13 March 2020 at 14:54
All economic indicators have improved.
Approval of the proposed dividend distribution of €0.52 per share.
Today the Board of Directors of Reply S.p.A. [MTA, STAR: REY] approved the draft financial statement for the year 2019, which will be submitted for approval to the Shareholders’ Meeting to be held on first call in Turin on April 21, 2020.
The Reply Group closed 2019 with a consolidated turnover of €1,182.5 million, an increase of 14.2% compared to €1,035.8 million in 2018.
All indicators are positive for the period. Consolidated EBITDA was €191.3 million, which is an increase of 32.1% compared to the €144.8 million recorded at December 2018. Consolidated EBITDA - excluding the effects of the application of IFRS 16 - would have been €167.4 million.
EBIT, from January to December, was €155.3 million, which is an increase of 17.3% compared to €132.4 million at December 2018). EBIT, excluding the effects of the application of IFRS 16, would have been €154,7 million.
The Group net profit was at €113.9 million, an increase of 14,0% compared to the €99.9 million recorded in 2018. The value excluding the effects of the application of IFRS 16 would have been equal to €115,4 million.
Following the results achieved in 2019, the Reply Board of Directors decided to propose a dividend distribution of €0.52 per share to the next Shareholders’ Meeting, which will be payable on May 6, 2020, with the dividend date set on May 4, 2020 (record date May 5, 2020).
As at 31 December 2019, the Group’s net financial position has been positive at €105 million (€197.2 million excluding the effects of the application of IFRS 16). The net financial position as at 30 September 2019 was positive at €52.9 million.
Following the meeting of the Board of Directors, Reply Chairman Mario Rizzante commented “2019 was a significant year for our Group, with a turnover that exceeded €1,180 million and a net profit that recorded an increase of 14% compared to 2018”.
"In recent months - continues Mario Rizzante - Reply has not only established itself in the technology environment, but also played a leading role in the major transformation processes implemented by all companies. Moreover, 2019 has seen important developments in all our main offering lines: Cloud, IoT and smart objects, data platforms and digital experience. Even in these months, we are witnessing an exponential growth in demand for new applications related to the use of artificial intelligence, an area where Reply has been committed for a long time, acquiring a leadership position.”
“Today - Mario Rizzante concludes - we are experiencing a situation heavily influenced by the spread of Coronavirus, causing slowdowns in the operating activities of companies in every industry, as well as sudden upheavals in people's everyday habits. Reply was already equipped to operate in Smart Working, having cloud-based systems and advanced tools for individual productivity. We quickly moved to remote activities, strengthening the network infrastructures in those areas most exposed such as Italy, and we are ready to set up similar actions in other countries if necessary."
The manager responsible for preparing the company's financial reports, Dr Giuseppe Veneziano, states in accordance with Paragraph 2 of Article 154-bis of the Consolidated Finance Act, that the accounting information contained in this press release corresponds to the company's records, ledgers and accounting entries.
This press release is a translation, the Italian version will prevail.