Pegas Nonwovens recorded consolidated revenues of €60.6 million ($66 million) in the first quarter 2015, up by 2.9% year over year.
 
In the first quarter of 2015, EBITDA amounted to €12.6 million ($13.7 million), up by 3% year over year. This result is in line with the guidance range announced at the beginning of the year, when the company indicated an increase in EBITDA in the range from €44 to 48.5 million ($47.9 to 52.8 million). The EBITDA increase was achieved namely thanks to production output, which as a result of implemented optimization measures was above the parameters planned for the first quarter of 2015. Strong sales levels and the positive effect of the polymer price pass-through mechanism were also contributing factors to this EBITDA growth. On the other hand, the results were negatively affected by the revaluation of the share option plan resulting from the growing price of the company’s shares, which had strengthened by almost 10% in the first three months of the year.
 
In the first quarter of this year, profit from operations (EBIT) amounted to €8.6 million ($9.4 million), up by 0.5% compared with the first quarter of 2014. Net profit amounted to €14.4 million ($15.7 million) representing a year over year increase of 159.4%, primarily a consequence of unrealized foreign exchange gains.
 
“The financial results for the first quarter of this year have met our expectations,” says František Řezáč, CEO and member of the board of Pegas Nonwovens. “We were successful particularly in the area of production, where our volumes reached practically the same level as in the preceding record-breaking quarter. We have also maintained very good sales levels. At the same time, we managed to achieve an optimal level of inventories of finished products which is giving us more flexibility in production planning. Likewise, the achieved results were supported by falling polymer prices that bottomed at a five year low in February. Currently, polymer prices are back at levels that were normal last year. For this reason, we expect that the positive contribution from the polymer price pass-through mechanism will be entirely eliminated in the second quarter. We consider the achieved results to be a solid foundation for the upcoming months and believe that we will be successful in achieving all the goals that we have set ourselves for the rest of the year.”