The board of directors of IFI S.p.A. - Istituto Finanziario Industriale S.p.A., which met today in Turin under the chairmanship of John Elkann, reviewed the results for the first half of 2007.
The first half of 2007 ended with a consolidated profit attributable to the equity holders of IFI of € 202 million, an increase of € 72.3 million compared to € 129.7 million reported in the corresponding period of 2006.
Consolidated equity attributable to the equity holders of IFI is € 4,005.6 million at June 30, 2007 (€ 3,799.8 million at the end of 2006). The increase of € 205.8 million is due to the consolidated profit for the period attributable to the equity holders of IFI (+ € 202 million) and other net changes (+ € 3.8 million).
The profit of IFI S.p.A. for the first half of 2007 is € 62.7 million. The decrease of € 89.7 million compared to the same period of 2006 (€ 152.4 million) is due to the absence of gains (-€ 104 million), higher dividends from IFIL (+€ 13.5 million) and other net changes (+ € 0.8 million).
The net financial position of IFI S.p.A. at June 30, 2007 is a borrowings position of € 189.9 million and is higher by € 92.4 million compared to the borrowings position of € 97.5 million at the end of 2006, mainly as a result of investments in IFIL stock.
Significant events
During the first half of 2007, IFI purchased on the market 21,986,000 IFIL ordinary shares (2.12% of the class of stock) for an investment of € 156.5 million. During the period July 1 – September 7, 2007, IFI purchased on the market another 10,737,000 IFIL ordinary shares (1.03% of the class of stock) for an investment of € 79.2 million. After these purchases, IFI holds 707,923,000 IFIL ordinary shares, equal to 68.16% of the class of stock and 1,866,420 IFIL savings shares, equal to 4.99% of the class of stock. The investment represents 65.79% of IFIL capital stock. The net debt of IFI at September 7, 2007 is equal to € 271 million.
Sanctionary measure by Consob
By decree of April 4, 2007, the Court of Appeals of Turin suspended the effectiveness of the additional administrative sanctions imposed by Consob against the individuals notified in the sanctionary measure dated February 13, 2007, Gianluigi Gabetti, Franzo Grande Stevens and Virgilio Marrone, who thus resumed their respective posts at the company. Furthermore, on June 22, 2007, the Turin District Attorney’s Office sent the same persons, and, in accordance with Legislative Decree 231/2001, IFIL S.p.A. and Giovanni Agnelli & C. S.a.p.az., notification pursuant to art. 415 bis of the Italian Penal Code that the investigation phase relating to the press release dated August 24, 2005 is concluded and that the documentation is filed.
New corporate posts
On April 17, 2007, the board of directors appointed John Elkann as Chairman of IFI based on the proposal put forward Gianluigi Gabetti, who, at the same time, was delegated strategic coordination.
Business outlook
For the year 2007, IFI S.p.A. is expected to report a profit.
On the basis of the indications formulated by the IFIL Group for 2007, the IFI Group is expected to show a consolidated profit.
In accordance with section 2, article 154 bis of the Consolidated Law on Financial Intermediation, the manager responsible for financial reporting, Pierluigi Bernasconi, confirms, that the financial data included in this press release corresponds to that included in the company’s accounting records.
Increase of the investment in IFIL
