COIL

2023 ANNUAL RESULTS

PRESS RELEASE Brussels, 30 April 2024 (17.45)

World leader in aluminium anodising

2023 ANNUAL RESULTS

• Sales of €21.8m (down 18.0%) were impacted by the difficult economic climate.
• Current operating income was a loss of €(2.1)m due to lower sales and lower absorption of fixed costs.
• Net profit reduced its loss to €(2.2)m, compared with €(3.0)m in 2022, and includes non-recurring items relating to an impairment loss on the goodwill and exceptional write-backs of depreciation and provisions in respect of investment subsidies in Germany.
• Net debt under control at 24% of equity at 31 December 2023.
• In 2024, COIL will roll out its strategic agreement to leverage its technology and brand in China.
  
  

COIL, world leader in aluminium anodising, has released its annual results for the 2023 financial year.

• Significant events of the financial year
  
  

Following two years of growth in 2021 (+9.7%) and 2022 (+5.6%) driven by post-Covid recovery, the Company's sales fell by -18.0% to €21.8m in 2023. This downturn coincided with slowing global economic growth, reduced demand in key markets, and persistent economic and geopolitical uncertainties.

Tolling sales (80% of 2023 sales) were adversely affected by destocking in the distribution chain due to low aluminium price following the major distortion in the market caused by the post-COVID market. In addition, the Company was faced with the emergence of a new competitor in the European continuous anodising market. In this context, tolling sales contracted by 15.3% year-on-year.

Package sales including metal (20% of 2023 sales) were impacted by the decline in new architectural projects in Europe as from the second half of 2023 and by the slow post-Covid recovery in the projects business in Asia.

The Company has done its utmost to limit the impact of this slowdown by raising its prices and optimising its variable costs. Nevertheless, due to a high fixed cost structure, the sharp fall in sales has a significant impact on the Company's results, since variable costs represent only around 36% of sales.

• Results
  
  

Despite the €4.8m drop in sales, EBITDA fell by only €2.3m to €0.6m, or 2.6% of sales. This was mainly due to i) a smaller fall in gross margin, resulting from a favourable change in the product mix and a reduction in variable production costs, particularly energy costs in Germany, and ii) higher operating costs in an inflationary environment.