Balta: Slight increase in turnover in Q3

Information

With a turnover of EUR 151.5 million in the third quarter, carpet producer Balta was up 4.9 % on the same period last year. Sales in Rugs (+8.7 %) and Commercial (+9.9 %) increased, while sales in the Residential division decreased by -3.6 %. The largest contributor to Balta's sales continues to be area rugs (EUR 52.5 million in Q3). Especially in the USA sales were good.

Balta's gross operating result (EBITDA) in Q3 was EUR 21 million and thus about -4 % below the previous year's result (Rugs: EUR +1.6 million, Contract: EUR +0.8 million, Residential: EUR -3.1 million). The rising raw material and transport costs had an impact on the figures; another factor from September onwards were the energy costs, which had also risen significantly in Europe.

The fact that the decline in EBITDA was not as severe as it could have been is partly due to the weak Turkish lira and also to the price increases Balta implemented: The goods sold in Q3 had still been produced with cheaper raw materials. However, this positive effect will not last long, especially since energy costs continue to climb enormously and will require further measures; this was announced by Balta CEO Cyrille Ragoucy in a press release.

With this in mind, Balta is continuing its NEXT earnings improvement programme. This generated a further EUR 5 million in operational savings in the third quarter.

The Belgians' net debt increased by 9.4% to EUR 322.5 million at the end of Q3 (compared to Q2); this was mainly due to the sharp rise in raw material prices.

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