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Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Piaggio & C. SpA (PIAGF) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Margins Amid Revenue Decline
Gross Margin: 30.4% in the second quarter, one of the best achieved by the group. EBITDA Margin: 17.7% in the second quarter, among the best for the group. Revenue Decline: Approximately 13% decrease in the first half of the year. Net Financial Position: Stable compared to December 2024, despite declining revenues. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 8 Warning Signs with PIAGF. Release Date: July 29, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Positive Points Piaggio & C. SpA (PIAGF) achieved a gross margin of 30.4%, one of the best in the group's history. The company maintained a strong EBITDA margin of 17.7% in the second quarter. Piaggio & C. SpA (PIAGF) successfully managed costs and margins without engaging in price wars. The company is focusing on brand equity and differentiation across its 2-wheel, 3-wheel, and 4-wheel vehicles. Piaggio & C. SpA (PIAGF) is investing in new technologies and assets, including a robotics division in Boston. Negative Points Revenues declined by approximately 13% in the first half of 2025, with significant drops in Europe, the US, and China. The company lost 1% market share in Europe due to destocking of EURO 5 vehicles. Logistic costs remain high, with no significant reduction expected in the near term. The market share in India's LCV segment continues to decline, affected by government subsidies for electric vehicles. The performance in commercial vehicles in EMEA and Americas showed a negative trend in revenue terms despite positive volume performance. Q & A Highlights Q: Can you comment on your current market share situation in Europe versus last year, and do you expect a recovery in the third quarter? Also, what are your expectations for India, given the declining market share in the LCV segment? A: Michele Colaninno, CEO: We have lost 1% market share in Europe due to the destocking of EURO 5. We chose not to discount our products to maintain gross margins. We expect a potential market share recovery in the third quarter as destocking concludes. In India, despite a slight market share decline, the market is growing, and we anticipate revenue growth in the second half due to new product launches. Q: Why has there been a discrepancy between volume and revenue performance in the commercial vehicles segment in EMEA and Americas? A: Michele Colaninno, CEO: The market is declining for all competitors. We maintain a strong market share in Italy and are working to improve our European organization, particularly in Germany, Spain, and France. The launch of the electric Porter in Europe is promising, especially for urban areas, and we expect it to perform well in the long term. Q: Can you explain the divergent trends in vehicle registration across Europe, and are you seeing aggressive pricing from Asian competitors? A: Michele Colaninno, CEO: The decline in markets like France, Germany, and the UK is due to consumer hesitation rather than a lack of interest in two-wheel vehicles. We are not engaging in price wars with Asian competitors, focusing instead on maintaining brand equity and strong dealer relationships. Q: What are your expectations for the second half of the year, given the current consensus pointing to a 10% growth in revenues and EBITDA? A: Michele Colaninno, CEO: While it's challenging to provide a precise forecast, we expect third-quarter top-line numbers to be better than last year. Maintaining a 17% EBITDA margin is a daily challenge, but we anticipate improved performance compared to the previous year. Q: Are there any expected savings from logistic costs by year-end? A: Michele Colaninno, CEO: We do not anticipate reductions in logistic costs. The situation remains unchanged, with some shipping routes still affected by global conditions. We are prudently projecting logistic costs to remain consistent with the first half. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
Hamilton Spectator
2 days ago
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
North Vancouver celebrates opening of new park in Central Lonsdale
Little ones can now run around, climb and play in a new park in North Vancouver. On Wednesday, July 23, dignitaries, developers and members of the the community came together to celebrate the official opening of Topo Park on the corner of East 16th Street and St. Andrews Avenue in the City of North Vancouver. City councillors unveiled the new sign during the celebration. The new 0.22-hectare park has a gentle sloping lawn for play and social gatherings and a playground that has wood structures, a long, concrete slide, a saucer swing and a climbing wall. Topo Park also has seating options, pathways and lighting for safety and accessibility alongside trees for comfort and cooling. 'This beautiful new neighbourhood park is more than a green space. It's a reflection of our council's collective vision for a healthier, more vibrant and better-connected city,' said CNV Mayor Linda Buchanan. Buchanan said the park delivers on the city's 2010 Parks Master Plan – a vision for development and renewal of parks and open spaces – which identified the area as having a critical gap in park access. In fall 2021, the city asked for community input on the park's design, and construction began last summer. Topo, short for topography, was chosen as the park's new name as a playful nod to embrace the area's natural five-metre slope. 'The City of North Vancouver is built on a mountainside, and whether we think about it or not, we navigate that topography every single day,' Buchanan said. 'Our civic naming committee worked closely with staff to select a name that reflects the joy and creativity of this neighbourhood.' North Vancouver resident Marissa Porter and her daughter Amara Coward have been eagerly waiting for the park's opening since moving into the neighbourhood in November. 'We've been watching out our window, watching it be built ever since then,' she said. 'We've been waiting for this day for a long time.' Now that the day has arrived, Porter and her daughter come to the park multiple times a day enjoying the green space and playground. Little Amara said her favourite feature is the slide. Having the park is vital in the neighbourhood as it builds community, Porter said. 'Everyone gets to come out, meet each other and make friends and have a sense of community,' she said. 'Even though we all live in different places, we all come together at the same spot.' A shade trellis is set to be installed later this summer, the city said. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Cillian Murphy's new film Steve to have European premiere in Cork
It has been announced that Cillian Murphy's new film Steve will have its European premiere in the actor's native Cork this September as part of the programme for this year's Sounds from a Safe Harbour arts festival in the city. The festival runs from 11 to 14 September, and the European premiere of Steve will take place at the Arc Cinema Cork on Saturday 13 September. Murphy will also take part in a public interview with Steve 's director Tim Mielants and screenwriter and author Max Porter in the Cork Opera House. For more, see: Steve reunites Murphy with Small Things Like These director Mielants and co-star Emily Watson for a school-based drama. The film will receive its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) earlier in September, where it will compete as part of the festival's Platform programme. It will be released in selected Irish cinemas in September and will arrive on Netflix on 3 October. Steve is described as "a reimagining" of Porter's best-selling novel Shy. The British author is also the film's executive producer. "The film follows a pivotal day in the life of headteacher Steve (Academy Award winner Cillian Murphy) and his students at a last-chance reform school amidst a world that has forsaken them," says the Netflix synopsis. "As Steve fights to protect the school's integrity and impending closure, we witness him grappling with his own mental health. "In parallel to Steve's struggles, we meet Shy (Jay Lycurgo), a troubled teen caught between his past and what lies ahead as he tries to reconcile his inner fragility with his impulse for self-destruction and violence." Joining Murphy, Watson, and newcomer Lycurgo in Steve are Tracey Ullman (The Tracey Ullman Show, Mrs America) and Simbi Ajikawo (Top Boy) aka rapper Little Simz. Having launched their company Big Things Films with the acclaimed adaptation of Claire Keegan's bestseller Small Things Like These, Murphy and his production partner Alan Moloney are releasing Steve as their second feature. Murphy and author Porter previously collaborated on the stage adaptation of Porter's Grief Is the Thing with Feathers and the short film All of This Unreal Time. "I just adore Max's writing and the thing his writing does for me, which Claire Keegan's writing does as well - and it's something I've always chased down in writing - is something that has an actual visceral effect on you, an emotional effect," the Cork actor told entertainment trade publication Deadline when Steve was first announced in February 2024. "I remember reading Foster, Claire's short story, I remember actually crying reading the book and having to put my hood up on the train to try to hide, I was so embarrassed. "And then Shy was also that book. Max gave me that book in a proof edition before he finished it, and again it just broke my heart. They're the sorts of things I love as a reader and as a performer, so I really wanted to do something with him."
2 days ago
- Business
The U.S. economy is thriving in spite of tariffs. Will it last?
By just about every indicator, the U.S. economy is holding up remarkably well. When Donald Trump launched his global trade war, economists and markets said his tariff policy would slow the economy, drive up prices and dramatically reduce global trade. And yet, stocks are at all-time highs, the country's employment is strong, its economy is expanding and the expected surge in inflation hasn't materialized. Canada's economy has shown surprising resilience, as well, with consumer spending starting to pick up last month and unemployment declining. Economists told CBC News it's unclear whether the tariffs' impact was overestimated, or if further pain lies ahead. But they say resilience in both countries is fragile, and could be quickly upended if the trade war worsens or expands. A lack of retaliation BMO's chief economist Douglas Porter says two key factors are driving the recent U.S. resilience. Other nations have not really been retaliating against the U.S., so their own exports are not facing that much pressure. And on the flip side, the U.S. consumer has been pretty heavily sheltered so far from this, said Porter. In the meantime, American businesses have not passed on the costs of tariffs. General Motors, for example, released earnings last week that said Trump's tariff policies drove down profits by 35 per cent in the second quarter. The automaker said tariffs on cars and parts led to a $1.1-billion US loss in its quarterly earnings. But still, it has not increased prices. Enlarge image (new window) GM said its profits fell by $1.1 billion US in the second quarter of this year as a result of Trump's tariffs. Photo: Reuters / Chris Helgren Royce Mendes, managing director at Desjardins Capital Markets, says that's becoming a trend among affected American companies. Some companies may choose to just eat the tariff increase in costs rather than draw the ire of President Trump, said Mendes. GM stock fell on the news, but has since rebounded, paring losses and climbing almost all the way back to where it was before it published its earnings. Financial markets have had some pretty volatile sessions, including steep sell-offs when tariffs are announced, and big rallies when exemptions are made. But stock markets in both Canada and the U.S. are at or near record highs — which investors believe is a sign that the resilience we're seeing will last. A stockpile of products The question, though, is whether the impact of the tariffs has simply been delayed. When the levies were first announced last spring, businesses around the world scrambled to get product out the door and into the United States. That has led to a huge stockpile of products — and it means American importers have not yet had to bear the worst of the tariffs. WATCH | The future of Canada-U.S. free trade: There was a lot of front-running and that may be one of the big reasons why we haven't seen much impact yet, said BMO's Porter. There's probably some pain to come, but I don't think it's going to be as bad as many economists were fretting about earlier this year, at least for the U.S. Canada's economy has shown resilience, too But both economists point to the fact that Canada's economy has also fared better than almost anyone had expected. Economic growth shrank in April, but only by 0.1 per cent. Statistics Canada says another 0.1 per cent decline is likely for May. (Those numbers will be confirmed on Thursday.) The unemployment rate has actually begun to decline since peaking in May at seven per cent. And last week's retail sales figures showed consumer spending had started to pick up again in June. We've been pointing to this broader resilience in consumer spending, said Claire Fan, a senior economist with RBC. She says consumer sentiment plunged in the spring, at the height of the uncertainty. But since then, RBC crunched U.S. customs data and found exemptions for CUSMA-compliant products (new window) have dragged the average effective tariff rate all the way down to as low as 2.3 per cent. It's a reflection of President Trump's overall strategy of coming out very aggressive early on, but then walking things back. I mean, the tariffs have not been as punitive for Canada as initially believed — nowhere close to it, said Mendes of Desjardins. Sector-specific pain However, real damage has been done in sectors like auto, steel, aluminum and lumber. The concern now is that the carve-outs Canada has secured for CUSMA-compliant products won't last. Unless a trade deal is reached to significantly reduce U.S.-Canada tariffs by Aug. 1, when new U.S. tariffs are set to come into effect, we expect job losses and higher prices from tariffs to squeeze disposable income and cause households to tighten their purse strings, wrote Michael Davenport, senior economist at Oxford Economics in a note to clients. WATCH | Negotiations continue between Canada and the U.S.: On the one hand, some in the Trump administration will look at the U.S. economy's relative resilience as a reason to double down and push harder for more and more punitive tariffs. But escalation wouldn't just be bad for the Canadian economy. Right now, most businesses and consumers on both sides of the border have been sheltered from the worst impacts of the tariffs. That shelter depends on a fine and tricky balance of importers eating some costs, exporters dropping some prices and countries limiting retaliatory measures. Upending that balance further comes with risks on both sides of the dispute. Peter Armstrong (new window) · CBC News · Senior Business Reporter Peter Armstrong is a senior business reporter for CBC News. A former host of On the Money and World Report on CBC Radio, he was previously a foreign correspondent and parliamentary reporter for CBC. Subscribe to Peter's newsletter here: Twitter: @armstrongcbc
Ottawa Citizen
2 days ago
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
'Absolutely crazy': Alberta could topple Ontario in new housing construction
Article content For the first time in more than 40 years, Alberta is on track to potentially build more homes than Ontario this year — despite having a much smaller population. Article content In a recent note titled 'Go West, Young Homebuilders,' Bank of Montreal economists said Alberta is having a banner year in new housing construction. Article content Based on data for the first six months of the year, the province is on pace to build 58,900 homes by the end of 2025. If it hit that mark, it would shatter the previous record and put the province within striking distance of Ontario, which has more than triple the population, according to Doug Porter, BMO's chief economist. Article content Article content Canada's largest province, meanwhile, is on track to build 60,200 homes this year — barely above the projection for Alberta, leaving the western province some leeway to potentially overtake Ontario. Alberta hasn't led the country in residential construction since at least the 1980s, during another housing boom, Porter said. Article content Article content Alberta's current building phenomenon is surprising, he said, and probably a sign of its economic strength during a period of trade uncertainty. Article content 'I actually do think the bigger story is the blast-off in Alberta,' Porter said. Article content Canadian provinces have been hit differently by flip-flopping tariff pressures from the United States, Porter said. With its robust auto and steel industries, Ontario has likely been hit the hardest by the tariffs, he said. Alberta, on the other hand, managed to skirt some of the worst impacts, buoyed by population growth, a rapidly expanding housing market, and the energy sector. Article content Article content 'Whatever wild success that existed in Alberta in terms of new permits and new starts on the ground, the Ontario story is the exact opposite,' said Adil Kodian, executive vice-president of Rohit Group, which develops homes across the country. Article content Article content 'Supply coming on is absolutely crazy at the moment,' said Kodian, adding that the blistering pace of new construction — along with a sharp slowdown in immigration — is creating new worries. Article content 'Now our biggest concern is oversupply.' Article content Porter said that Alberta isn't the only province that should be looking at immigration. Article content 'I think every housing market has to have a pretty keen eye trained on what's going on in immigration and population growth,' he said. Article content 'The interesting thing is, Alberta's still got pretty robust population growth,' said Porter, noting many of the new people are coming from other provinces, notably Ontario and British Columbia.
