The Board of Industrie Chimiche Forestali, active in the design, production and marketing of adhesives and fabrics with a high technological and sustainable content, has examined the preliminary consolidated operating results for the year ended 31 December 2022, which have not yet been audited.
Revenues in 2022 settled at around 88 million, with a significant growth of around 17% compared to 2021. This increase is attributable to both the increase in prices and the increase in sales volumes. The sector of products intended for the manufacturing business was particularly positive, represented by the market segments of leather goods and technical sports and luxury footwear, with the significant contribution of the Morel brand which generated revenues of approximately 8 million.
Ebitda also recorded a good performance, settling at an estimate of approximately 7.5 million with a margin of approximately 8.5%, thus increasing by more than 40% compared to the previous year. In particular, it should be noted that after a first quarter with an Ebitda margin of less than 6%, the performance has progressively improved until reaching a double-digit margin in 4Q 2022.
Lastly, net financial debt improved to around €8 million, down on the €12.3 million recorded as at 30 September 2022. The decrease of around €3.7 million in the last quarter was mainly due to the contraction in net working capital which had increased in the first part of the year to finance the increase in turnover.
Considering the performance of the last twelve months, it can be estimated that the Group’s free cash flow generation amounts to approximately 1.2 million, net of non-operating items such as the payment of approximately 0.95 million for the dividend paid in May, approximately 0.6 million for the implementation of the buy-back program and 0.3 million for the payment of the residual portion of the acquisition of the Morel business branch.
Research and development activities also continued during the year aimed at further improving sustainability and reducing the environmental impact with the launch of the RICICLITM and LUMINE products and projects relating to the photovoltaic plant and the Plate refrigeration plant Chillers aimed at achieving high efficiencies with a reduced environmental impact and cost containment.