Barilla Hellas’ profitability will be mainly affected by operating costs this year while revenues are expected to show stability, according to the company.
Pressure on operating costs, mainly because of energy prices, significantly affected profitability in 2022, at a time when overall revenues showed significant growth.
“The company is affected by disruptions in global supply chains and the turbulent geopolitical environment from February 2022 onwards, when a significant increase in operating costs (raw materials, energy, packaging, logistics) was recorded, which may continue to put pressure on its financial results,” the company said adding that the (COVID-19) pandemic continues to impact the global economy and society. Although the pandemic has had a limited negative impact on the group so far, if it escalates again, it could lead to prolonged and increased shortages in the supply chain.”
“Both the sales and profitability will be affected by market conditions and raw material prices. In 2023 and based on the course of the Greek economy, no significant change in turnover and sales volumes is expected. Pasta production is expected to exceed 47 million kg. The effort to expand in markets beyond the Greek market will be continuous, taking advantage of the opportunity provided by the development of activities in Eastern Europe.”
Last year the company recorded a 41.5% increase in revenues to 115.5 million euros compared to 81.6 million euros in 2021, a development attributed mainly to the consolidation of the subsidiary Barilla Romania. It is noted that the subsidiary in Romania was established in August 2021, focusing on wholesale sales.
In terms of the profitability, pre-tax profit was affected by significant increase in raw material, energy, packaging and logistics costs and higher investments in commercial levers and stood at €0.9 million against €3.3 million euros in 2021. Accordingly, net profits fell to 0.5 million euros compared to 2.5 million euros in 2021. In this context, the board of directors proposed not to give a dividend for the 2022 fiscal year.
It is noted that in 2022 investments of 2.3 million euros were made, fully financed by equity.
