Over the first six months of 2015, Univeg revenue amounted to 1.7 billion euros, an increase over the 1.69 billion euros turned over in the first six months of 2014. The gross profit turned out lower, however, at 99.8 million (versus 106.8 million in 2014). At the end of the half year, Univeg's net result was in the red, amounting to a loss of about one million euros. A year earlier, the company still had a 333,000 euro mark-up at the end of the first six months. "It's true that the result is negative, but that's caused by one-off costs related to the merger with Greenyard Foods," Koen goes on to say. "Univeg's cash flow, REBITDA and debt have improved significantly, and are more representative of the achievements."
Moody's concerned
Moody's is mainly concerned about the height of Univeg's debt, GFactueel writes on its website. For that reason, the rating was already changed from stable to negative in June. "Moody's changed its methodology, because with that the rating turns out lower," Koen says. "Nothing has changed in Univeg's underlying financial position." The CFO points out that the half-year figures clearly show that revenue is up and debt is down. "Incidentally, Moody's has lowered the rating for other companies too," Koen says.
On June 30, Univeg's net debt was 193 million euros. This means the debt has already decreased significantly compared to the 236.5 million euros Univeg owed on June 30, 2014.
Click here to view Univeg's half-year figures.