The Cir group closed 2012 with a negative net result of 33,1 million (against the profit of 9,7 million in 2011), due to the effect of the loss reported by Sorgenia, due in particular to asset write-downs. The red came despite the profit achieved by three of the four main operating subsidiaries of the De Benedetti family holding company (Espresso, Sogefi and Kos).
Revenues grew by almost 12%, to over 5 billion euros. Gross operating margin above 300 million euro, but down on 2011 due to the lower contribution of the companies most active in the domestic market, in particular Sorgenia and Espresso. The group's net financial debt as at 31 December 2012 amounted to 2.504,4 million euro, against 2.593,6 million as at 30 September 2012.
The board of directors will propose to the shareholders' meeting not to distribute dividends. Furthermore, on the initiative of the CEO, he will propose to reduce the value of the incentive plan for top management and executives by more than 50%.
The performance of the Cir group in 2013 “will be influenced by the evolution of the macroeconomic context, in particular by the performance of the Italian economy, characterized by a persistent recession whose intensity is not foreseeable at the moment. In this context, all the main operating subsidiaries of the group will continue their management efficiency actions without, however, renouncing their business development initiatives”, underlines the company.
“In 2012 our group – commented Rodolfo De Benedetti, CEO of Cir – was affected by the consequences of the recession which hit various European countries, including Italy, and by the difficulties experienced by some of the sectors in which we operate, primarily the energy and then the media. The net result was affected by non-recurring charges.
However, all our companies continue to have a good competitive position, in many cases higher than that of our competitors, especially Sogefi, which is continuing its international expansion, and Espresso, despite the serious publishing crisis”.
The strategic priorities for 2013 "will be the focus on the four main activities of the group, with particular attention to energy and the media, financial discipline and the achievement of maximum efficiency, without renouncing development actions in the areas of activity and in the markets with higher growth. Despite the difficult current context, we continue to have faith in the group's ability to generate value in the medium-long term".
