ITALY - The Biesse Group of Italy, a leading global manufacturer of machinery and technology and whose activity is divided into three divisions: Wood, Glass - Stone and Mechatronics, reported preliminary results for the 2019 financial year.

Sales in 2019 reached € 705.9 million, which represents a fall of 4.8 percent compared to € 741.5 million in 2018. The Group's EBITDA in 2019 reached € 77.0 million, 17.2 percent less than in 2018 (€ 92.7 million), which represented an EBITDA margin of 10.9 percent (2018: 12.5 percent).

Net profit in 2019 totaled € 13.0 million, well below - 70.3 percent, compared to the previous year when it totaled € 43.8 million.

In 2019, the distribution of sales of the Biesse Group that has a global presence was: Western Europe 47.2 percent (including Italy), Eastern Europe 12.6 percent, North America 21.3 percent, Asia-Pacific 15.0 percent and Rest of the World 3.8 percent.

The international context is showing evident and relevant instabilities that are negatively affecting the forecasts, short and medium term ones. Uncertainties and generalized fears bring unavoidable large fallout even for the Biesse expectations, moreover already impacted by the progressive world economic-financial sentiment deterioration.

The Group orders intake (only machinery) at the end of 2019 is 17 percent lower compared to the same period 2018, while the Group orders backlog -at the end of December 2019- was Euro 197 million (-12.8% compared the same period 2018).

The constantly negative evolution of the recent facts is unfortunately producing an important acceleration of the impacts - social and economic- affecting the international markets. This can only sharpen the difficulties that Biesse must face despite its financial strength and its organizational efforts.