CENTRALE DEL LATTE DI TORINO & C. S.P.A.: the Board of Directors approved the draft financial statements for FY2011

CENTRALE DEL LATTE DI TORINO & C. S.P.A.: the Board of Directors approved the draft financial statements for FY2011:

Consolidated net revenue of € 103.2 million (+2% compared to € 101.3 million at 31/12/2010)
EBITDA of € 6.5 million (compared to € 8.9 million at 31/12/2010)
EBIT of € 592 thousand (compared to € 3 million at 31/12/2010)
Negative net result of € 1 € million (compared to a net profit of € 1 million at 31/12/2010).

Profit margins on the rise in Q4.

Payment of a dividend 0.02 euro per share proposed to the Meeting.

The Board of Directors of Centrale del Latte di Torino – a company listed on the STAR division of Borsa Italiana dealing in the production and sale of fresh milk, milk products and ultra-fresh products – today approved the draft financial statements for FY2011, which will be submitted to the Shareholders’ Meeting on 30 April 2011.

Centrale del Latte di Torino Group recorded net consolidated revenue of € 103.2 million at 31/12/2011, up 2% compared to € 101.3 million recorded in the previous FY. Despite the difficult socio-economic situation, which has led to a dramatic fall in consumption on the part of families even in the food segment, and in particular as regards branded products, CLT Group has managed to increase its sales, expanding its market shares and strengthening awareness of its brands, without neglecting growth in new market segments and in third-party brand products.

EBITDA at 31/12/2011 stood at € 6.5 million, compared to € 8.9 million of the previous FY, and EBIT went from € 3 million at 31/12/2010 to € 592 thousand at 31/12/2011. FY2011 closed with a net loss of € 1 million, compared to the net profit of € 1 million registered at 30/12/2010.

This fall in profit margins is mainly due to the significant rise in milk raw material costs registered in the first nine months of 2011, with increases of as much as 9% on 2010 prices. During the last quarter of 2011 EBITDA began to rise again.

Partly because of the delay in payment of a VAT rebate that at the end of the year amounted to € 5.2 million, the net financial position at 31/12/2011 was negative to the tune of € 31.9 million, as compared to € -31 million at 31/12/2010 and € -29.1 million at 30/09/2011.

As regards the results of the parent company Centrale del Latte di Torino & C. S.p.A., net revenue at 31 December 2011 equalled € 59.3 million, in line with the results at 31/12/2010. EBITDA for the year went from € 5.8 million at 31/12/2010 to € 4.5 million at 31/12/2011. EBIT at 31/12/2010 was € 2.3 million compared to € 3.8 million of the previous FY, while net result went from € 1.4 million at 31/12/2010 to € 281 thousand at 31/12/2011. In Q4, the parent company achieved an EBITDA equal to 10.4% of the value of production.

The Board of Directors therefore decided that the upcoming Shareholders’ Meeting, to be held in Turin on 30 April will be proposed a dividend of € 0.02 per share, to be paid out from 10 May 2012, ex-dividend date: 7 May 2012. The Shareholders’ Meeting will also have to appoint the Board of Statutory Auditors, whose appointment expired with the closure of the financial statements at 31 December 2011. As regards the outlook for the current financial year, the first months of the year have confirmed the positive performance of sales, despite persistently sluggish consumption. In addition, starting from February, the turnaround in milk raw material prices, which are expected to fall further in Q2 2012, has finally led to a recovery of profit margins.

Pursuant to paragraph 2 of article 154-bis of the Consolidated Finance Law, the Executive in charge of drafting corporate accounts, Mr. Vittorio Vaudagnotti, stated that the accounting information herein contained tallies with the company’s documentary evidence, ledgers and accounts.

The press release is also available on the website www.barabino.it, where it may be downloaded from the “Breaking News” section.
In addition, all the documentation regarding the company (press kit, previous press releases, photographic material, etc.) is available in the section “Online Press Office” of the website.

Turin, 12 March 2012