From Italy to Belgium, from São Paulo to Buenos Aires, Engineering, the Italian group, based in Rome, leader in Information Technology, continues to grow abroad. Permanently established in Brussels, Brazil and the Middle East, the company also opened a representative office in the United States and inaugurated its Argentine office in Buenos Aires in May. "In the last 2 years we have accelerated abroad and 10% of the group's turnover already depends on it", the president Michele Cinaglia told FIRSTonline.
The countries that most attract the attention of society are the most sparkling from the point of view of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) innovation and where growth rates see figures much higher than those in Europe. Not only the BRICS, but also the second generation emerging countries, above all Turkey. “We were present in the past and we are evaluating a possible return”. the president said. "Turkey is a strong, highly qualified nation which is developing at a fast pace and where there is a high level of education: the only real obstacle is the language". Good prospects were also opening up in the countries of North Africa, but given the change in the political scenario, projects have slowed down. "Our point of reference remains the Italian customer, our internationalization follows that of our national companies", added Cinaglia.
It is in fact in the Italian market that Engineering occupies an important position: it is the largest company in the software and IT services sector, with an annual turnover that is estimated to soon touch one billion euro (758,6 million euro in 2010) .
Since the beginning of the year, the group has grown in Italy by more than 8%: "It is an extraordinary result - declared the Chairman - considering that the domestic market is slowed down by growth, just as the general economic scenario has slowed down" . Engineering International Belgium counts the European Union among its clients, a source of great satisfaction for the company: in the last year it brought home around 15 million euros, marking the return of Italian IT companies to the Community market, which saw them traditionally absent.
A success that does not make us lose sight of the difficulties. “In Europe – explains the president of Engineering – competition is fierce and the barriers to entry for new players can only be broken down with commitment, investment and quality. It is difficult to enter France or Spain and we are not even present in Germany”. South America, on the other hand, sees sensational growth rates in the IT innovation market and, although there is no lack of competitors there either, the opportunity to invest is justified by the expectation of higher remuneration in the medium term.
The company has been listed on the Stock Exchange since December 2000 and financial analysts are beginning to put the group's foreign portfolio under observation, considering it a strategic lever due to the higher expected growth rates, market enlargement and as opposed to lower taxes weighing on companies compared to the national tax treatment. It is no coincidence that in December 2010 the group acquired 100% of the Brazilian Dynpro Sistemas, one of the most dynamic companies on the local ICT market. “The goal is to build a Brazilian company,” said general manager of organization and personnel, Luigi Palmisani. "We have acquired local specialized skills and the transition to the Engineering group will allow new growth for employment and for our activities".
The Roman group has always been on the crest of the wave. Founded in 1980 by the current president Michele Cinaglia, it began as a software house ahead of market trends. In 1984 Rosario Amodeo, now managing director, became a shareholder and in 88 joined the company, working alongside his friend Cinaglia. Consolidation took place in the 90s: industrial and financial partners of a certain importance such as IMI, Ibm and Benetton acquired minority shareholdings. In 2000 entry to the Italian Stock Exchange on the Allstar segment. With the arrival of new capital, the Group has grown, investing more than 200 million euros in new acquisitions in recent years. “I'm happy to have listed the company on the Stock Exchange, – said Cinaglia – not because it was indispensable then, we would have had similar growth even with our own resources, but when we reach a certain size, being able to resort to the market gives us an edge. Some investments require funds that are hardly within the reach of a family.
Today Engineering is a multinational with 43 offices, of which 37 in Italy, and has 6.500 employees, more than half of whom are university graduates. The group has an industrial presence in large public and private organizations in all markets: banks, insurance companies, industry, telecommunications, the composite world of central, local and health public administration.
Engineering follows a business to business model but, thanks to the development of new technologies and multimedia, it also has an indirect relationship with consumers. Just think of the creation of the first m-payment platform that allows you to make online digital purchases using telephone credit. In other words, through mobile phones, the 50 million Italians who own (at least) a SIM will be able to buy digital content such as books, newspapers, music and videos, and the cost will be deducted from the telephone credit. “With the mPayments Engineering faces the consumer user in an important way”, explains Gianluca Polegri, director of the Broadband and Media Services area. "The agreements with the mobile operators (Tim, Vodafone, Wind, Tre, Fastweb and PosteMobile) have already been completed and the market launch is underway".
Engineering plays a leadership role in international software engineering research. She is the author of important projects that contribute to designing today the web services architecture of tomorrow. In this area, far-sighted and counter-current choices have not been lacking. In fact, the company has been investing in open source for many years. Multiple lines of services were developed and SpagoWorld, the OS community they founded, was very successful from India to China to the United States.
The latest quarterly data confirm the good performance of the group. The value of production grew to 178 million euros, an increase of 8,2% compared to the same period last year. Also growing was Ebit, +7,2%, and Ebitda +3,3%. However, the Stock Exchange does not seem to notice it and Engineering's shares continue to be penalized with a P/E of 7,6 compared to the average of 10,9 of the other competitors. This depends, according to the latest analyst reports, on the group's great exposure to the Italian market which shows little growth prospects and on lower share liquidity. “We distribute just over 20% of profits to shareholders, the rest we reinvest in the company and we're happy with that,” Cinaglia says. “But we've created a national champion that we're presenting head-on in London, Paris and Frankfurt: it's a success for all of Italy”.
Engineering confirms itself as a solid company of the fourth Italian capitalism, a stable group in which one invests, rather than to receive high dividends, to embark on a path of development with the company itself.
Attachments: Curriculum_Vitae_di_Michele_Cinaglia.pdf
