increase of the global market share of Group. Positive results in the "Food service" from which some signs of recovery come. The HVAC sector also closed the first quarter of 2021 with strong positive results (+27.2% at constant exchange rates, +24.4% at current exchange rates): in addition to the acceleration of trends already seen in the second half of 2020 in certain applications (particularly high-efficiency heat pumps and data centres), there was also a recovery in the more cyclical production sectors, particularly industrial ones. On the other hand, demand in the Wellness sector is still sluggish.

Table 1- Revenue by business area (thousands of euros)

31.03.2021

31.03.2020

Delta %

Delta fx %

HVAC revenue

62,867

50,528

24.4%

27.2%

REF revenue

33,874

27,093

25.0%

28.4%

Total core revenue

96,742

77,622

24.6%

27.6%

Non-core revenue

881

1,118

-21.2%

-21.1%

Total Revenue

97,623

78,740

24.0%

26.9%

Table 2 Revenue by geographical area (thousands of euros)

31.03.2021

31.03.2020

Delta %

Delta fx %

EMEA

70,858

58,475

21.2%

22.1%

APAC

13,664

9,439

44.8%

47.3%

North America

10,909

9,110

19.7%

29.9%

South America

2,191

1,716

27.7%

62.0%

Total Revenue

97,623

78,740

24.0%

26.9%

Consolidated EBITDA

Consolidated EBITDA as at 31 March 2021 amounted to Euro 22.0 million, with strong growth (+53.2%) compared to the Euro 14.3 million recorded at 31 March 2020. The excellent results in terms of revenues are reflected and doubled in percentage as a result of the effect of the operating leverage and the continuing effects of a series of measures to contain discretionary costs (marketing, travel, etc.), already implemented last year. This resulted in a profitability (EBITDA to revenue ratio) of 22.5%, up 430 basis points on the first quarter of last year (18.2%) and 280 basis points on the 2020 figure (19.7%)

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Consolidated net income

Consolidated net profit amounted to Euro 13.3 million, a significant increase (+75.6%) compared to Euro 7.6 million at 30 March 2020 owing to excellent operating results. The tax rate (19.4%) remained substantially in line with that of the first quarter of last year (19.3%) while higher interest expense was recorded due to the increase in the stock of gross debt. The incidence of foreign exchange losses is also higher, due to foreign exchange losses linked to operating activities in Brazil, Croatia and China.

Consolidated net financial position

The consolidated net financial position was a negative €44.9 million, slightly down from the €49.6 million recorded at 31 December 2020. Excluding the IFRS16-related debt stock, the consolidated net financial position at 31 March 2021 would amount to Euro 17.4 million (it was Euro 21.4 million at 31 December 2020).

The dynamics affecting the net debt trend are mainly related to a robust cash generation that easily covered an increase in net working capital mainly due to the seasonality of trade receivables, higher revenues and an expected increase in inventories to better manage the global shortage of raw materials.

Investments of approximately Euro 2 million were also covered by the generation of cash for the period.

Business outlook

The first quarter of 2021 was first and foremost characterised by a general recovery in global demand due to the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine campaign, albeit with important differences depending on the geographical areas considered. However, significant uncertainties remain due to the recent evolution of infections in some countries (including Brazil and India) and the spread of multiple viral variants.

Part of the acceleration in global demand is the generalised shortage of raw materials, particularly electronics. The severity, duration and consequences of this shortage in the medium term are as yet unseen and unquantifiable, although there are obvious strains on the major commodity prices.

In any case, taking into account the excellent results achieved during the first quarter of the year and the current level of the order book, the Group believes it can close 2021 with double-digit percentage growth in consolidated revenue with a floor of +12%. This is in the absence of any significant deterioration in the current scenario, particularly in relation to the elements described above.

CONFERENCE CALL

The results as of 31 March 2021 will be illustrated today, 6 May 2021, at 16.00 (CET) during a conference call to the financial community, which will also be the subject of a webcast in listen-only mode on www.carel.com, Investor Relations section.

The CFO, Nicola Biondo, stated, pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 154-bis of the Consolidated Finance Act, that the accounting information in this press release corresponds to the documented results, accounts and bookkeeping records.

For further information

INVESTOR RELATIONS

MEDIA RELATIONS

Giampiero Grosso - Investor Relations Manager

Barabino & Partners

giampiero.grosso@carel.com

Fabrizio Grassi

+39 049 9731961

f.grassi@barabino.it

+39

392 73 92 125

Francesco Faenza

f.faenza@barabino.it

+39

02 72 02 35 35

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***

CAREL

The CAREL Group is a global leader in the design, production and marketing of technologically-advanced components and solutions for excellent energy efficiency in the control of heating, ventilation and air conditioning ("HVAC") and refrigeration equipment and systems. CAREL is focused on several vertical niche markets with extremely specific needs, catered for with dedicated solutions developed comprehensively for these requirements, as opposed to mass markets.

The Group designs, produces and markets hardware, software and algorithm solutions aimed at both improving the performance of the units and systems they are intended for and for energy saving, with a globally-recognised brand in the HVAC and refrigeration markets (collectively, "HVAC/R") in which it operates and, in the opinion of the Company's management, with a distinctive position in the relevant niches in those markets.

HVAC is the Group's main market, representing 66% of the Group's revenues in the financial year to 31 December 2020, while the refrigeration market accounted for 33% of the Group's revenues.

The Group commits significant resources to research and development, an area which plays a strategic role in helping it maintain its position of leadership in the reference HVAC/R market niches, with special attention focused on energy efficiency, the reduction of environmental impact, trends relating to the use of natural refrigerant gases, automation and remote connectivity (the Internet of Things), and the development of data-driven solutions and services.

The Group operates through 27 subsidiaries and nine production plants located in various countries. As of 31 December 2020, approximately 80% of the Group's revenues was generated outside of Italy and 30% outside of EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa). Original Equipment Manufacturers or OEMs - suppliers of complete units for applications in HVAC/R markets - make up the Company's main category of customers, which the Group focuses on to build long-term relationships.

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The accounting statements of the CAREL Industries Group, not subject to independent auditing, are illustrated below.

Consolidated Financial Statements as of 31 March 2021

Consolidated Statement of financial position

(€'000)

31/03/2021

31/12/2020

Property, plant and equipment

74,420

74,880

Intangible assets

88,590

89,498

Equity-accounted investments

711

724

Other non-current assets

11,345

11,311

Deferred tax assets

5,724

5,265

Non-current assets

180,790

181,678

Trade receivables

70,663

57,728

Inventories

54,661

52,012

Current tax assets

1,473

2,156

Other current assets

8,590

7,445

Current financial assets

2,041

7,540

Cash and cash equivalents

108,824

105,586

Current assets

246,251

232,468

TOTAL ASSETS

427,042

414,145

Equity attributable to the owners of the parent company

175,263

159,317

Equity attributable to non-controlling interests

311

304

Total equity

175,574

159,621

Non-current financial liabilities

108,809

113,657

Provisions for risks

1,382

1,292

Defined benefit plans

8,096

8,189

Deferred tax liabilities

10,031

10,212

Non-current liabilities

128,318

133,350

Current financial liabilities

46,983

49,080

Trade payables

47,469

43,234

Current tax liabilities

4,901

2,991

Provisions for risks

2,381

2,104

Other current liabilities

21,417

23,766

Current liabilities

123,150

121,175

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

427,042

414,145

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Carel Industries S.p.A. published this content on 06 May 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 06 May 2021 12:42:05 UTC.