| Key Figures (€ million) | ||
| Half-year ended 30.6 | ||
| 2020 | 2019 | |
| Sales | 771.3 | 753.2 |
| Of Which: | ||
| Pool & Wellness | 749 | 725 |
| Irrigation, Industrial & Others | 22 | 28 |
| Cost of Sales | 369.7 | 363.5 |
| Gross Profit | 401.6 | 389.7 |
| Operating Expenses | 235.6 | 255.0 |
| EBITDA | 169.4 | 154.0 |
| EBITA | 138.7 | 123.5 |
| Net Profit | 54.9 | 28.8 |
Source: Fluidra half-year 2020 results.
COMMENT.
Spanish swimming pool specialist Fluidra has posted sales for the first six months of fiscal 2020 of E771.3 million, up 2.4% on the year prior.
The company said it registered record sales in May and June reflecting the underlying demand that was released once Covid-19 lockdown measures that had impacted earlier months were lifted.
Fluidra's core Pool & Wellness segment again led the way recording a 3.2% increase in sales to E749 million. Growth within the segment, however, was entirely due to the Residential business unit that saw revenues increase 6.3% to E558 million. In contrast, sales were down in all three of the segment's other business units ranging from a 1.9% decline to E103 million for Pool Water Treatment to a 11.7% decline to E46 million in the Commercial Pool business unit, with the Fluid Handling business unit registering a 3.0% downturn to E42 million.
Fluidra's second operating segment, Irrigation, Industrial and Others, found trading harder going resulting in a 19.6% fall in sales on the prior year to E22 million.
In terms of its geographic regions, Fluidra posted double-digit revenue gains in both North America (up 10.7% to E232 million) and Rest of Europe (up 17.4% to E162 million), but saw falls in both Southern Europe (down 5.6% to E274 million) and Rest of the World (down 10.6% to E103 million).
Fluidra also recorded good year-on-year gains in profitability with EBITA up 10.0% on the fiscal 2019 comparator at E169.4 million and net profit surging 90.6% to E54.9 million. The company attributed the upturn to a combination of the increase in sales, good operational expenditure control, improved efficiencies and lower non-recurring expenses.
Fluidra's executive chair, Eloi Planes, said the results demonstrated that the company had coped well with the Covid-19 pandemic
“We are a stronger company today, we have proven that we can react in difficult times and deliver positive results,” he said. “Even though the pandemic has created a dynamic and volatile world that calls for prudence, our prospects for the full year are promising.”