URALITA'S SALES REACH 1,007 MILLION EUROS, THE
SECOND HIGHEST FIGURE IN ITS RECENT HISTORY.
· The Recurrent Net attributable Profit in 2008 was 60.0 million Euros, 29.7% lower
than in the excepcional 2007.
· However, Uralita has decided to make provisions to prepare the Group face a
more complex context, which combined with the effect of negative Exchange rate
differences resulting from the devaluation of several currencies, reduced the Net
Attributable Profit to 40.3 million Euros.
· Uralita's financial situation is sound: The net financial debt being 1.5 times
EBITDA.
Madrid, 27 of February 2009.- In a context of global financial crisis that has reduced the
economic growth perspectives, specially in the construction sector, Uralita's sales in 2008
reached 1,007,0 million Euros, 8,0% lower than in the exceptional 2007. It is however the
second highest figure excluding the sale of non-strategic businesses that took place between
2003-2005. Excluding the exceptional 2007, Uralita's revenues increased 5.1% yearly in the
period 2005-2008.
The lower activity in this sector, the difficulty to translate higher raw material prices to end
customers and the devaluation of some currencies made EBITDA decrease to 162 million Euros
(-27.4% compared to an exceptional 2007). The compound average growth rate over the last
four years was 8.1%. The profitability levels in terms of EBITDA margin achieved in 2008 were
very similar to those achieved in 2005 and 2006 thanks to the efficiency improvement efforts
and to the focus on high potential products.
The Recurring Net Attributable Profit reached 60.0 million Euros. However, given the complexity
of the current economic context, Uralita decided to make provisions to undertake actions to
adjust to the market situation and maintain the business profitability. The effect of this provision,
together with negative exchange rate differences due to the devaluation of some currencies,
especially in Eastern Europe, reduced the Net Attributable Profit to 40.3 million Euros.
It is worth highlighting the sound financial position of the Group. At 31 December 2008, Uralita?s
net financial debt was 243.9 million Euros, equivalent to approximately 1.5 times EBITDA of the
last 12 months, and which is lower than the average of the sector.
Cost reduction and cash flow generation initiatives
Despite the fact that the business fundamentals are sound in the medium and long term, Uralita
has decided to launch a cost reduction and cash flow improvement program that will enable to
preserve profitability levels in the short term, despite the fall in activity. The plan includes the
following measures:
· Restructuring of the production facilities to adapt the capacity of each business to
demand
· Reduction of support functions and fixed costs
· Revision of growth investments, adapting project execution to the expected evolution of
demand
· Optimization of maintenance investments
· Active management of working capital
About URALITA:
Uralita is a Spanish building materials multinational founded in 1907. Nowadays, it operates in
35 countries and it has 40 factories in Europe and is currently building five new plants. The
company's strategic business areas are Insulation (under the URSA® brand), Gypsum (under
Pladur® and Algiss® brands), Roof tiles (under the Cobert® brand) and Piping (under the
Adequa® brand). Uralita is the leading light building materials company in the Iberian Peninsula,
and is the third European insulation producer
For more information:
Gonzalo Torres / José Luis González
gtorres@gavinanderson.es
jlgonzalez@gavinanderson.es
Teléfono:+ 34 91 702 71 70
Móvil: + 34 610 275 845 / 661 850 384
2008 2007 Dif. 07-08 CAGR * 05-08 (%)
Sales
1,007 1,095 -8.0% 5.1%
EBITDA
162 224 -27.4% 8.1%
Recurring Net Attributable Profit
60.0 85.4 -29.7% -
Net Attributable Profit
40.3 85.4 -52.9% 4.6%
Million Euros
* Compound Average Growth Rate
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