37 INSIGHT | Financial highlights reached €3.99 billion, achieving organic growth of 9.0% and a better-thanexpected performance in almost all businesses and geographical areas. The Projects segment in particular delivered strong results, with organic revenue growth of 29.5%, mainly due to intense demand for submarine cables and systems deployed for interconnections as well as for connecting offshore wind farms that are strategic to the energy transition. The Energy segment’s sales rose 6.6%, mainly driven by long-term trends such as electrification, grid hardening and wind and solar energy generation. Medium-voltage cables and overhead lines recorded a 12.2% organic growth. Sales of the renewables segment also improved. Telecom recorded a 5.7% organic growth, chiefly thanks to the demand for optical cables for the development of broadband networks. (excluding net expenses for reorganization, net non-recurring expenses and other net non-operating expenses) jumped by 48.3% to €427 million (€288 million in Q1 2022). Profit margins rose significantly, reaching a ratio of 10.7% of Adjusted EBITDA to sales (from 7.8% for the same period of 2022). Profitability also improved in the Projects segment (where the Adjusted EBITDA margin was 10.0% compared to 7.8% in Q1 2022), in Energy & Infrastructure (Adjusted EBITDA margin of 10.9% vs 6.8% in Q1 2022) and in the industrial application cable business (the wind and solar energy in particular) with Adjusted EBITDA margin improving to 9.8% from 6.8% in Q1 2022. In the Telecom business, the ratio of Adjusted EBITDA to sales was 14.6% (15.6% for the same period of 2022). grew to €398 million (€285 million in Q1 2022) including net expenses for company reorganization, net non-recurring expenses and other net non-operating expenses totaling €29 million (€3 million in Q1 2022). r os e to €294 million (€209 million in Q1 2022). generated in the past twelve months amounted to €581 million (excluding costs for acquisitions and disposals and anti-trust related flows), confirming the Group’s ability to translate positive business results into cash generation. allowed the Group to further improve its Net Financial Debt, which amounted to €2.07 billion at the end of March 2023 (€2.38 billion as of March 31 2022, and €1.42 billion as of year-end 2022). The main factors that led to the change in the Net Financial Debt in the past 12 months were: \ €1.55 billion net operating cash flow (before changes in net working capital); \ €184 million cash flow absorbed by the increasing net working capital; \ €43 million antitrust-related outflows and €3 million net outflows for acquisitions and disposals; \ €473 million cash outflows in net capital investments; \ €88 million net finance expense; \ €233 million in taxes paid; \ €10 million in dividends received; \ €148 million dividend payout. Group Sales Operating Income Free Cash Flow Cash Generation Adjusted EBITDA Group EBITDA Financial highlights For 2023, Prysmian Group expects demand to remain substantially stable in the construction and industrial cables businesses, after last year’s excellent performance. In the high-voltage underground and submarine cables and systems business, the Group is committed to implementing a selective approach to confirm its leadership in a market that is expected to grow significantly, driven by the development of offshore wind farms and interconnections in support of the energy transition. Thanks to the robust level achieved by its order book, the Group can fully exploit the potential of both existing assets and those coming on stream in the coming years, such as the submarine cable plant in Brayton Point, Massachusetts, and the new cable-laying vessel that will join the Leonardo Da Vinci. For the Projects segment, the Group expects year-on-year growth in 2023, thanks to a strong order book, a solid execution and the full use of the submarine cable business’s capacity. Demand in the Telecom segment is affected by the temporary destocking in the US market, with growth drivers that remain solid in the medium/long term thanks to digitalization.
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