ROCA Industry reports cumulative turnover of 289.5 million RON at holding level in first half of 2023

ROCA Industry, the industrial holding of construction materials in Romania owned by ROCA Investments, reports a turnover of 289.5 million RON at the cumulative level of productive companies, in the first semester of 2023. The holding thus registers an increase of 5.7 percent compared to the similar period in 2022.

In a temporarily contracting market context, the cumulative EBITDA at the level of the productive companies in the holding reaches the value of 17.9 million RON, registering an EBITDA margin of 6.2 percent.

In the first half of the year, the companies in ROCA Industry portfolio gained important market shares. EVOLOR, the manufacturer of paints and varnishes, recently relaunched and undergoing a period of operational transformation, recorded sales increases of 21 percent compared to the same period last year, and ELECTROPLAST, a company producing electrical cables, recently entered into the holding’s portfolio, reports an 11 percent advance in first half sales volume.

The goals achieved in the first half of this year include the expansion of ROCA Industry’s portfolio through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) strategies, ROCA Industry recently acquired the companies ELECTROPLAST, the market leader in electric cables for railway infrastructure, and Iranga Technologijos, from Lithuania, through the company BICO Industries, directly owned. In addition, the holding is in advanced discussions for the acquisition of Workshop Doors, one of the key players on the interior door market in the country.

“Opportunities, even in times of economic unpredictability, come from resilience and consistency. That is why we remain consistent in our investment strategy, expanding the markets we operate in and infusing added value at the level of all the activities of the holding company. We have promised 3 acquisitions, so far we have completed 2, and the third is in advanced negotiations. Across the team, we have a solid private equity background, consistent M&A expertise, and will continue to use all of these differentiators to grow the holding company. We are also focused on developing a stable customer base that can ensure accelerated growth when the market recovers. We believe that a period with many opportunities is ahead, and our stake is to capitalize on as many of them as possible.” said Ionuț Bindea, CEO of ROCA Industry.

The holding is also expanding its export activities, with its companies accessing new foreign markets for the sale of construction materials in 2023, in countries such as Great Britain, Switzerland, Moldova, Israel and others.

The main objective of the holding for this year is the capital increase and the transition from the AeRO market to the main market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

Outlooks from major statistical and forecasting organizations point to a cyclical slowdown in the construction sector, characterized by high pressure on margins. ROCA Industry specialists estimate that the situation will continue in the 3rd quarter, under the impact of fiscal changes in the construction sector and, implicitly, the demand for construction materials. However, after this period, a sharp growth curve is expected, in the longer term, in the next 3-5 years.

ROCA Industry is the industrial holding owned by ROCA Investments. It directly and indirectly owns a number of 8 companies – performers in the specific sectors of activity: BICO Industries (the first and largest national producer of fiberglass mesh and the only domestic producer of fiberglass reinforcement), EVOLOR (one of the biggest players in the paint and varnish production industry), ECO EURO DOORS (the largest Romanian manufacturer of doors for residential constructions), DIAL (producer of metal wire products), ELECTROPLAST (the market leader of electrical cables for infrastructure railway), as well as the fiberglass producers Terra, Europlas and Iranga, through BICO Industries.