In the first quarter of 2012, the operations of the Sava Group and Sava d.d. were denoted with further implementation of the measures set out in the restructuring strategy that aimed at maintaining the positive trends achieved in the past fiscal year. In operative business, the subsidiaries of the Sava Group surpassed their plans. Sales revenues of the Sava Group were by 7% higher than in the same period last year and by 3% better than planned. A loss before tax totalled €5.3 million and was significantly lower than last year's loss and also below the planned value for the period, while Sava d.d. generated a total profit of €2.3 million.
The business results that the Sava Group and Sava d.d. generated in the first quarter this year are encouraging.
The measures defined in the restructuring strategy show in further improvements of the operative business. The subsidiaries of the Sava Group generated an operating profit of €0.6 million in the first quarter, which is better than last year and above plan.
Sava Group companies made sales revenues of €45.4 million or 7% more than in the same period last year and 3% above plan. In this period, Rubber Manufacturing companies made 70% of Group's sales revenues, Tourism 26%, while the remaining 4% were made by the companies of other operations.
Rubber Manufacturing increased its sales by even 11% with regard to the past year and surpassed the business plan by 7%; it generated a total profit of €2.8 million, thereby exceeding both the plan and the achievements of the same period last year.
Last December, the Tourism division merged into a uniform company Sava Turizem d.d. The sales revenues of this company were 3% below last year's result and 4% below plan, which is due to the adverse circumstances in the domestic market, whereas the growth in the foreign markets, particularly in the new ones, is promising. Already in the first months of this year, considerable savings were made based on the rationalisations in the operation. The generated business result of the division – a loss of €2.5 million – which is of seasonal character, is at last year's level and in accordance with plan.
A net loss at the level of the Sava Group amounted to €5.8 million, which is by €1 million better than planned and significantly lower than last year. Sava d.d. ended the first quarter with a net profit of €2.4 million, which is a substantial shift in the positive direction considering the loss of €30.4 million made last year.
As this has been the case for a long time now, the Sava share has been traded at prices, which are significantly below the book value of the company this year too. In the three months of this year the value of the Sava share moved between €13 and €11.
At the end of March, the value of the received long-term loans and short-term financial liabilities of Sava Group companies totalled €372.4 million and in comparison with the end of 2011 it did not change significantly. However, a substantial deleverage of Sava is planned to be carried out by the end of the year.
The arrangements with the banks for a comprehensive reprogramming of financial liabilities, which after the coordination of the maturity of financial liabilities through the planned disinvesting steps will facilitate a successful implementation of the strategy are carried out as scheduled. The agreements with the banks will provide a basis, which on one hand will enable Sava to coordinate the maturity of assets sources, and on the other hand it will contain a commitment of Sava with a defined foreseen time component for disinvesting, and that will further enable a decrease in financial liabilities to a lower, long-term sustainable level.
Parallel with that the implementation of the restructuring strategy of Sava has been developing even faster than anticipated, which can have a significant positive effect both on enhancing the volume of the planned deleverage and the achieved business result of Sava d.d. at the end of this year.
The Sava Group and Sava d.d. January - March 2012 business report
Sava d.d.
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