It was the undisputed queen of Piazza Affari in the first five months of the year and, despite the defiance of the month of June, at the end of the semester it was reconfirmed at the top of the ranking of the greatest increases. And she: Safilo Group. On December 28, 2012, the share was traded at more or less the price of 6 and a half euros. Today, at the end of the semester (June 2013), its value exceeds 14 and a half euros (with a variation that exceeds 122%).
A growth, that of the Padua eyewear company, which in the last 12 months has exceeded 260% and has not suffered strong repercussions (if not a fall in the share which then settled at around 14 euros) not even after the announcement of the farewell by CEO Roberto Vedovotto. Vedovotto, considered the true architect of the company's relaunch, will leave the leadership of Safilo Group and Safilo Spa next October, remaining in the group as a non-executive director. Luisa Delgado, currently a non-executive director of the company, will replace him as CEO.
Curtain of the changing of the guard aside, the month of June was positive for the group. First of all the news of the agreement signed with Fendi: license agreement for the design, production and worldwide distribution of Fendi sunglasses and optical frames, valid until December 31, 2022. Second stroke of luck, an agreement for the design, production and distribution of an exclusive capsule collection of eyewear signed by Marc Newson (on the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of the famous designer).
The other winning titles since the beginning of the year are: Frendy Energy (+93,3%), Neurosoft (+90,93), Rcs Mediagroup Rsp (+89,44%), Dmail Group (+88,59%), Fondiaria Sai Rsp B (+88,53 %), Iren (+87,39%), Milano Rsp (+85,6%), Mediaset (+85,55%) and Unipol Prv (+72,19%).
On the other hand, leading the bandwagon of villains, with the greatest drop since the beginning of the year (-67,94%), is Rcs Mediagroup. The share, which at the end of 2012 was 4,3 euros, today (end of the first half) is traded at less than 1 and a half euros. Today was a decisive day for the capital increase. The last few hours have been ignited by an enormous volume of trading regarding the rights relating to the ordinary part of the recapitalization: out of 108 million rights, almost half (52 million, or 48%) have changed hands, while prices rebound (+121% to 0,0084 euro), however still far from the 1,4 euro of last June 17, the first day of the increase.
2013 was a year of great instability for RCS and Piazza Affari viewed the group's operations with great distrust: on 17 June the capital increase up to 421 million started, of which 400 million in ordinary shares and 21 million in savings shares. The operation is aimed at replenishing the capital, reduced due to losses, to repay part of the debt contracted by the company a few years ago to finance the purchase of the Spanish publishing business of Recoletos and to support part of the group's restructuring and relaunch plan. The conditions of the increase are the result of a laborious agreement between the shareholders gathered in the syndicate agreement, which up until now had bound 58,1% of the capital, the lending banks and the large shareholders outside the agreement.
In the ranking of stocks that have recorded the greatest declines since the beginning of the year after Rcs we find: Mediacontech (-67,43%), Seat Pagine Gialle (-60,87%), Screen Service (-58,85%), Saipem (-57,53%), Banca Popolare Etruria e Lazio ( -54,41%), Antichi Pellettieri (-53,49%), Arena (-50,91%), Telecom Italia Media (-50,46%) and Seat Pagine Gialle Rsp (-44,92%).
