The Exprivia Group takes time. Due to the financially tense situation in which the subsidiary Italtel Spa found itself, the Board of Directors of Exprivia Spa - a company listed on the STAR segment of the Italian Stock Exchange - deemed it appropriate defer the approval of the 2019 financial statements and the first quarter 2020 resultsat least until the assumptions of the subsidiary's business continuity are defined.
As a precautionary measure, the Group has carried out a 25 million euro write-down of the Italtel equity investment, precisely because of the uncertainty affecting the subsidiary.
However, the postponement is nothing new. Already on March 13, the Group had communicated the postponement of the approval of the annual financial report,
Subsequently, on March 31, 2020, the Board of Directors of Italtel resolved to proceed with the “blank” composition application filing and the Court had set the deadline of 120 days for the presentation of the definitive application for composition with creditors or a homologous application for debt restructuring agreements, the course of which began on 11 May 2020.
Uncertainty about the future of the subsidiary does not allow for the necessary elements to be available to accurately evaluate the capacity or otherwise of the subsidiary companies to continue operating on the basis of the going concern assumption. But also to have the financial data approved by Italtel, necessary to approve its consolidated financial statements as at 31 December 2019.
However, the BoD deemed it appropriate to authorise the dissemination of some data of a management nature, relating to the company and the Group it controls, both for 2019 and for the first quarter of 2020. In order to allow for the most exhaustive information possible on the group's performance.
Furthermore, the company - reads a note - undertakes to provide any useful update on the status and evolution of events involving Italtel Spa, also highlighting any liability risks that may arise from such events and which may affect both the Italtel Group and on the Exprivia Group.
Returning to the financial situation, the issuer, net of the subsidiary, ended 2019 with revenues of 169,3 million euro, up by 4,9% compared to 2018. EBITDA, on the other hand, rose to 18,32 million euros (+15,3%), while the net one is negative for 13,12 million. As of December 31, 2019, net debt was 43,89 million euro, against 45,8 million as at 31 December 2018.
As regards the first quarter of 2020, despite the health emergency, revenues are rather stable (+0,6%), while the margins are increasing by 6,3%, equal to 3,05 million euro. While the net position is worsening compared to 31 December 2019, for 52,6 million euro (-19%), as usual in the first quarter.
The result of the IT Operating Sector was affected by the total write-down of 25 million euro relating to the equity investment in the subsidiary Italtel as well as further minor write-downs on the book values of other equity investments. A prudential write-down, due to the current situation of uncertainty in which the subsidiary is located.
