MILAN, May 12 (Class Editori) - The lower results of the joint venture in China have an impact on the EBITDA of Fiera Milano. Between January and March, it amounted at €15 million compared to 29.0 million of the first quarter of 2019, because of the changes in the exhibitions calendar due to the COVID-19 emergency.
In general, Fiera Milano closed the first quarter with a pre-tax result negative at €0.1 million compared to a net profit of 14.1 million last year.
Due to the seasonality of the activities, profits and results achieved in the different quarters are characterized by fluctuations – also significant – between each quarter. Sales and services profits amount at €47.6 million compared to 71 million of the first quarter of 2019, particularly due to the cancellation of the 2020 edition of the MIDO exhibition and the postponement of the biennial Mostra Convegno Expocomfort to the following quarters, as well as the absence of the biennial events Made Expo and Transpotec Logitec.
The financial position relies on the net availability of €55.8 million compared to €68.3 million on December 31, 2019. The change can be due to the lower down payments earned in relation to the postponement of the events to the following months.
Despite a scenario of extreme uncertainty, Fiera Group has confirmed the EBITDA target for 2020 in a range between €38-43 million, also due to the Salone del Mobile postponement to 2021, by assuming a recovery of the exhibitions’ activities starting from September 2020 in Italy, and a net exhibition surface esteemed at about 700,000 square metres in the last part of the current year. The Group is still committed to paying great attention to the costs thanks to further actions, which have been started after the closing of the quarter, including, amongst others, the voluntary reduction of the Group’s managers wages, the use of the Wage Integration Fund for nine weeks and a further containment of functional costs.
The exhibition business represents a fundamental instrument for the economic recovery and, by following this direction, Fiera Milano is working in close cooperation with the national and international associations of the sector, in order to allow the activities restart also through the development of strict safety protocols.
In addition, the digital transformation plan will be granting a further instrument to protect safety inside districts, as well as a broadening of the innovative services’ offer to support the digital evolution of the events and a better customer experience in the district. (All rights reserved)
A single purchase
