2017-02-28 09:00:02 CET

2017-02-28 09:00:02 CET


REGULATED INFORMATION

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Utenos Trikotazas - Interim information

Interim information of 2016: Utenos trikotažas group earns EUR 1.2 million profit before tax 


Utena, Lithuania, 2017-02-28 09:00 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Utenos trikotažas,
the largest textile manufacturing group in Central and Eastern Europe, earned a
pre-tax profit of EUR 1.2 million in 2016, compared with a pre-tax loss of EUR
0.3 million in 2015. The group’s EBITDA amounted to EUR 2.2 million in 2016, up
from EUR 1.0 million in 2015. The Utenos trikotažas group is comprised of
companies Utenos trikotažas, Šatrija, Gotija and Mrija (Ukraine). The group is
part of the SBA concern. 

AB Utenos trikotažas posted a pre-tax profit of EUR 0.7 million for 2016,
versus a pre-tax loss of EUR 0.2 million in 2015. The company’s EBITDA made up
EUR 1.4 million, a three-fold rise from EUR 0.5 million in 2015. 

The group’s consolidated sales grew by 20.4%, year-on-year, to reach EUR 22.8
million in 2016. The sales of Utenos trikotažas for the previous year amounted
to EUR 19.6 million, up from EUR 16.0 million in 2015. 

The main reason for the improvement in the profitability indicators is a
significant increase in the business volumes of the company and the group.
Šatrija contributed to the performance of the group with a 16% growth of sales
and a pre-tax profit of EUR 0.4 million. The sales volume of Utenos trikotažas
went up by 22.5% in 2016. Growth was achieved in all major sales regions:
German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland (DACH), Scandinavia
(Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland), Lithuania and elsewhere. 

The largest – DACH – region grew by 6.2%, generating 42.9% of the company’s
sales. The acquisition of new customers resulted in a 44.8% rise in sales in
Scandinavia, with the region’s sales accounting for 26.2% of the company’s
sales. Encouraged by the sales of products manufactured under own brands
(UTENOS and ABOUT) as well as products manufactured on demand of other clients,
the sales volume in Lithuania went up by 54.3%. Sales in Lithuania accounted
for 21.9% of the company’s total sales volume. 

“We expect to maintain double-digit sales growth in 2017. Developing new
innovative materials remains one of the main priorities of the company. In
addition, this year Utenos trikotažas has joined the Detox campaign initiated
by Greenpeace, thus affirming its commitment to environmentally-friendly and
clean production. Our customers show an increasing interest in the impact of
products and manufacturing processes on the environment and humans, therefore
there's a strong focus on this area in our strategy too,” Algirdas Šabūnas, CEO
at Utenos trikotažas, said. 

“The attraction of new customers and the sales development of own brands should
become the key drivers for further growth. Rebranded last year, the UTENOS
brand has attracted considerable attention from partners and customers in the
Lithuanian market. We expect that the development of new shops that started at
the end of last year will further increase the availability of our products and
will contribute to sales growth this year,” A. Šabūnas added. 

Utenos trikotažas is the largest and one of the most modern knitwear
manufacturers in Central and Eastern Europe, which is to mark its 50th
anniversary in 2017. The Utenos trikotažas group of companies, which also
comprises Šatrija, Gotija and Mrija (Ukraine), is part of the SBA concern.
Utenos trikotažas currently owns the Utenos and About retail brands. In 2017,
Utenos trikotažas became the first Lithuanian company to join the Detox
campaign of Greenpeace, committing itself to eliminating by 2020 any raw
materials likely to have adverse effects on humans or the environment from its
production chains. 

More information:

AB Utenos trikotažas

CEO Algirdas Šabūnas

Phone 8 389 51445