Sacmi Group, another record result in 2015
-Sales totalling 1.354 billion euro and greater than expected performance in all the main business areas -Continuing growth on international markets thanks to carefully targeted action in several countries -Highly positive feedback from recent strategic takeovers.
With sales of 1.354 billion euro and a net result higher than that of the previous year by some 3 million euro, Sacmi has, for the second year running, posted one of the best results in its long history. This, then, is what emerges from the Annual Report 2015, approved on May 14th by the cooperative members’ meeting. “Like its parent company Sacmi Imola, the Sacmi Group closes the year with a result that decidedly improves on both the budget forecast and the previous year’s performance”, points out the President of Sacmi, Paolo Mongardi.
The year 2015 was also characterised by the positive effects of the special transactions completed in previous years. These included, for example, the sell-off of Negri Bossi and the acquisition of shares in Cosmec, Cmc, Eurofilter, Mectiles and B&B, plus the recent 100% takeover of C&M Holding. These operations have already yielded better than expected results and are likely to generate further positive effects for several years. At individual business-market level, performance has been driven by the strategies of both Ceramics and Packaging-Beverage.
On the international scene, nearly 90% of sales continue to be absorbed outside Italy, a figure in keeping with previous years. Sacmi has reaped the rewards of policies aimed at boosting synergy between Group companies on all the main markets and has been particularly attentive to investment in more promising nations (from Africa to the Far East, from the USA to South America). Manufacturing and sales policies were also aimed at ensuring the world’s individual areas make a balanced contribution to overall Group sales.
Similarly, the just-ended year demonstrated the soundness of the beverage development plan, with unified management of the entire packaging portfolio and reorganisation of design and after-sales services. Equally positive – upon final balance– were the results of the Group’s Latin American companies (Sacmi de Mexico and Sacmi do Brasil), while in Asia the growing dynamism of the Indian market – with excellent results from Sacmi Engineering India – have been counter-balanced by a slowdown of the Chinese market which Sacmi is responding to with ever-greater attentiveness to efficiency and costs. In any event, the Group’s presence in the Far East remains strategic as markets like Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand become more and more important for all the sectors in which the Group operates.
Another defining feature of 2015 was the continuing development of the African market in the North (Egypt, Algeria and Morocco), in South Africa and especially in Central Africa, with direct investment also on the rise in non-traditional outlet markets. “A result achieved”, states the General Manager, “thanks to a far-sighted policy that has, in recent years, seen Sacmi set up new facilities and branches on the continent and develop a far-reaching assistance network to provide customers and markets with close local support”. “Similarly to the parent company”, underlines Pietro Cassani, “the cooperative also had an excellent customer portfolio at the start of 2016 and further improvements in revenues and margins are anticipated; growth forecasts are particularly encouraging for the Closures and Beverage (Packaging) and Food Divisions.
