“Fortunately for us we are exempt from this world. We are a family company and for us profit 'is not the point'“. This was stated by Claudio Colzani, CEO of Barilla, answering a question on how the group is looking at global M&A operations also in the food sector. “When we speak in the company, the discussions are not about what the profit will be in the coming years but about the products, about sustainability…”, he added, thus excluding acquisition operations in the short term.
Today Barilla presented its accounts, which show that the agri-food group closed 2015 with a turnover of 3,383 billion euros, up 4% compared to 2014 (+2% net of the exchange rate effect). The ebitda of the Parma-based food group was 440 million, an increase compared to 427 million in 2014, with an average incidence of 13% on turnover. Net debt fell to 170 million euros from 250 million in 2014. The leverage ratio (ratio between debt and EBITDA) at the end of 2015 was 0,4x, constantly decreasing since 2008 when it was 2x (in 2014 it was was equal to 0,6x).
During 2015 the expenditure for the group's investment amounted to approximately 147 million euro, almost 4% of turnover. Sales volumes were overall stable compared to 2014. Barilla divides its presence into four geographical areas: Italy, which represents 47% of turnover, Europe excluding our country (29%), the Americas ( 27%), and Africa, Asia and Oceania with 5-6% of the total. While all foreign areas have seen growth, Italy "has not grown, it has declined", reflecting the difficulties of the country that comes from years of crisis, he specified the managing director Claudio Colzani. For 2016, "Italy is confirmed as a difficult market, we don't expect an explosion in consumption", while "the data outside Europe are comforting", explained Colzani.
In any case, "the first five months of the year are perfectly in line with our expectations" and also in 2016 there will be growth like that of 2015 with the expected Ebitda equal to 12,5% of turnover. Also by product type, in terms of volumes pasta recorded a +6%, sauces up +7% while bakery products fell: "They are experiencing a moment of difficulty which reflects the decline recorded on the Italian market", said Colzani again.
On the occasion of the presentation of the 2015 accounts, Barilla also disclosed the sustainability report “Good for you, Good for the Planet”. For Guido Barilla, president of the Parma-based company, "the 2015 results confirm the effectiveness of the Good for you, Good for the Planet strategy", adding that "despite the difficult context, the company continues to grow abroad and does better than the market average in Italy”. The company, continued the chairman, is "committed to supporting expansion in emerging markets characterized by high consumption of pasta and to taking advantage of the opportunities in our offer of bakery products", explaining that "we do all this by promoting a tasty, healthy and joyful, inspired by the Mediterranean lifestyle”.
As part of the "Good for you, Good for the Planet" strategy, Barilla has reformulated 2010 products since 219, has reduced fat in 73 products and salt in 15 products over the past three years, with new products launched to market that have less sugar and more fiber. Following a sustainability strategy, even if it has been recalled that Barilla "is not a non-profit organization but a private profit-making company", compared to 2010 "there has been a 23% reduction in CO2 emissions and a 19% decrease % of water consumption per ton of finished product”. The group has also "boosted the development of sustainable agriculture projects" and in this context in 2015 purchased 140 tonnes of sustainable hard grade (+50% on 2014) from 1.300 farms. At the same time, it raised the share of strategic raw materials purchased from responsibly managed supply chains from 6% to 18%, with the aim of reaching 100% by 2020.
"Barilla does not hold back on investments in Italy even if the country is not growing and we cannot hide that there is a problem", Colzani also said, adding that "we are among the top five advertising investors in Italy" which will not change Why the group "cares a lot" about the Italian market, recalling that in Italy "even in the years of crisis we kept the factories 100% active, even losing ourselves". In our country, continued Colzani, "a structural change in consumption has been underway for 4-5 years and our strategy in Italy is to focus on what we know how to do - pasta, sauces and baked goods - making them in the most natural way, nutritious and correct as possible", emphasizing that "we must eat better and eat less, in this part of the world we must eat less". In the first months of 2016, continued the manager, "the Italian market is proving to be more difficult than expected, with sectors down by as much as 3-4%: we don't see this revival of consumption". In any case, Barilla still focuses on "innovation and investments". However, the Italian situation is counterbalanced by "other parts of the world where the situation is easier".
