“For years the Alfa brand has been waiting for the right opportunity to relaunch itself on world markets. The opportunity has come”. So John Elkann, president of Exor, the holding company of the Agnelli family which holds 29,16% of FCA, spoke at the Exor shareholders' meeting underway in Arese. “Today Fiat Chrysler Automobiles – said Elkann – is implementing a targeted strategy to bring the Biscione brand back to the top, thanks to a range of extraordinary and innovative cars, to a distribution network suited to and above all to a production system that enhances the skills, knowledge and talent that exist in Italy, one that does not fear comparisons with anyone and knows how to make itself respected and admire everywhere in the world. We are proud to support FCA in this beautiful project and we intend to continue to play this role for each of our companies". 78,8% of Exor's capital participates in the meeting: 51,87% of the capital is held by Giovanni Agnelli e C, 6,46% by Harris Associates LP and 4,83% are treasury shares in the hands of Exor.
"It is certainly no coincidence that we have chosen to hold the Exor assembly here", at the Alfa Romeo Museum in Arese, continued Elkann, who noted: "the Alfa Romeo Museum was reopened almost a year does on the occasion of world presentation of the new Giulia. It is a place full of charm that tells the story of a unique brand in the world and does so through a collection of models that has no equal in the world”. Elkann indicated that "we have been doing our job for more than a century and we want to continue doing this: thoroughly understand the business sectors with their specificities, identify the potential contained in our companies and help develop it in the interest of the shareholders and of all stakeholders, looking with confidence at the prospects that open up to us every day because innovation always brings new opportunities”.
The president of the Agnelli family finance company also outlined a balance sheet for 2015 of Exor: “2015 was a fundamental year for Exor. We have strengthened the company and laid the foundations for a future that will lead Exor to be more global, more solid and profitable in the coming years. The highlight of the year was theinvestment in PartnerRe, one of the most important reinsurance companies in the world, but it was not the only one”.
Elkann also said that Marchionne will not leave FCA before 2019: "When we talked about 2018, in fact it means 2019 because the 2018 results will be approved at the assembly to be held in 2019". Then he added: “I will not be among the candidates for Marchionne's place. The selection will take place internally”.
"We do not have no refinancing problems – Elkann said again -. For Partner Re (which cost Exor 6,1 billion dollars) we used our liquid resources, but we also drew on the debt, now equal to 3,7 billion euros. Our goal is a sustainable debt equal to 2017 billion in 3”. Among Exor's objectives, Elkann has indicated the target of a NAV (Net asset value) per share higher than the MSCI World index in dollars. As of May 2, Exor's NAV is equal to over 12,89 billion dollars (from 13,35 billion at the end of December 2015). Other goals, Elkann said, include "maintaining a prudent financial structure, an S&P Investment Grade rating and free cash flow generation to cover dividend distributions to shareholders."
On the participation, of 43%, in the British newspaper The Economist,, Elkann said: “Not always in difficult sectors everyone goes wrong. Those that have uniqueness may actually do well and as the world will always want to be informed and the number of English speakers is increasing, The Economist has good prospects. Ten years ago the Economist lost 6 million pounds, today it is profitable by almost 30 million. Advertising accounted for 50% of revenues, today for less than a quarter. Social media followers increased by 31% in 2015, right now there are 36 million people connected worldwide. Elkann also highlighted the success of the British media group's audio and video products.
