The title of Il Sole 24 Ore flies to Piazza Affari after the 2017-2020 industrial plan presented this morning, on the basis of which in 2020 the group promises to achieve consolidated revenues of 295 million, an ebitda of 45 million and an ebit of 34 million EUR.
Numbers and ambitions of a group that would like to overcome today's financial and judicial difficulties in a very short time, promising a "gradual return to sustainable profitability" in 2018. A plan that appeals to the investors of the Milan Stock Exchange who have rewarded the stock with massive purchases . The shares of Il Sole 24 Ore spent many hours in the volatility auction, closing with a rise of 25,63%.
The plan confirmed that 2016 closed with a negative result in terms of Ebit (-69 million euros) and Ebitda (-23 million euros), while revenues amounted to 284 million.
Speaking precisely of Ebit, the result before financial charges should return to a positive 8 million in 2018 and then rise to 34 million euros in 2020 thanks to "actions to contain direct, operating and personnel costs". In detail, the Confindustria publishing company plans to reduce external collaborations and cut personnel costs "following the corporate reorganization and operational processes" which will result in a reduction in the workforce (journalists, managers, polygraphic, graphic and radio operators ).
The project also speaks of 8 million investments in 2018 and 7 million in 2017 aimed at "supporting the development of the group's digitization program and renewing existing networks and systems".
Speaking in detail of the business unit of the newspaper, the group expects a drop in revenues for 2020 to 111 million euros from the 121 pre-closure of 2016, while in three years Ebitda and Ebit should reach 10 and 9 million euros respectively. Even the newspaper will not be free from cuts and redundancies. On the basis of what we read in the presentation of the plan, in fact, "a stability of both circulation and advertising revenues and an important and broad containment of production, distribution and personnel costs" are estimated.
