For the large-cap companies that make up the Milan FTSE MIB index, 2016 proved to be a difficult year. With the publication of Mediaset's results it is possible to outline the overall picture for the main companies listed on the Milanese index, which shows aggregate revenues down by 5,6% compared to the previous fiscal year to 572 billion euro.
The positive performances of companies such as Moncler (+18,2%), Yoox Net-a-Porter (+12,4%), Recordati (+10,1%), Brembo (+9,9%) and Ferrari (+ 8,8%) only partially offset the negative results of companies linked to the oil sector – Eni, Saipem and Tenaris (-22,6% overall) – and of banking and financial companies (-4,8%).
The stagnant crude oil prices and the erosion of intermediation margins from which Italian banks still derive most of their income had a significant impact on turnover.
(the profits of the 40 big caps of Piazza Affari)
But if the oil companies have managed to rationalize the operating structures, guaranteeing a certain stability (profits still in negative territory at -1,2 billion euros, but a clear improvement from the -9,4 billion losses recorded in 2015), the the banking sector had to report huge write-downs on impaired loans of various kinds, putting a strain on the solidity of the system.
The "balance sheet cleaning" requested by the supervisory authorities of the ECB led listed banks to record total losses of 9,3 billion, with a state intervention to rescue MPS and a maxi recapitalization of Unicredit (in the red of 11,8 billion in 2016). Only Intesa Sanpaolo (which among other things leads the ranking of the blue chips that have produced higher profits) and Fineco Bank have managed to increase profits compared to the previous year among the credit institutions.
It must be said that industrial companies (excluding oil) report total profits of 12 billion euros, up 45,6% compared to 2015: among the first places in terms of profit increase are FCA (+1.850,5 %), A2A (+206,8%), StMicroelectronics (+63,1%), Ferrari (+37,1%), Atlantia (31,5%) and Brembo (+30,8%).
The dynamics of operating management for industrial companies was also positive (GOM growing by 7%) – again taking into account the decline in the oil and related sector (-24,9%); StMicroelectronics, FCA and Brembo stand out for their ability to generate wealth, all with margin increases of more than 20%.
(the revenues of the 40 big caps)
The debt exposure of Piazza Affari companies continues to decrease, in line with the de-risking trend of recent years: there has been a significant drop in net financial debt, which has gone from approximately 140 billion euros in 2015 to 130,5 in 2016 (-6,6%), with a significant contribution in absolute terms by Saipem, Snam, Telecom and Eni.
The recovery of margins and the self-financing capacity of industrial companies has, in a nutshell, compensated to some extent for what turned out to be a bad year for the banking sector. Against all this, investors are preparing to collect around 16 billion in dividends, with a yield at current values close to 4%.
