Pinarello sales up 24% in latest fiscal year

TREVISO, Italy (BRAIN) — Cicli Pinarello said its sales were up 24% in its most recent fiscal year, which closed June 30. The company had sales of 84 million euros ($83.6 million at today’s exchange rate) according to a press release.

L Catterton, a U.S.-based private equity firm, acquired a majority of the shares of Pinarello in 2018. Fausto Pinarello remains a minority shareholder and chairman of its board of directors. 

The release did not disclose profit or loss figures for the year, but said its gross operating margin grew by 30%. 

Prior year filings with Italian authorities show sales of 54.3 million euros in the 2020-2021 fiscal year and 46.0 million euros the year before that. In its 2020-2021 report the company blamed the results on a "collapse of the availability of components, such as wheels and gearboxes, and the slowdown in the global aluminum and carbon supply chain and logistics, which have led to delays in production and delivery of orders."

In the most recent fiscal year, the company had fewer obstacles, said CEO Antonio Dus. “We are accelerating on the industrial plan that the company launched at the end of 2020. We operate in a very dynamic market context. More and more people are joining the sport of cycling and the highest increase in consumers are enthusiasts who want to purchase the best products. We are continuing to grow at steadily increasing pace,” Dus said. 

The company forecast that sales will increase 25-30% in its fiscal year that ends next June. It said it has made significant investments in management and production, including a 3 million euro investment in R&D and manufacturing. Pinarello has about 90 employees in Italy and plans to hire 14 more. It has about 150 employees outside Italy. 

“The positive trend in bicycle sales was already visible before the pandemic, in line with the growing trend of sports and outdoor activities. During the first period of Covid, everyone had feared a slowdown linked to the consumer’s inclination to save money. Instead, there was a greater demand which even pushed existing enthusiasts towards high-end bicycles like ours,” Dus said.

“The exceptional results achieved in the financial statements we just closed are largely attributable to the 'know-how,' skills, experience, and dedication of the workers of the Villorba factory. We have just upgraded the plant and we are now looking for new technicians and operators to reinforce the already efficient team from Villorba. Finding employees, such as painters, has become so challenging that we are setting up an 'internal school' to be able to internally develop highly specialized and, consequently, well-paid skills. In the case of painting, it involves the creation of unique pieces, all handmade and different from each other, for which required skills that can only be developed through working with more experienced operators, are needed.”