Financial Highlights
Significant growth of the School and Office in EU and USA and further improvement of the EBITDA margin
The 9M 2021 results report significant growth in the School and Office segment, particularly in Europe and the United States, and a recovery in India and Mexico, despite a still critical situation due to the COVID-19 impacts, with the Adjusted EBITDA Margin up on 9M 2020 to 18.3% and a significant reduction in Net Bank Debt for the last 12 months of Euro 80.9 million.
In 9M2021, revenues grew by 14.4% (+ Euro 23.0 million), representing 36.9% of turnover. The performance, impacted by the COVID-19 emergency in 2020 in the School & Office segment, recovered significantly from Q3 and consolidated in the last three months of the year, accelerating in the first nine months of 2021, driven by support from online sales, the School and Office recovery and growth in the Fine Art segment.
In 9M2021, revenues increased 0.03% (+ Euro 0.1 million), representing 47.4% of turnover. In North America, the performance in the first nine months of the year was driven by a recovery in School and Office and online sales, with an expected slowdown in Fine Art, particularly in the third quarter, primarily due to a focus on an improved product price-mix. Significant contribution to the Group's margins thanks to the containment of operating costs.
In 9M2021, revenues grew 47.4% (+ Euro 10.3 million), representing 6.2% of turnover. Mexico continues to perform poorly, due to the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and despite the gradual reopening of schools.
In 9M2021, revenues grew 21.3% (+ Euro 8.1 million), representing 8.9% of turnover. The Indian market continued to perform poorly, although seeing a recovery over the last two months of the period, due to the global contraction in consumption in view of the global COVID-19 pandemic and despite the gradual reopening of schools.
The organic Fine Art growth that underpinned the 2020 results continued in the first half of 2021, in Europe and North America, although seeing an expected slowdown in all geographical areas in the third quarter of the year and to a greater degree in North America, mainly due to the focus on an improved product price-mix that led to 2.3% growth in the first nine months of the year compared to the same period of the previous year. Arches has contributed to the consolidated result since March 2020.
The first nine months of the year saw a significant recovery in the segment with 12.2% growth (+ Euro 36.8 million), particularly in Europe and North America, also thanks to online sales, despite the continued significant weakness in India and Mexico due to the persistence - well beyond original expectations - of the global COVID-19 impacts and despite the gradual reopening of schools.
The first nine months of the year reported a significant recovery in the segment, with growth of 10.4% (+ Euro 1.7 million) due to the recovery of industrial and project activities in Europe and the United States.
