MAILLIS S.A.: Organic Growth and Expansion in the US

MAILLIS S.A.: Organic Growth and Expansion in the US The M.J. Maillis Group with almost half a century of packaging expertise is involved in the manufacture and distribution of end of line industrial solutions offering complete solutions, covering both the heavy-duty and light packaging markets plus all industrial applications. From 1998 until the first half of 2002, M.J.MAILLIS Group completed an impressive growth cycle, undertaking major capital investments, developing sales networks in Europe and the U.S. and realizing strategic acquisitions. The Group now operates in more than 52 countries worldwide, through a network of 31 owned Affiliate companies and more than 350 independent distributors, bringing up its scale from 58 million Euros in 1998 to 341 million Euros in 2004. The top priority for 2002-2003 was to complete the consolidation, integration and restructuring of companies acquired within the framework of assimilating the explosive growth that took place in the previous period. Thereafter the Group aimed at and has achieved substantial organic growth. In particular the strategic objective of 15% top line organic growth was achieved with Consolidated Sales at Euro 341.1 mln in 2004 versus Euro 296.0 mln in 2003, (+15.3%). Consolidated E.B.I.T.D.A. reached Euro 59.5 mln versus Euro 50.0 mln in 2003, increased by 19.0% while E.B.T. amounted to Euro 25.9 mln versus Euro 21.3 mln in 2003, corresponding to an increase of 21.6%. Management's forecasts regarding Q105 results bring consolidated turnover up to Euro 93.4 mln (+9.5%) vs the 1st quarter 2004, whereas the turnover of the parent company is expected to reach Euro 33.4 mln, representing an increase of 30%. At the same time another key objective involved the establishment of the Group in North America under the same operational framework as the successful structure in Europe (manufacturing of machinery, materials and a strong distribution network providing complete "end-of-line" industrial solutions). The Group recently announced the successful completion of the first phase of its investment in North America with the start up - in April 2005 - of a new manufacturing facility in South Carolina for the production of pet strapping. This investment together with the Group's established North American machines production create the "springboard" for further aggressive expansion. News provided by Capital Link