Fedrigoni with a positive Q1 despite Covid-19 crisis

Fedrigoni, one of the European leaders in the production of paper for packaging, self-adhesive labels, printing and banknotes and securities has closed the first quarter of 2020 with an operating margin of 1.1 percent compared to March 2019, despite the Covid-19 crisis.

Marco Nespolo, CEO of Fedrigoni Group

The number includes the newly purchased Ritrama company, even though revenue remained at EUR 374.2 million (-7.9 percent) due to a general drop in demand, which also affected the paper, resulting from the lockdown and the closure of many plants in response to the Covid-19 emergency.

‘The results are affected by the general impact of the epidemic on the markets in March, after two months in which Fedrigoni Group had recorded solid growth,’ stated Marco Nespolo, CEO of Fedrigoni, ‘and by ongoing difficulty in the banknotes sector, which has however been offset by excellent results in self-adhesive labels, whose adjusted EBITDA increased to double figures. We have in fact achieved a stronger, more complete positioning in the pressure sensitive labels division with the purchase of Ritrama, which was completed in February and already foresees ambitious developments, making us the third largest global player, and allowing us to resupply markets such as food, pharma, logistics and personal care that during and after Covid-19 have actually grown.’

‘Despite the adverse situation we are benefiting from the changes that were launched over the last year, from the strengthening of the management team to the development of increasingly top-performing, eco-friendly products, from acquisitions to investment in technology, from the revision of prices and costs to scouting out new markets. All these steps have allowed us to increase operating margins despite a drop-in turnover. The Covid-19 emergency forced us to implement corrective measures, but it will not stop us from following our development plan and strategic initiatives that we have drawn up to develop the group,’ concluded Nespolo.

2019 closed with a turnover of  EUR 1,171.4 million (excluding Ritrama, which had not yet been formally acquired), in line with the previous year, but with an adjusted EBITDA of EUR 162.7 million (+18.7 percent on a like-for-like basis). This was due to strong performances in the self-adhesive labels division, which saw an increase in revenue (EUR 391 million, +4.2 percent) and volume, as well as from increased operating margins for paper despite the stable revenue, which compensated for the predicted decrease in the banknotes sector, whose complexity makes it the weakest link in the chain.

Read more about Fedrigoni group in Issue 2 of Labels & labeling