Valencia / ES. (ifh) Spanish Natra S.A. obtained first quarter sales of 86.39 million EUR and an Ebitda of 3.86 million EUR. Consolidated results for the first quarter show a significant improvement over the Company’s Budget, which is aligned with the Strategic Plan approved in the Financing Agreement for 2017, thanks to the increase in activity in the Industrial Division, the improvement of Margin in the Consumption Division and control of costs in general in all Plants.
When compared to the same period of the previous year, first quarter 2017 Sales of 86 million EUR are very similar. The Ebitda reached in 2017 is lower than last year, which was already contemplated in the 2017 budget of the Company, because the inflow of new money from the Refinancing Agreement signed at the end of the year 2015, provided the Company with a significant improvement in the service rate, which allowed adjusting provisions for penalties in first quarter 2016. If we eliminated the positive effect of the provisions released from the 2016 Ebitda to make a comparable year, we would reach an Ebitda similar to that obtained in the first quarter of 2017.
If the company compares the cash flow generated by the operations of the first quarter of this year 2017 with the same period of 2016, there has been an improvement of 1 million EUR, mainly due to working capital improvement.
Business Overview
Natra closed the first quarter of 2017 with sales very similar to those obtained in the same period of the previous year. In relation to Ebitda, Ebitda decreased 42.1 percent to 3.86 million EUR, compared to 6.67 million EUR in the same period last year. In cumulative terms, sales amounted to86.39 million EUR, a decrease of 0.4 percent over the same period last year. In terms of volume, tons sold increased by 0.7 percent. The industrial division showed strong performance during the first quarter, with sales growth of 16.1 percent (18.9 percent in tones sold), reaching33.57 million EUR compared to 29.15 million EUR same period last year year. The consumption division sales declined by 8.3 percent, reaching 52.82 million EUR in the first quarter of 2017 compared to 57.58 million EUR in the same period last year. The volume of tons sold decreases in the same proportion. Noteworthy is the increase in EMEA sales of 17.8 percent and 3.4 percent in America in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the same period last year, which shows the good performance of the business in these markets. In APAC, which accounts for only 1.4 percent of the total division, there has been a 24.6 percent decrease in sales.
Consolidated Net Income
At the end of the first quarter of 2017, Natra’s consolidated net income was -2.01 million EUR against a profit of 0.14 million EUR achieved in the same period of last year. This decrease of 2 million was mainly due to the fall in Ebitda. In addition, amortizations have been reduced, there is a slight decrease in the financial result and a lower tax expense in Belgian companies.
