Benetton and the red accounts, the “immediate” meeting already before Christmas for the group’s relaunch plan
The gods machine Benetton it got stuck. Tomorrow, Tuesday 28 May, the clothing group’s board of directors will be responsible for giving the green light to the 2023 budget which will then have to be approved by the assembly called in Ponzano Veneto for 18 June.
This is a very complicated moment for the company, as the founder said Luciano Benetton al Corriere, which is experiencing a moment of strong financial tension, culminating in the step backwards of its founder himself.
In fact, already between November and December 2023, Alessandro Benetton had glimpsed the first signs of a crisis, choosing to immediately reunite the Board of Directors Editionholding company at the head of the fashion brand, as soon as they realized that the real trend of the Benetton Group was not at all what was represented in the previous months by the management who, however, showed no signs of concern.
The reaction of the Council members was one of great amazement, as reported by the Courierafter which the cousins and the entire board of directors Editionunited, have moved to define a path to change the direction of the historic clothing group.
The family was united around Alessandro Benetton: Ermanno Boffa (husband of Sabrina, daughter of Gilberto), Christian (son of Carlo) e Carlo Bertagnin Benetton (son of Giuliana). And so does the rest of the board who sees Vittorio Pignatti, Claudio De Conto, Francesca Cornelli And Irene Broni. The Edizione board of directors has therefore delegated the CEO of the Edizione safe, Enrico Laghiand all the rest of the council to study the countermoves for a very critical situation.
Moving on to the accounts, the balance sheet will close with a net loss worth 230 million. The turnover, however, is around 1.098 billion. On the profitability front, if you break down the 230 million in the red, a difference would emerge ebit negative for 113 million, caused precisely by the lack of cash flows to which he referred Luciano Benetton in the interview with Corriere where he talks about the “100 million budget hole”.
The summary is that the gross operating result of the textile group (i.e. before the deduction of financial charges and taxes) is in a situation of marked tension. To the negative margins would then be added asset write-downs amounting to 150 million, of which 90 million are one-off, a sign that a budget clean-up has begun.
The numbers paint a critical situation even if the group has its own resources, the result of the support of 350 million provided by Edition in the last three years.
At the beginning of this year the safety net came into action by Editionwhich is implementing a reorganization plan And relaunch supported by a loan of 260 million euros. This plan includes a new management and an industrial strategy under development. The new resources will be used to cover liabilities, reduce debt and provide the necessary means to start from scratch, including a possible capital increase.
The new CEO, an experienced manager from the industry (although not necessarily from the fashion sector), with solid financial skills, will be in charge of developing an action plan and probably introducing new professional figures. At the moment, his name is kept secret pending the meeting of the board of directors scheduled for tomorrow, during which the current CEO, Massimo Renonand the other councilors will see their mandate expire.
Fury of the victims of the Morandi Bridge: “We are disgusted by Luciano Benetton’s interview”
But that is not all. In addition to the world of information, also the Victims of the Morandi Bridge Remembrance Committee commented on the interview by Luciano Benetton to the Corriere della Sera where he talks about the 100 million “hole”. But with very different tones.
“It took us a few hours to digest what we read regarding the departure from the company of Luciano Benetton, one of the founders of the giant of the same name. Parting words delivered almost in an immaculate and emotional guise to the journalist who tenderly urges him to request a detailed story. It took a few hours before responding, because the first instinct of the pen would have been heavy, ”he declared, as reported Milan Finance, Egle Possettipresident of the Committee who lost his sister, brother-in-law and two nephews in the collapse of the bridge over the Polcevera on 14 August 2018.
In the tragedy of the infrastructure managed by Waita company controlled by the former Atlantia (now Mundys) principal controlled in turn by Edition43 people lost their lives and the process to ascertain responsibility is underway.
“Did you have to endure the tragedy? We are shocked and disgusted. No mercy for him,” he adds Possetti. “Once again some journalists are hanging on the lips of a person from this family, a family whose peculiarities we have now come to know,” he comments again.
“In Patagonia – he continues – the serious difficulties with the Mapuche Indians are now known, the difficulties with the sales network of their brand and the large protests that have arisen over the years are less known, lastly, but not least, their strong presence like majority shareholders in our case, shareholders who have obtained enormous profits for years and years, ‘without having full awareness of the methods used’, seem to have understood”.
“In this family they have always trusted everyone administrators, who have “sadly fooled” them all, but enough!!! They are not brilliant entrepreneurs then, one might deduce, otherwise they would not have been so careless, perhaps we understand nothing about entrepreneurship, but we are certain that not all entrepreneurs are like that, and we are enormously relieved by this, also for the country’s economy , if everyone was fooled it would be a real disaster”, the president of the Committee said again.
“For years now they have been trying in every way to sanctify themselves, to once again reflect their halo of good entrepreneurs that they have had over their heads for years, but it is no longer time, the cards are on the table and they are exposed. It would be interesting to understand where did they end up budget fundsor disappeared, it would be interesting to understand if other funds have disappeared, if there are loss-making companies and what the real reasons are. But that’s another story” he concludes Egle Possetti.
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