Vidrala Group, a leading company in glass container manufacturing, has closed the first half of 2023 with a sales figure of 794,8 million euros, 22,1% more than in the same period of the previous year. Excluding the currency effect, sales posted growth of 23,9%. This evolution is mainly explained by a demand for glass containers that remains strong, and that continues to be driven by the growing support for glass as the sustainable container by brand owners, packers and consumers.
For its part, the gross operating result –EBITDA– accumulated during the first six months of 2023 amounted to 215,2 million euros. It supposes a variation in reported terms of 92,2% over the previous year and 94,0% at constant currency. The EBITDA obtained represents a margin on sales of 27,1%.
The attributable net result amounted to 128,7 million euros, equivalent to a profit per share of 4,19 euros. Regarding the balance sheet, the debt stands at 283,8 million euros as of June 30, 2023, conditioned by the disbursement of 87,2 million euros for the acquisition of "The Park" and minority stake in Vidroporto.
As agreed at the last General Shareholders' Meeting, on July 14, a second dividend was paid, complementary to the results of the 2022 financial year, for the amount of 33,69 euro cents per share. Overall, the cash distribution during 2023, including the attendance bonus at the General Shareholders' Meeting, has accumulated 1,2621 euros per share. The annual disbursement has represented an increase of approximately 10% compared to the previous year, considering that the new shares assigned free of charge in the bonus issue carried out in December 2022 were fully beneficial.
Apart from the more moderate demand context during the first half of the year, business margins maintained the recovery path, as a result of the improvements in operating costs and the first effects of the investment plan. In particular, the projects aimed at growing and diversifying the business, improving customer service, offering differential services and selectively reorganizing the productive structure, show that the industrial perimeter and customer service are strong today.
Therefore, despite the evident uncertainties in the economic sphere that could affect general business conditions, the company expects that the recent recovery in operating margins will consolidate for the rest of 2023. Consequently, the forecasts for the financial year 2023 are reiterated, including double-digit sales growth, an EBITDA margin of more than 25% on sales, a profit of more than 7,00 euros per share and more than 150 million euros of free cash generation.
