The Board of Directors of CAREL has approved the results as of 30 June 2020: consolidated revenues amounted to Euro 161.0 million, compared to Euro 166.9 million in the period ended 30 June 2019, marking a slight decline of 3.6%. This decline was entirely due to the effects of the lockdown in China and the shutdown of the Group’s Italian production hub (located in Brugine, Padua) following the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Francesco Nalini, Group Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We are proud to present results that, despite the unprecedented scenario we experienced in the first half of the year, are not far from those reported in 2019. This is in relation to revenues, which came in at the high end of the guidance range previously given by the Group (single-digit percent decline) and in terms of profitability, substantially in line with that recorded at 31 December 2019. This enabled considerable cash flows of approximately Euro 18 million to be generated from operating activities. These results highlight the Group’s ability to react swiftly and highly effectively to exceptional adverse scenarios and the resilience assured by its diversification both at the geographical level and in terms of its business portfolio. Within such a challenging scenario, a fundamental role was played by technological mirroring, i.e. the strategic decision to replicate production processes at various facilities, which enabled production of certain product families to be relocated rapidly from plants affected by lockdown measures to their fully operational counterparts, thus reducing the inconvenience for our clients. In any event, the backlog accumulated during the lockdown was largely handled in June, and a residual part in July. Innovation, commitment and a focus on the Client will remain the key elements of our strategy in the second half of such a challenging year.”
