Utenos Trikotažas kept sales steady after 3 years of growth and operated profitably
The textile producer, Utenos Trikotažas Group operated by SBA, had 30.79 million euros consolidated sales in 2019, slightly more than in the previous year when revenue was 30.46 million euros.
Revenue of the company Utenos Trikotažas taken separately maintained the level of 2018 sales and amounted to 26.98 million euros. The functional-technical garment-maker Šatrija achieved revenue growth of 9.1%, with product sales of 3.69 million euros during the year.
The Utenos Trikotažas group had a pre-tax net profit last year of 759 000 euros. The EBITDA for the group totalled 1.717 million euros, or 15.5% less than in 2018.
Changes in export markets
Exports accounted for 79.8% of the group’s total sales last year. In Utenos Trikotažas’s main export region – the German-speaking countries (DACH) – sales grew by 21%, while in the Nordic countries order volumes decreased by 32.7%. In Lithuania, sales of the group’s products were 8.4% more than in 2018.
“After three years in a row of double-digit growth, last year Utenos Trikotažas faced the effects of a slowing European economy, which led to smaller order volumes and changes in contract-manufacturing export markets. Thanks, though, to new technological solutions, we managed to strengthen our position significantly in our main export region, the German-speaking DACH countries. Double-digit growth of exports in the fourth quarter helped offset losses in the Nordic market and maintain the level of 2018 sales,” says Utenos Trikotažas CEO Petras Jašinskas.
According to the CEO, the company’s priorities will not change this year – Utenos Trikotažas will continue to strengthen its position in the manufacture of higher value-added products. “This year we’ll aim to increase sales and operating profitability, focusing efforts on what successful clients value most: technologies for developing new materials, production flexibility and speed, and leadership in the area of sustainable manufacturing,” Petras Jašinskas adds.
Sales of own brands increased
The group’s own brands, UTENOS and ABOUT, grew thanks to successful e-commerce activity and a growing network of physical stores. Sales of the products in 2019 grew 4.7% to 4 million euros. At the end of last year there were 19 Utenos Trikotažas-branded stores in Lithuania, most of which operated on a franchise basis.
Utenos Trikotažas’s ABOUT brand last year opened doors to prestigious retail venues around the world: shopping centres like Germany’s KaDeWe, Le Bon Marche in France, Shinsegae in South Korea and Need Supply Co in the US, and luxury fashion online retailer Matchesfashion.
International recognition for sustainable production Utenos Trikotažas is currently the only company in the world that satisfies the textile-production standards of Greenpeace, the environmental organization. The Lithuanian company has also become that organisation’s only global manufacturing partner, with production of a new Greenpeace collection now underway in Utena.
At the prestigious European Business Awards in 2019, Utenos Trikotažas, an SBA Group company, was named a National Winner in the “Social Responsibility and Environmental Awareness” category. National Winners are leading European companies that create significant innovations, show impeccable business ethics and operate successfully. Last year, of the more than 120 000 competing companies, 364 European business leaders became National Winners.
About the company
The SBA Group company Utenos Trikotažas is the largest knitwear manufacturer in Central and Eastern Europe, and one of the region’s most modern producers. Retail brands it owns include Utenos and About. The companies Šatrija and Mrija (Ukraine) are also part of the Utenos Trikotažas group.
The main shareholder of Utenos Trikotažas is SBA Group, which owns a 92.31% stake. SBA is one of the largest Lithuanian business groups. It operates in the real estate, textile and furniture sectors. SBA’s furniture sector comprises Kauno Baldai and the SBA Furniture Company, which in turn owns five furniture producers – Klaipėdos Baldai, Šilutės Baldai, Germanika, Visagino Linija, and Mebelain. SBA owns the real estate innovation company Urban Inventors, which is developing the Green Hall business valley in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius and the BLC business centre in Kaunas. SBA group is also the majority owner of Capitalica Asset Management, which manages the Kaunas-based business centre Kauno Dokas as well as the 135 in Vilnius and plans to develop the Verde modern office complex in Riga’s Skanste district near the city centre. SBA has further established SBA Modular, which plans to build a factory in Lithuania to produce modular multi-storey houses. Recently the group acquired the robotics and automation solutions company Robotex. SBA Group’s companies have a total of nearly 5 000 employees.
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Petras Jašinskas, CEO, Utenos Trikotažas AB
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