The company exceeds pre-pandemic turnover levels, with a consolidated turnover in 2021 of 76.5 million euros.
- The order book for the Nicolás Correa Group as a whole in 2021 reached 82.6 million euros, 193% more than in 2020.
- The company managed to maintain its operating margins stable despite the generalised economic situation of rising supply, raw material and transport costs, achieving an EBITDA-to-revenue ratio of 12%.
- Order intake reached 134 million euros, the Group´s best sales figure in the last decade.
Grupo Correa posted ordinary revenues of 76.5 million euros for the 2021 financial year. This turnover figure marks an important milestone for the Group from Burgos, as it represents a 15% growth compared to 2020 (66.5 million euros) and 3.5% more than in 2019 (74 million euros), thus recovering pre-pandemic turnover levels.
Despite the economic situation of constant and generalised increase in the costs of supplies, raw materials and transport, the Correa Group has managed to maintain its profitability levels in the financial year. In this sense, the Group´s EBITDA increased by 11% to 9 million euros. Likewise, the EBITDA to revenue ratio remained at 12%, which is above the average profitability of the machine tool sector.
The same line of growth has been observed in the company´s consolidated profit before tax (PBT), which was 7 million euros, 8% more than that obtained in 2020 (6.5 million euros). In percentage terms, this shows a profitability of 9.2% of revenue, a figure which places the Correa Group in a benchmark position in the sector of large milling machine manufacturers.
"The strict strategy of cost control and efficiency, the commitment of our employees and the trust of our clients and the market in general have allowed Grupo Nicolás Correa to have one of the best years in its history. The increase in demand due to the resumption of investment in countries where we have a significant presence has enabled us to reach the levels we expected at the end of 2020", stresses Carmen Pinto, CEO of Grupo Nicolás Correa.
Grupo Correa´s financial soundness has enabled the company to meet its commitment to remunerate shareholders in 2021. The Board of Directors´ proposal, pending approval by the General Shareholders´ Meeting, for shareholder remuneration in 2022, charged to the 2021 financial year results, is to pay a dividend of 0.20 euros per share, an increase of almost 18% over the previous two years.
Order intake, including intra-group orders, reached 134 million euros, double the figure achieved in 2020 (64.8 million euros) and the Group´s best commercial performance in the last decade. This figure is the Group´s best commercial performance in the last decade. This order intake has led to a year-end order backlog of 82.6 million euros, 193% more than the previous year, which closed the year with a backlog of 28.2 million euros. This backlog figure means that the Correa Group will start 2022 with its production practically committed.
These results represent a success for the company, which has managed to increase its activity and profitability despite a generalised and global increase in operating costs, thanks to a strict strategy focused on profitability and a policy based on cost management and control in all production processes. This has enabled us to meet the forecasts established for 2021. All this is reinforced by the company´s significant export activity, which represents 94% of its turnover.
Geographically, China maintains the growth levels with which it began its post-pandemic recovery in 2020 and has consolidated its position as one of the Group´s main markets. Having a consolidated structure in the country itself has been key, as it continues to have significant mobility restrictions due to the pandemic. Nicolás Correa has strengthened its position in the Asian region, becoming a benchmark supplier of imported milling machines, especially large machines for the aeronautical and wind energy sectors, despite competition from Chinese and European manufacturers.
Europe also plays a leading role in the activity of the Group from Burgos. Its operations in Italy, a country which for the first time has taken the lead in order intake in the milling subsector of AFM, the Spanish Association of Machine Tool Manufacturers, have increased considerably, taking advantage of the boost given by its government to investment in production capacity and industrial competitiveness. Another country worth highlighting is Germany, one of the markets where the crisis caused by COVID-19 in the sector was felt most acutely, but where the offers experienced throughout 2021 have materialised in orders during the second half of the year thanks to a greater presence and representativeness of the company´s commercial subsidiary, GNC Deutschland.
In the domestic market, although the Renove Plan has enabled an increase in investment in the industrial fabric, the levels of order intake are far from their real potential and it is necessary to increase their competitiveness.
"During 2021 we have focused all our efforts on being able to continue offering a comprehensive service to our customers that goes beyond sales. Grupo Nicolás Correa is much more than a supplier, it is a technological partner that accompanies and adds value to ensure the constant innovation and reliability that has defined us during our 75 years of history", concludes the CEO of Grupo Nicolás Correa, Carmen Pinto.
