Vespa maker Piaggio boosts margin despite slowdown in Asia and America
(Reuters) - Italy's Piaggio, maker of the iconic Vespa scooter, posted on Monday a slightly higher core profit margin but a decrease in EBITDA in absolute terms in the first half of the year due to a market slowdown in Asia and America.
Piaggio's EBITDA margin came at 17.5%, up 1.1 percentage points from the same period in 2023, while the scooter and motorbike maker's EBITDA totalled 173.8 million euros ($188.2 million), down 9% from a year earlier.
"Our goal continues to be to confirm excellent margins in the second half, even if sales should continue to decline," CEO Michele Colaninno said in a statement.
Colaninno added that he expects "recovering markets in some regions of south-east Asia", after Piaggio experienced a slowdown in its first-quarter Asian sales.
($1 = 0.9228 euros)
(Reporting by Philippe Leroy Beaulieu; Editing by Keith Weir)