GERMANY - In the first half of this year the Pfleiderer Group, one of the main wood panel manufacturers in Europe, generated a solid set of financial results after the process of legal and financial integration of the Eastern and Western European divisions at the beginning of 2016.

Revenues amounted to EUR 489.3 million in the first half, slightly below the level posted in the same period last year (EUR 497.5 million). Revenues were negatively affected by lower sales prices and negative exchange rate effects amounting to EUR 14.6 million. However, Pfleiderer has grown in volume by EUR 9.2 million.

Sustainable EBITDA amounted to EUR 70.4 million and was 9.2% higher compared to the same period last year, due to volume growth and favorable material costs and synergies from the integration of ONE PFLEIDERER. EBITDA margin stood at 14.4% (compared to 13% EBITDA margin in the first half of 2015) and overachieved expectations for the reporting period. The current year is regarded as extraordinary concerning non-sustainable items, due to the expenses in H1 2016 for the re-IPO (EUR 10.2 million) and in connection with the integration of Eastern and Western businesses (EUR 4.2 million).

Including the non-sustainable expenses reported, EBITDA stood at EUR 51.8 million (H1 2015: EUR 60.5 million). Net profit (after tax) amounted to EUR 4.1 million in the first half of 2016 compared to EUR 14 million in the same period of 2015.

“As expected and communicated to the market, the first half of the year was influenced by several non-sustainable issues related to expenditures on the re-IPO process and the full integration of the Eastern and Western segments. However, due to consistent strategic focus on the development of the sales of value-added products and the growing impact of synergies arising from the integration of the Pfleiderer organization, we have achieved very satisfying results in the first six months.” Stated Michael Wolff, President and CEO of the Pfleiderer Group. And added, “The main objective for the second half of 2016 is a strong focus on the Group’s internal integration to push faster decision-making processes and a more streamlined operational structure. We are happy to confirm our target of realizing cost savings of at least EUR 30 million by the end of 2018.”