Message from the Chairman

Growing and creating value for all

In a context of an unfavourable market, with increased uncertainty and volatility, the resilience of Corticeira Amorim and our continuous action aimed at improving operational efficiency and optimising our product mix proved decisive in 2024. Consolidated sales totalled €939.1 million, a decrease of 4.7% compared with the previous year. All Business Units recorded a contraction in sales, except for Amorim Cork Composites.

The EBITDA margin also contracted to 16.8%, penalised by the reduction in activity levels, the increase in cork raw material consumption prices and the low yields of processed cork from the 2023 campaign. To mitigate this, we highlight greater industrial efficiency resulting from the successive investments and interventions we have made over the past few years; our market approach, which provided for an improvement in our sales mix and our prices; and the reduction in costs for several important inputs, such as non-cork raw materials and transportation.

In the area of cork stoppers, the acquisition of the Italian company Intercap S.r.l., which specialises in the production of surbouchage (overcapped) capsules for sparkling and still wines, stands out, strengthening our skills and the scope of our offer in the sparkling and still wine segments.

In 2024, we concluded an important reflection about our flooring operations. The unfavourable economic context and the competition that has been affecting the European flooring market for years have severely penalised this sector as well as the activity and performance of Amorim Cork Flooring. In May, we announced a restructuring process aimed at adjusting this Business Unit’s production and support structure to its sales volume. Commercial optimisation measures were also implemented, and the distribution model for floor and wall coverings was changed, favouring an international network of distributors over our own distribution companies. This led to the sale of our stake in Timberman Denmark A/S in December. In addition, industrial, commercial and support synergies were identified between Amorim Cork Flooring, Amorim Cork Composites and Amorim Cork Insulation, which will provide for a significant improvement in our business performance in noncork applications. As a consequence, we have formally reorganised them into a single Business Unit, Amorim Cork Solutions.

Cork is a raw material that is increasingly being used for the development of materials for cutting-edge sectors, such as mobility, aerospace, energy, construction and flooring, among many others. The different sectors where cork is used are becoming increasingly global, sophisticated and competitive. Amorim Cork Solutions will respond to the challenges raised by this framework, positioning itself as an important driver of long-term growth for Corticeira Amorim. Our objectives are clear: to optimise cork consumption and generate profitable solutions that contribute to diversifying our portfolio; to enhance the use and increase the value-added dimension of cork and establish the Business Unit as a privileged space for innovation and sustainability; to strengthen our innovation and product development skills, which are crucial for Corticeira Amorim’s leadership; to export and interchange technologies between different sectors in a way that has a multiplier effect and generates greater efficiency. This will result in the overall coordination of all operations and ensure their integrated management.

In the area of sustainability, the year was marked by structural decisions and actions. We conducted a double materiality analysis, involving an extended consultation with our stakeholders. This was a crucial step towards defining our new ESG strategy and our ambitions for 2030.

Just as with our first sustainability report, for the year 2006, we again took the lead in our commitment to sustainability and transparency: anticipating the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, we decided to adopt the ESRS standards in the preparation of our consolidated sustainability statement, expanding the reporting perimeter to cover our entire financial perimeter. This marks an important journey towards understanding our stakeholders’ expectations, thereby empowering and motivating our teams and encouraging us to do more and to do it better.

We face 2025 with determination. We believe we are in a privileged position to turn challenges into opportunities, differentiating ourselves from our competitors, responding responsibly and with quality to the trust our customers place in us. After two consecutive years of strong inflation in the cost of cork raw materials, the 2024 campaign allowed for some price normalisation. The cork business is expected to remain conditioned by the evolution of global consumption, but enhancements in the product mix, initiatives to improve our cost structure and operational efficiency gains should translate into increased profitability. The new organisational model at Amorim Cork Solutions is expected to strengthen our “noncork stopper” business, ensuring greater operational flexibility, optimising existing assets and increasing the value of cork as a reference raw material.

We count on a vast team of nearly 5,000 highly qualified and motivated people who – from the cork oak to the final product and its delivery to the customer – contribute every day to the quality and innovation of our products, to the success of our operations, to customer satisfaction and to the adoption of more sustainable practices; people whose availability and enthusiasm extends to numerous social, environmental and cultural responsibility initiatives aimed at improving the well-being, knowledge, inclusion and safety of communities.

Together, we have ambition and a purpose: to grow and create value for all.

Warm regards,
António Rios de Amorim
Presidente e CEO