Based on unaudited results Pegas Nonwovens SA, a leading European producer of nonwovens textiles, recorded consolidated revenues of EUR 146.0 million in the first nine months of 2013, up by 4.2% yoy.
The year-on-year growth in revenues was the result of higher sales of finished products (particularly in the first quarter of the year) as well as the slight increase in polymer prices. The total consolidated revenues in the third quarter of 2013 were EUR 47.9 million, a 0.1% increase compared with the same period last year.
The year-on-year decline in polymer price indices, which are decisive for setting the sales prices of finished products, in the third quarter of this year, compensated for the sales levels of the gradually ramped-up production in Egypt.
Operating profitability before depreciation and amortization, interest and taxes measured by EBITDA was EUR 27.9 million, down by 3.2% yoy. The decline in EBITDA was affected by increased staff costs resulting from the revaluation of the share option plan to fair value and the higher number employees for the new production plant in Egypt.
The good sales performance from the beginning of the year was gradually compensated for by lower than planned production results. The polymer price pass-through mechanism had a slightly positive effect on the year-on-year comparison. EBITDA amounted to EUR 8.8 million in the third quarter of 2013, down by 22.2% yoy.
The year-on-year comparison was to a great degree affected by the unusually high EBITDA achieved in the third quarter of last year on the back of a significantly positive impact of the price pass through mechanism. Likewise, the increase in staff costs, namely in connection with the revaluation of share options and the higher number of planned production technical breaks also impacted the EBITDA level.
In the first nine months of 2013, profit from operations (EBIT) amounted to EUR 18.6 million, down by 6.1% over the same period in 2012. In the third quarter of 2013, profit from operations decreased by 38.0% to EUR 5.2 million. The decreased profit from operations was negatively affected by lower operating performance and higher depreciation and amortization.
In the first nine months of 2013, net profit reached EUR 9.1 million, down by 48.9% yoy, primarily due to unrealized foreign exchange changes. In the third quarter of 2013, the Company recorded a net profit of EUR 2.3 million, down by 72.9% compared with the same period in 2012 due to lower operating performance, higher depreciation and amortization, the effect of FX changes and an increase in interest costs.
