CURNO, Italy (Nov. 14, 2013) — North America has become brake maker Brembo S.p.A.'s largest market, accounting for about 25 percent of its sales during the third quarter, ended Sept. 30.
The maker of high-performance brake systems saw its net profit surge 50.4 percent to $27.2 million on a 14.5-percent jump in sales to $530 million, compared with the year-ago period. The company's EBITDA climbed 27.8 percent to $69.6 million for the quarter.
"The third quarter closed with better results than expected in terms of both revenues and margins. These results were driven by all markets and business segments, although to differing degrees," said Chairman Alberto Bombassei. "I am pleased to highlight that Italy has shown signs of a recovery, albeit to a lesser extent than the rest of Europe.
"Also noteworthy is the performance of the North American market, which during the quarter accounted for 25.4 percent of total sales, thus becoming our main market."
"Finally, the order backlog supports the projection that all of 2013 will yield results in line with current trends."
The company noted that the U.S. market, in particular, grew 28.7 percent for the quarter, surpassing the German market, which accounted for 23.3 percent of its sales.
During the quarter, Brembo reported, all the sectors in which it operates contributed to revenue growth — revenues for car applications rose 16.4 percent; motorbike applications increased 20.9 percent; racing applications climbed 9.1 percent; and, after several months of negative performance, commercial vehicles rebounded with a 4.4-percent increase, compared with the year-ago period.
For the nine-month period, Brembo's net profit jumped 29.4 percent to $85.8 million as sales climbed 10.5 percent to $1.56 billion. EBITDA grew 17.1 percent to $203.7 million.
Brembo operates in 16 countries with 22 production and business sites. The company markets the Brembo, Breco, Bybre, Marchesini, and Sabelt brands.