ITALY – For the fifth year in a row Cefla continues its path of strong growth.

This Italian specialist in board finishing technology, among other areas of expertise, reported + 20% growth in the value of production over the previous year. And with a turnover figure of €528 million, the Company consolidated the contribution from foreign subsidiaries in strategic markets such as the USA, China and Russia – with an export percentage share of 54%.

“Although profitability indicators have increased in absolute terms,” explains President Gianmaria Balducci, “the increase in volumes with a different product/country mix compared to 2016 led to a drop of around 1 percentage point in terms of EBITDA. However, the double digit increase in our turnover largely makes up for the lost margins; our net result record figure of about 25 million euro confirms the value of our choices, and is a reward for all the stakeholders: customers, suppliers, banks and shareholder-employees”.

By the end of FY2017 Cefla employs approximately 2,000 people worldwide, of which more than 1,400 work at the Italian operations.

In 2017 the company entered into a preliminary Patent Box agreement with the national Revenue Authorities for a significant part of its portfolio, equal to over 600 intellectual property rights, patents, trademarks and designs. Cefla is one of 20 large-sized top companies in Italy to have obtained this acknowledgement of its constant commitment to Research and Development.