Piaggio
In the first half to 30 June 2021, the Piaggio Group sold 287,100 vehicles worldwide in total (+36.5% from 210,300 in the year-earlier period) and reported consolidated net sales of € 901.7m.
As of 30 June 2021, the Piaggio Group had sold 242,800 two-wheelers worldwide (+49% from 163,000 at 30 June 2020), generating net sales of € 761m, an increase of 62.7% from € 467.6m in the year-ago first half. The figure includes spares and accessories of € 69.5m, +29.6% from € 53.6m in the year-ago period.
Two-wheeler sales in the first half of 2021 were particularly significant in all areas covered by the Group. Volumes grew by almost 25% on the European market, with an increase of about 50% in Italy. In Asia Pacific they rose by 66%, with the Chinese market reporting an increase of more than 90% and volumes more than doubling in America and India.
The Piaggio Group confirmed its leadership in the European scooter segment with a share of 23% and further strengthened its positioning on the North American scooter market, with a share of 35.1% (23.9% in the first half of 2020). In North America, the Group is also working to consolidate its presence on the motorbike market with the Aprilia and Moto Guzzi brands.
On the scooter market, global sales rose by more than 50%, led by the Vespa brand, the three-wheel scooters, the new version of the Piaggio Beverly high-wheel scooter and the Aprilia scooters.
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| "The Piaggio Group closed the first half of 2021 with very positive results at the global level, confirming the strong recovery that began in the second half of last year". |
In motorcycles, the Aprilia brand reported an extremely successful first half, with the highest net sales since 2007 (more than double the year-earlier result and up by over 50% on the first half of 2019), thanks to the new 660 cc Aprilia RS and Aprilia Tuono, which won a particularly positive response from the market, and the Aprilia RSV4 Supersport model, whose sales rose by more than 70%.
The Moto Guzzi brand achieved a record first half with its highest-ever sales volumes and net sales, notably for the Moto Guzzi V7 and V85TT.
Piaggio Group Chairman and CEO Roberto Colaninno is quoted as saying: "The Piaggio Group closed the first half of 2021 with very positive results at the global level, confirming the strong recovery that began in the second half of last year.
"Two-wheeler sales were up 49% from 30 June 2020 and 12.5% from 30 June 2019, despite severe difficulties in the first half in India due to long periods of total lockdown throughout the country.
"All our key income statement indicators improved, with debt cut by more than € 125m from the first half of 2020, and at the same time capital expenditure increased. The market's warm reception of our new products, at the cutting edge in terms of technology and Made-in-Italy style and design, demonstrates the success of the path we are following. Although the Covid pandemic risk remains high globally, the Group is therefore in a position to consolidate this positive trend over time."
Group consolidated net sales of € 901.7m were the best first-half result since 2007 (up 50.3% from 600.1 €/m in H1 2020) and up 10.4% from the first half of 2019.
Industrial gross margin was € 261.9m, up 52.6% (171.7 €/m in H1 2020) for a 29.1% return on net sales (28.6% in H1 2020).
EBITDA was € 144.6m, up 74% from 83.1 €/m in H1 2020 with EBITDA margin at 16% (13.8% in H1 2020); EBIT was € 80.4m (24.7 €/m in H1 2020), with EBIT margin 8.9% (4.1% in H1 2020). Profit before tax was € 70.2m (15.1 €/m in H1 2020); net profit was € 43.5m (9.1 €/m in H1 2020).
The Group net financial position was -401.9 €/m, an improvement of 126.7 €/m from the -528.5 €/m recorded for the first half of 2020, and 21.8 €/m from the -423.6 €/m reported for the 2020 full year. Capital expenditure was € 69.1m, 30.7% more than the 52.8 €/m invested during the first six months of 2020.
In commercial vehicles terms, the Piaggio Group reported first-half sales volumes of 44,200 vehicles (-6.5% compared to 47,300 in the year-earlier period), with net sales of € 140.7m (+6.2% from € 132.4m at 30 June 2020). In geographical terms, performance was positive in the EMEA and Americas area (+72.3% volumes; +57.1% net sales), benefiting from the marketing launch of the new Porter NP6.
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| The well-received lightweight, compact, liquid-cooled Aprilia RS660 DOHC parallel twin "brings the winning Aprilia track experience to the road". |
The slowdown in the commercial vehicles business was due to the slackening in India, where the COVID-19 health crisis worsened in the second quarter of the year, leading to a 16.8% fall in sales volumes in the first half to 30 June 2021. Nevertheless, the PVPL subsidiary had an overall share of 23.7% of the Indian three-wheeler market and confirmed its leadership in the Cargo segment with a share of 37.7%.
Piaggio Fast Forward (PFF), the Piaggio Group robotics and future mobility company based in Boston, continued the marketing of its first innovative project, Gita, a unique follow-me robot carrier with a payload of 20 kg, designed to follow the user indoors and outdoors, at a top speed of 10 km/hour and with a 4-hour battery life.
Outlook: the outlook for the Piaggio Group remains positive, though providing guidance remains complex - given the continuing uncertainty over the evolution of the pandemic, compounded by a series of difficulties such as the general rise in the cost of commodities and problems in transport logistics, especially from the Far East.
Against this general picture, in the year that we celebrate Moto Guzzi's centenary and Vespa's 75th anniversary, Piaggio will move ahead with the launch of the 11 new two-wheelers scheduled for 2021 and operations relating to the increase in expenditure announced at the beginning of the year with the new E-mobility department, the new factory in Indonesia and the complete restructuring of the Moto Guzzi production facility and museum areas.
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