Mediobanca presents its focus on companies operating in the wood and furnishing sector

The Mediobanca Research Area today published the second edition of its focus on companies operating in the wood and furnishing sector, based on the most recent financial statements available for these companies (2013-17).

The survey is focused on companies operating in the wood and furnishing sector which generate annual turnover of at least €16m. Overall there are a total of 330 such companies, with aggregate total sales in 2017 of €21.8bn (up 4.4% on the previous year, representing 53% of the Italian system and 63% of the exports monitored by FederLegnoArredo.

More than 75% covered by the survey are based in Northern Italy, with 43% in the north-east and 33% in the north-west, while the regional rankings are headed by Lombardy (98 firms), Veneto (70) and Friuli Venezia Giulia (33), with a higher concentration in the industrial district areas.

As far as regards the manufacturing companies, the fastest-growing segment in 2017 was the office and public spaces furniture segment, where sales rose by 8.7%, followed by kitchen furniture manufacturers (sales up 7%) and wood and derivatives (up 6.8%). Although exports are important for all these companies, in 2017 the highest increases were on the domestic market. From a financial standpoint, the companies in this sector are solid and have good credit ratings, with 71.9% of them rated investment grade. Employment levels are good too, with the headcount in this sector up 6.3% since 2013), and ten firms employing 30% of the total workforce.

The top-ranking group in Italy is once again Ikea Italia Retail, with sales up 1.3% to €1.8bn, followed by Edil Tre Costruzioni (Mondo Convenienza, €1.1bn, up 5.8%) and the Saviola. The firms which grew fastest in terms of sales were Sistem Costruzioni of Modena (up 90.1%) and Paolo Castelli of Bologna (up 71.4%).

The full survey is available for download from website https://www.mbres.it/.