Portuguese Semapa 1H08 profit drops 22 per cent YoY

Portuguese Semapa 1H08 profit drops 22 per cent YoY
22 August 2008


Portuguese industrial conglomerate Semapa closed the first half of 2008 with a net profit of EUR55.7m (US$82.7m), down 22 per cent YoY, the group informed in a filing the national bourse regulator CMVM on August 21.
 
The annual drop reflected mainly a capital gain booked in the same period of the previous year, Semapa explained.
 
The turnover of the group, however, went up by six per cent to EUR746.1m (US$1.108bn). The figure was below the preliminary projections of the analysts for a turnover of EUR749.8m (US$1.113bn).
 
EBITDA totalled EUR185.1m (US$274.9m), an annual drop of 20 per cent. The result was also down from the estimates for EUR190.2m (US$282.4m).
 
The decrease was explained with two factors, namely the capital gain of EUR25.6m (US$38m) registered in the first six months of 2007, and an EBITDA fall of 15 per cent YoY shown by Portuguese paper and paper pulp producer Portucel, controlled by Semapa. The positive performance of Semapa’s cement producer Secil in terms of EBITDA was insufficient to offset these two negative effects.
 
The EBITDA margin in the first six months of 2008 stood at 24.8 per cent, down from the 33 per cent a year ago.
Published under Cement News