Board of Directors approves results as of March 31 2016
CIR GROUP: GROWTH IN REVENUES (€ 644.3 MN; +2.7%) AND EBITDA (€ 62.7 MN; +2.5%)
Net income at € 14.7 mn (€ 21.2 mn in 2015, thanks partly to non-recurring items)
Net debt lower at € 110.2 mn
Net financial position of the parent company positive for € 410 mn
Milan, April 29 2016
- The Board of Directors of CIR-Compagnie Industriali Riunite S.p.A., which met today under the chairmanship of Rodolfo De Benedetti, has approved the Interim Financial Report as of March 31 2016 presented by Chief Executive Officer Monica Mondardini.
 The CIR group operates mainly in three sectors: media (Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso), automotive components (Sogefi) and healthcare (KOS).

Consolidated results

The revenues of the CIR group in the first quarter of 2016 came in at €644.3 million, and were up by2.7% from € 627.2 million in the corresponding period of 2015. The rise was driven by Sogefi and KOS, which posted growth of 4.7% and 6.2% respectively.

The gross operating margin (EBITDA) came to € 62.7 million (9.7% of revenues) and was up by 2.5% from € 61.2 million in 2015 (9.8% of revenues). The increase was due to the favourable performance of the EBITDA of KOS, with the margin of Espresso and Sogefi remaining substantially unchanged.

The net income of the group came in at € 14.7 million, versus € 21.2 million in the first quarter of 2015, which had benefited from positive non-recurring items relating to Espresso and Sogefi.

The contribution of the industrial subsidiaries was € 7.4 million compared to € 13 million in 2015. KOS posted a higher net result while Espresso and Sogefi, although their EBITDA was unchanged, reported lower net income. It should be remembered that in the first quarter of 2015 Espresso's earnings benefited from a capital gain of € 6.3 million from the sale of All Music and Sogefi's contained positive financial results of a non-recurring nature.

The contribution of the parent company CIR S.p.A. and the non-industrial subsidiaries was a positive € 7.3 million,down slightly from€ 8.2 million in the first quarter of 2015 because of the lower return on the securities portfolio.
Consolidated net financial debt stood at € 110.2 million at March 31 2016, compared to € 121.7 million at December 31 2015; the reduction was due to the significant improvement in the net financial position of Espresso, which at March 31 2016 was a positive € 15.5 million with a financial surplus in the quarter of € 26.2 million.

The net financial position of the parent company CIR S.p.A. and the non-industrial subsidiaries was a positive€ 410 million at March 31 2016. The change from € 417.9 million at the end of 2015 was essentially due to the buyback of own shares in the quarter (€ 9.5 million).

The equity of the group amounted to €1,099.3 million at March 31 2016 versus € 1,103 million at December 31 2015. The decrease of € 3.7 million came from the buyback of own shares for € 9.7 million and from the negative change in the fair value reserve and the translation reserve. At March 31 2016 the CIR group had 14,351 employees (14,213 at December 31 2015).

Results of the industrial subsidiaries of the CIR group
Media: Espresso
Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso is one of the most important publishing companies in Italy. It operates mainly in the following sectors: newspapers and magazines, radio, internet and advertising. The group, which is 56.5% controlled by CIR, is listed on the Stock Exchange.

The sales revenues of Espresso in first quarter 2016 came to € 140.8 million, down by 3.5% from € 145.9 million in the same period of 2015, with less of a decline than in previous years.

Circulation revenues came in at € 57.9 million and were down by 5.3% compared to 2015 in a market that continues to report a significant reduction in the circulation of newspapers (-8% in the first two months of 2016 according to ADS figures). Advertising revenues declined by 2.5%: internet advertising rose by 7.9%, radio orders were up by 2.4% while those for the printed press fell by 7.8%. Costs were down by 3.5%, the equivalent of the fall in sales.

EBITDA came in at € 13.9 million, in line with the figure for the first quarter of 2015 (€ 13.7 million).

Net income from businesses destined to continue came to € 6 million, versus € 5.8 million in the first quarter of 2015. The sale at the end of January 2015 of All Music to Discovery Italia had generated a capital gain of € 6.3 million, classified in discontinued operations. The net result was € 6.1 million, compared to € 12 million in the first quarter of 2015.

The net financial position at March 31 2016 was a positive € 15.5 million, which was a significant improvement on the debt position of € 10.7 million at the end of 2015; the financial surplus for the period was € 26.2 million.

For further information on the results of Espresso, see the press release published by the company on April 21 (http://goo.gl/sZNWNB).
Automotive components: SogefiSogefi is one of the main producers worldwide in the sectors of suspension, filtration, and air and cooling systems with 42 production plants in four continents. The company is controlled by CIR (57.5%) and is listed on the Stock Exchange

Sogefi's sales revenues in first quarter 2016 came in at € 390.1 million and were up by 4.7% from € 372.5 million in 2015 (+10.5% at the same exchange rates). The company confirmed the trend of strong revenue growth in North America and Asia, reporting a better performance than the market in both areas. In Europe sales remained stable while in South America they fell by 22.6% because of the depreciation of the currencies.

EBITDA came to € 34.6 million and was unchanged from the first quarter of the previous year (€ 34.9 million). EBITDA before non-recurring charges was € 38.5 million, up by 9% on the same period of 2015, with a slight increase in profitability thanks to the gross margin holding up and to the lower impact of fixed costs.

The net result was a positive € 2.9 million, down from € 7.6 million in 2015 as an effect of the rise in the period of amortization and depreciation and of write-downs of fixed assets, as well as higher financial expense (which in the previous year had benefited from positive non-recurring items linked to the fair value measurement of the convertible bond).

Net debt stood at € 322.6 million at March 31 2016 (€ 322.3 million at December 31 2015); in the first quarter of 2016 there was a financial deficit of € 0.3 million, a significant improvement on € 28.9 million reported in the first quarter of 2015.
For further information on the results of Sogefi, see the press release published by the company on April 27 (http://goo.gl/KIlWzi).
Healthcare: KOS
KOS, which is 51.3% controlled by CIR, is one of the largest groups in Italy in the sector of healthcare and care homes (care homes, rehabilitation centres, oncology treatments, diagnostics and management of hospital facilities). The group manages 77 facilities in Italy, mainly in the centre and north, for a total of around 7,300 beds.

In the first quarter KOS reported sales revenues of € 113.4 million (+6.2% from € 106.8 million in the same period of 2015), thanks to the acquisitions made last year and to the organic growth in the care home sector.

EBITDA was € 17.2 million, up by 12.4% on the same period of 2015.

Net income was € 4.4 million, up from € 3.7 million in 2015.

Net debt stood at € 215.9 million at March 31 2016 (€ 210 million at December 31 2015).

In the first three months of 2016 the KOS group continued its development process in the care-home and rehabilitation areas. In oncology treatments and diagnostics, the business is continuing to develop in Italy, India (with the subsidiary ClearMedi Healthcare Ltd) and in the United Kingdom (with the subsidiary Medipass Healthcare Ltd).

During the quarter, on March 16 CIR and F2i reached an agreement with Ardian for the purchase from the latter of 46.7% of KOS for € 292 million. The deal is expected to complete in May.
Non-core investments

The non-core investments of the CIR group consist of private equity initiatives, non-strategic shareholdings and other investments with a total value at March 31 2016 of € 112 million (€ 113.6 million at December 31 2015).

More specifically the CIR group has a diversified portfolio of funds in the private equity sector (with a fair value at March 31 2016 of € 54.3 million, down by € 4.9 million compared to December 31 2015 mainly as an effect of write-downs and exchange rate differences). Total distributions in the period came to € 2.8 million generating a capital gain of € 2.1 million.

As for non-strategic equity investments, their value at March 31 2016 was € 15.8 million, after the sale of a € 5.5 million investment in China, which generated a capital gain of € 6.5 million.

Lastly, the CIR group has a portfolio of non-performing loans, the value of which was € 41.9 million at March 31 2016.

Outlook for 2016
The performance of the CIR group in the next three quarters of 2016 will be influenced by the evolution of the Italian economic environment, the impact of which is significant particularly for the media sector, and by the performance of the main world car markets for the automotive components sector.

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It should be noted that this quarterly disclosure has been made in continuity with the past, pending clarification as to the regulatory environment.
The executive responsible for the preparation of the company's financial statements, Giuseppe Gianoglio, hereby declares, in compliance with the terms of paragraph 2 Article 154 bis of the Finance Consolidation Act (TUF), that the figures contained in this press release correspond to the results documented in the company's accounts and general ledger.
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CIR - Compagnie Industriali Riunite S.p.A. issued this content on 29 April 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 29 April 2016 09:54:19 UTC

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