Brussels , 10 November 2010- Meeting today, the board of directors of Autogrill S.p.A. (Milan: AGL IM) examined and approved the consolidated results as of 30th September 2010. In the first nine months of the year revenues and Ebitda rose 6.3% and 6.7% respectively. In the 3rd quarter in particular, there was a surge in performance, with revenues increasing by 9.8% and Ebitda by 10.6%. Sales rose 8.2% in Food & Beverage and 13.4% in Travel Retail & Duty Free.
“Summer got off to a slow start but on the whole the 3rd quarter delivered results in line with our expectations, positive in Food & Beverage and even more so in Travel Retail & Duty Free,” said Autogrill CEO Gianmario Tondato Da Ruos. “Since September we’ve been seeing a gradual recovery in traffic levels that seems to be consolidating.”
Traffic in 2010 grew with respect to the previous year in the Group’s main channels and geographical areas, the recovery being more marked in the 3rd quarter. The Group’s airport business also benefited from the increase in business class traffic and long haul flights. On motorways, where the positive trend is still accompanied by a certain traffic volatility, the Group managed to counter the still sluggish weak demand by stepping up its commercial initiatives.
Cash flow generation also rose (by 23.8%) with respect to the same period the previous year, making it possible to allocate resources for investments and reduce net debt to less than 2.5 times consolidated Ebitda. On closing, the disposal of Alpha Flight Group Ltd. will generate a further improvement of the Group’s net financial position (by around €162m) and will enable the Company to focus on its Food & Beverage and Travel Retail & Duty Free businesses.