Cable maker Prysmian reported 16% increase in profits in 2021

Prysmian PRY.MI, the world’s largest cable maker, forecast that earnings growth this year would be more modest after it reported on Tuesday a 16% increase in adjusted core profit for 2021.

The Italian company said it expected “moderate demand growth in the construction and industrial cables businesses” this year after a strong 2021 that saw it secure a record high 4.8 billion euros ($5.35 billion) in project orders.

Prysmian said 2021 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 16.2% to 976 million euros, slightly beating a company-provided consensus of 968 million euros. The “resilience” of its energy business segment and the recovery in the telecoms unit spurred record sales of 12.7 billion euros and offset the impact of higher commodity prices, it said.

For 2022, the company said it expects adjusted EBITDA of between 1.01-1.08 billion euros.

The company said this year’s targets, which also include free cashflow of around 400 million euros, would be supported by the group’s long-term growth drivers, including its energy transition path, digitalisation and an electrification process and by pricing policies aimed at containing higher costs driven by inflation.

The forecasts for 2022 do not factor in any negative hits from the Ukraine crisis and further disruptions to global economic activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it added.

Milan-based Prysmian said it would propose to pay out a dividend of 0.55 euros per share.

By 1545 GMT, its shares were down 0.5%, outperforming a 2.3% drop in Milan’s all-share index .FTITLMS. They have risen about 8% in the last year. Nasdaq