In mid-March, Piaggio announced it was to close its Pontedera, Mandello del Lario, Noale and Scorzè plants to implement the Italian government's provisions to protect the safety of its employees. The plan had been to re-open on March 16th, but the rest, of course, is history.
In February, the Italian giant's full year 2019 results had made good reading, with the Group performing "significantly better than the previous year, with growth in all key indicators, increased net profit, higher investments and the reduction of debt".
Consolidated revenues of € 1,521.3m, up +9.5% (€ 1,389.5m in 2018); EBITDA was € 227.8m euro, up +12.9%, with an EBITDA margin of 15% (14.5% in 2018) - its best since the IPO listing in 2006. The operating result (EBIT) was € 104.5m, up +12.7%; and the pre-tax profit of € 80.7m was up by +18.9%.
The company says it sold 611,300 vehicles worldwide, up +1.3% (603,600 in 2018); during the period the Group recorded a strong increase in revenues, in particular in the Asia Pacific two-wheeler area (+ 23.2%), followed by the EMEA and Americas area
(+ 8.8%) and India (+4.8%).
In two-wheeler terms, as at December 31, 2019, the Group sold 399,600 two-wheeled vehicles worldwide, up +1.6% for a net turnover of € 1,055.1m (+10.1%). 2019 saw an excellent PTW performance in the Asia Pacific area (+14.5% volume, +23.2% turnover) and a positive performance in the EMEA and Americas area (+2.4% volume, +8.3% turnover), while the Indian market slowed slightly.
 |
| Bradley Smith - RS-GP 2020 testing at Sepang in February |
In Europe the Piaggio Group confirmed its leadership in the scooter segment with a 24.1% share, and on the North American scooter market the Group maintained a strong positioning with a share of 23.7%, where the Group is also committed to consolidating its presence in the motorcycle segment through the Aprilia and Moto Guzzi brands.
Overall the scooter sector saw a +8.1% growth in turnover, mainly driven by the strong performance of the Piaggio MP3 three-wheel scooter, the Piaggio Liberty high-wheel scooter, the Vespa brand and Aprilia scooters.
The Group's motorcycle sector ended 2019 with a +24.6% increase in turnover, mainly thanks to the performance of the Moto Guzzi brand, which reported a significant increase driven by the new Moto Guzzi V85TT. The results of the Aprilia brand also grew, driven by the sales of the SX 125, RSV4 1000 and Shiver models.
