Amplifon, 300 million from the EIB for innovation (and will rise to 350) – Corriere.it

Amplifon hobtained a loan of 300 million from the EIB, the European Investment Bank. the first part of an amount that reaches 350 million. The resources are intended, notes the world leader in hearing services and solutions, to further accelerate the path of innovation and digitization. The agreement was announced on 18 July and signed by Enrico Vita, CEO of Amplifon, with Gelsomina Vigliotti, vice president of the EIB. The funding, comments the company, will be able to guarantee an excellent and completely personalized audiological experience, in which data quality and digital technologies play a key role.

The destination of the funds

The money disbursed by the EIB – the long-term financial institution of the European Union which finances projects on infrastructure, innovation, climate and the environment – will be destined for investments above all in Italy, but also in Spain, France, Germany and other European Union countries, says Amplifon’s note. In particular, a new audiological protocol is envisaged to evaluate the quality of hearing; improvement of the Amplifon app and remote assistance interface; the enhancement of big data and IT security; the renewal of the Amplifon centers with an immersive format.

Times

The 300 million will be invested over four years, from 2023 to 2026. The disbursement could be in several tranches over the next 24 months and the repayment period will be nine years starting from each disbursement, at more favorable conditions than the current market onessays the note from Amplifon, which has 19,400 employees, over 9,300 points of sale in 25 countries and revenues of over 2 billion.

The financial structure

By financing Amplifon – said Vigliotti – the EIB demonstrates its closeness to an Italian company that is a world leader in its sector, helping to improve the lives of people with hearing problems and to promote their social inclusion. The support received from the EIB – said Vita – confirms the solidity of our path of innovation and digital transformation, which started from Italy and the European Union. It will allow us to further optimize the financial structure, both in terms of the cost of funding and the extension of the average duration of the debt.

The bills

amplifier closed the first three months of 2023 with revenues up 9.3% from the same period of 2022 to 540 million 521 eurosa gross operating margin of 123 million 533 euros on a recurring basis, equal to 22.9% of turnover, a net result up 6% to 2.078 million. Net financial debt, excluding lease liabilities, was 826 million 351 thousand euros at the end of March (829 million 993 thousand euros at the end of 2022). On the Stock Exchange, at 10 in the morning of 18 July, the share lost 0.56% to 31.7 euros and in the last month the drop was 8.22%.