Corticeira Amorim sees €42 million profit increase

Cork company Amorim recorded profits of €41.2 million for the first half of 2018, representing an increase of 9.2% like-for-like.

The company says that the reason behind these results is “activity growth” and the integration of Bourrassé and Elfverson which, jointly, more than compensated for the devaluation of the US dollar.

The company saw all of its business areas enjoy a growth in sales for the period with the exception of its coatings subsidiary. All told, sales were close to €399:8 million by the end of June, up 12.7% than the same period in 2017.

Amorim’s EBITDA (results before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortisation) climbed to €77:4 million, an increase of 9.6% in relation to the first half of 2017.

“Within a context of greater pressure on gross margins, it was particularly important to obtain operational efficiency gains as well as strict cost control and a reduction in impairments,” states the company in a communiqué.

On the other hand, net debt increased from €92:8 million at the end of 2017 to €102 million in the first half of 2018. The increase was down to “the amounts paid for recent acquisitions (Bourassé, Sodiliège and Elfverson) and a consolidation of the respective debt on the Corticeira Amorim balance sheet.”