MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Hearing aid distributor Amplifon SpA said
consolidated net revenues in the first half grew 19.5 pct to 332.1 mln eur,
boosted by sales in Europe thanks to new acquisitions in the UK as well as a
positive trend in Germany, the Iberian peninsula and Italy.
Net profit slumped by 38.8 pct to 14.7 mln eur as an increase in the tax
rate in Italy and the UK as well as higher amortization and financial charges
linked to acquisitions made last year.
In the first half, the group made acquisitions for a total of 20.5 mln eur.
EBITDA fell 2.7 pct to 45.3 mln eur, with a margin of 13.6 pct compared with
16.7 pct in the same period a year ago.
According to a Thomson Financial consensus, revenues were seen coming in at
327.78 mln eur, while net profit was seen at 20.94 mln and EBITDA at 49.18 mln.
The fall in margins is mainly due to the UK performance, but the group is
"taking a series of initiatives that will align the UK to the profitability of
the group by 2009/2010," said CEO Franco Moscetti in a statement.
In the UK, Amplifon controls Ultravox, which it bought last year.
Net debt grew to 246.4 mln eur from 203.8 mln at the end of Dec while free
cash flow from recurring operations was 11.5 mln eur, up from 5.9 mln at the end
of June 2006.
yael.schrage@thomson.com
ysc/ajb
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