Shareholders’ Meeting approves the 2020 financial statements
The General Shareholders’ Meeting of Buzzi Unicem SpA took place in Casale Monferrato on 7 May 2021 to approve the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020 (with the sole attendance of the Appointed Representative in compliance with art. 106 of Decree Law no. 18 dated 17 March 2020, following the COVID-19 epidemiological emergency).
The Shareholders’ Meeting approved the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020 and resolved to distribute a dividend of €0.25 per share.
The dividend payment will be effected as from 26 May 2021, with detachment on 24 May 2021 of coupon no. 24, and with record date on 25 May 2021.
Consolidated net sales came in at €3,222.4 million, virtually unchanged compared to €3,221.4 million in 2019, and Ebitda stood at €780.8 million (€728.1 million in 2019). The income statement reported a consolidated net profit of €560.2 million vs. a profit of €385.7 million in 2019. As at 31 December 2020, net debt amounted to €241.6 million, down €326.2 million from €567.8 million at 2019 year-end. As at 31 December 2020, total equity, inclusive of non-controlling interests, stood at €3,603.0 million vs. €3,690.8 million at 2019 year-end. Consequently, debt/equity ratio decreased to 0.07 from 0.15 in the previous year.
In 2020 the parent company Buzzi Unicem SpA reported a net profit of €293.4 million versus a net profit of €87.2 million in 2019, with a cash flow of €331.9 million.
Moreover, after revoking the unused part of the previous authorization adopted on 8 May 2020, whose program is therefore concluded, the Shareholders’ Meeting resolved to authorize the Board of Directors, for a length of 18 months, to buy-back a maximum of additional no. 7,000,000 ordinary shares, under the terms and conditions of the Board of Directors’ proposal, up to a maximum amount of €150 million.
The proposed purchase price ranges from a minimum to a maximum per share of respectively no less and no more than 10% compared to the reference price of the ordinary share recorded in the stock market session of the day before the completion of each individual transaction.
The treasury shares can be purchased on the market, according to Borsa Italiana rules. Moreover, the company can avail itself also of the procedure provided by possible market rules approved by Consob, in so far as they are applicable, as well as of those pursuant to art. 5 of Regulation (EU) no. 596/2014.
The above authorization is required to allow the company to intervene in case of fluctuation of the shares price beyond the normal market volatility, within the extent allowed by the law and the market rules, as well as to give the company an instrument for liquidity investment. The authorization is also required to allow the company to purchase treasury shares in order to use them as a payment in extraordinary transactions, also of equity interest swap or of conversion of bonds of possible future issuance, or for distribution, for a consideration or without consideration, to directors and employees of the company or its subsidiaries as well as for allocation to shareholders without consideration.
Based on the previous authorization of the ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting of 8 May 2020 no. 79,235 ordinary treasury shares and no. 30,724 savings treasury shares were purchased.
As part of the mandatory conversion of savings shares into ordinary shares, on 18 January 2021 the company purchased no. 12 savings shares deriving from the exercise of the withdrawal granted due to the savings shareholders and on the same date the treasury shares held were converted into ordinary shares.
As a consequence of the above and taking into account the treasury shares already held, as of today the company owns no. 494,316 ordinary treasury shares equal to 0.257% of capital stock.
The Shareholders’ Meeting also:
- approved Section I of the Report on remuneration policy and compensation paid, ex per art. 123 ter, paragraphs 3 bis and 3 ter, of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998;
- expressed a favorable non-binding vote on Section II of the Report on remuneration policy and compensation paid, ex art. 123 ter, paragraph 6, of Legislative Decree no. 58/1998.
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The manager responsible for preparing the company’s financial reports, Elisa Bressan, declares, pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 154 bis of the Consolidated Law on Finance, that the accounting information contained in this press release corresponds to the document results, books and accounting records.
Company contacts:
Investor Relations Assistant
Ileana Colla
Phone. +39 0142 416 404
Email: icolla@buzziunicem.it