Veronafiere (Vinitaly): the economy is improving, year-end forecasts have been revised upwards

Following the most challenging years of the Covid emergency, the leading Italian Wine & Food Fairs have restarted with great fanfare, as the sold out edition of Vinitaly 2022 has shown. Vinitaly is the top player on the Italian trade fair scene, and in its last session of the Board of Directors, led by Maurizio Danese, has revised u the turnover forecasts upwards. The 2022 target has now been set at 101 consolidated (105.5 million euros in 2019), up 5.2 million euros compared to forecasts, while turnover and margins are substantially at pre-Pandemic levels.
“The result of the overall trend”, explained a note from Veronafiere, “makes it possible to recover the higher costs due to inflationary tensions, which have lead to an increase in operating and overhead costs equaling 2.9 million euros, and increase the EBITDA of the Group from 12.6 to 14.1%”. The trend is positive also of the forecasts of the Parent Company, Veronafiere Spa, which has estimated closing the year at a turnover of 79.7 million euros, 2.2 million euros higher than the initial budget. And, the EBITDA is significantly improving, which has registered a substantial increase, going from 8.4 million euros forecast (+ 10.9%) to 10.2 million euros, despite the increase in costs due to repositioning some exhibitions scheduled for January-February, two months that were still affected by the Pandemic.
“We have returned to generating business for our customers and wealth for the territory. This is an important result, which has rewarded the efforts of everyone involved, as well as the employees who have been at the forefront to overcome the severe crisis caused by the Pandemic period”, emphasized the CEO, Maurizio Danese, “if there are no other unforeseen events of an external nature. This year, we should close at turnover levels very close to those of 2019, and we are ready to resume our activities on the International markets that we preside over with investing companies, primarily Veronafiere Asia and Veronafiere do Brasil ”. Specifically, we are looking at “Wine to Asia” in Shenzen, China, which, in the meantime, has been rescheduled to September 22nd to 24th from the original date August 26-28th. And, also “Wine South America”, scheduled for September 21-23, 2022 in Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil. “The results confirm that Veronafiere has proven to be resilient and capable of planning its own restart, and envisaging 2022 at a turnover that almost reaches pre-Pandemic levels, even considering the current inflationary and International tensions”, Federico Bricolo, president of Veronafiere, pointed out, “this excellent project has been extended to drawing up the first Sustainability Report of the parent company, which we will present in September. Social, economic and environmental sustainability are preliminary conditions today to access and grow on the markets. This new initiative will allow us to be among the first International trade fair operators to communicate these values ​​correctly”.