The board of directors of IFI S.p.A. - Istituto Finanziario Industriale S.p.A., which met today in Turin under the chairmanship of John Elkann, approved the results for the first three months of 2007.
The consolidated profit attributable to the equity holders of IFI for the first quarter of 2007 amounts to € 54.2 million (€ 41.5 million in the first quarter of 2006). The increase of € 12.7 million is mainly due to a higher profit recorded during the period by the subsidiary IFIL.
Consolidated equity attributable to the equity holders of IFI at March 31, 2007 amounts to € 3,895 million, up € 95.2 million compared to the end of 2006 (€ 3,799.8 million) due to the consolidated profit for the period attributable to the equity holders of the company and other net changes presented by the IFIL Group.
The net debt of IFI S.p.A. at March 31, 2007 amounts to € 184.6 million, € 87.1 million higher than at the end of 2006 (€ 97.5 million), mainly as a result of investments in IFIL stock.
Significant events
In the first quarter of 2007, IFI purchased on the market 12,705,000 IFIL ordinary shares (1.22% of the class of stock) for an investment of € 84.6 million. At March 31, 2007, IFI holds 687,905,000 IFIL ordinary shares, equal to 66.23% of the class of stock and 1,866,420 IFIL savings shares, equal to 4.99% of the class of stock. During the period April 1 to May 10, 2007, IFI purchased on the market another 4,871,000 IFIL ordinary shares (0.47% of the class of stock) for an investment of € 36.9 million. IFI currently holds 692,776,000 IFIL ordinary shares, equal to 66.7% of the class of stock and 1,866,420 IFIL savings shares equal to 4.99% of the class of stock. The investment represents 64.56% of capital stock
On April 17, 2007, the IFI board of directors unanimously approved the motion put forward by Gianluigi Gabetti to appoint John Elkann as Chairman of IFI and delegated strategic coordination to Gianluigi Gabetti.
Business outlook
For the year 2007, IFI S.p.A. is expected to report a profit.
On the basis of the indications formulated by the IFIL Group, for 2007 the IFI Group is expected to show a consolidated profit.
