The Board of Directors of IFIL, which met today in Turin under the chairmanship of Gianluigi Gabetti, examined the results for the third quarter of 2003 and performance for the first nine months of the year.
The Group reported a consolidated net income of € 25 million for the third quarter of 2003 (a loss of € 53 million was recorded for the corresponding period of 2002).
As regards the first nine months of the year, the consolidated net result is still a loss and amounts to € 20 million (a net income of € 6 million was reported in the corresponding period of 2002). The change is mainly due to a reduction in IFIL’s share of the results reported by the subsidiaries and associated companies, that was only partly compensated by the gain realized on the sale of the 25% stake in Sifalberghi to the Accor Group.
Consolidated stockholders’ equity of the Group at September 30, 2003 amounts to € 4,111.9 million, an increase from € 2,708.1 million at the end of 2002 primarily on account of the capital stock increase against payment carried out in July and the previous capital increase reserved for IFI (against the contribution by IFI of the investments in Fiat, SANPAOLO IMI, Juventus and Soiem).
The net financial position of the “holdings system” has improved and at September 30, 2003 shows a net indebtedness position of € 464.5 million compared to € 484.4 million at December 31, 2002.
Future business outlook of the IFIL Group for the current year
The balanced portfolio of IFIL’s investment holdings – about one-third of which is concentrated in the automotive sector and about two-thirds in diversified businesses – and the efforts underway to relaunch Fiat constitute genuine premises for a turnaround of the Group which could likely manifest the first consequential signs in 2003.
The consolidated result of the IFIL Group for the year, however, will be influenced by uncertainties surrounding the economic scenario in which the principal Group companies had to operate for the majority of the year and the results of the Fiat Group, which, for 2003, as anticipated, will represent a difficult and demanding year of transition.
As for the parent company, IFIL S.p.A., based on the data available to date, a profit is expected to be reported for 2003.
