On 28 November 2024, the meeting-debate on the ‘Classification Report 2024. Le prime 70 imprese dell’edilizia privata’ edited by Aldo Norsa. Among the speakers: builders, property developers and contractors.

The event in Milan

The meeting-debate hosted in Milan by Assimpredil Ance on 28 November dealt, through the points of view of 20 protagonists of the sector, with the evidence of the ‘Classifiche 2024 Report’, published by the Guamari company and dedicated for the sixth consecutive year to a specific segment of the construction supply: private building realised by the top 70 companies (which in 2023 have a turnover of at least 29 million).

A picture of the event

An even more complete picture of the market will be provided by the ‘Report 2024 on the Italian Architecture, Engineering and Construction Industry’, which includes the 2023 rankings of the top 200 architecture (and design) companies, top 200 engineering companies and top 200 construction companies (general and specialised) and will be presented on 11 December in Rome, at Ance. Both publications, available in both print and digital format (the latter updated in real time), benefit from the scientific direction of Professor Aldo Norsa and the collaboration of Dr. Stefano Vecchiarino, chief analyst.

From an examination of the 2023 budgets and the first indications for 2024, the major private construction companies also show a remarkable state of health in the last year. The real uncertainty is linked to the adaptability that the many companies that have started from scratch or almost zero and managed to establish themselves on the market by taking advantage of the opportunity represented by the superbonus and sismabonus tax breaks will be able to demonstrate. How they will put the know-how they have accumulated, the profits they have made and the investments they have made to good use in the immediate future is the subject of the meeting-debate with several voices: principals, building promoters and contractors.

The figures of the ranking companies

In 2023 the top 70 declare a total production of 10 billion (up 22 per cent year-on-year) and in private construction alone 6.4 billion (up 25.9 per cent) with an increase in its share from 62.5 to 64.5 per cent.
The activity in private construction at present is still strongly tied to the national (and often regional) territory, so much so that only four companies in this edition declare an (even minimal) share of international turnover for private clients, which added up to only 1.8 per cent.
On the profit and loss account level, the top 70 generally show strongly increasing profitability figures such that ebitda 2023 more than doubles, ebit almost triples, and net profit quadruples (!) (in the latter case, the sum is limited to 69 companies since Techbau, which closes its accounts on 30 June, could not provide the figure). These numbers are influenced by the strong improvement in the balance sheet figures of Italy’s second (and 47th European) company, Itinera (Gavio group): without them, ebitda would ‘only’ grow by 57.8 per cent, ebit by 70.1 and net profit by 37.4 per cent.

The balance sheet of the companies under review also shows a very good performance: net financial debt is reduced by 65.7 per cent and is worth just one-tenth of the net capital (up by 17.9 per cent), also thanks to the fact that half of the companies can boast a positive net financial position.
Guamari Srl – Piazza Bazzi, 2 – 20144 Milan – 02 43912735 – segreteria@guamari.it
Moreover, in 2023 the companies in the ranking add up to a workforce of 12.9 thousand, up 4.8 per cent compared to 2022.

The numbers of the most active companies in the private sector

The analysis limited to the 50 (out of 70) companies most specialised in private construction shows trends in 2023 that are not too dissimilar to those shown by the lot examined in its entirety.
In fact, this specific sample invoiced in the last financial year 4.2 billion (97.7 per cent in the private sector) with a growth of 28.5 per cent compared to 2022, only slightly better than that recorded by the top 70.
Turning to the outlook for business in the coming years, the order book data was only provided for the last two years by 30 companies, but it is comforting that the sum of the amounts shows an increase of 15.2 per cent at the end of the last financial year compared to a year earlier.

Looking at the profitability figures, they show improvements comparable to those of the top 70 (once the figures for Itinera are stripped out for the reasons already mentioned): ebitda increases by 64 per cent, ebit by 63.1 per cent and net profit by 37.8 per cent (figure limited to 49 companies, again in the absence of Techbau numbers).
The only real difference of the 50 (compared to the 70) is in their net financial debt, which increases by 22.4 per cent in 2023 but is only worth one fifth of the 27 per cent increase in net assets.
As for the workforce, the cumulative workforce of the top 50 companies in private construction increases, but only by 8.2 per cent.

The Programme

10:00 Greetings
– Regina De Albertis (Assimpredil Ance)
– Paolo Facchini (Confindustria Assoimmobiliare)

10:20 Considerations on the real estate market
– Giulia Ghiani (CBRE)

10:30 Debate among clients – animated by Ezio Micelli (Iuav University of Venice)
– Marina Concilio (Theop Italia)
– Alessandro Corte Rappis (Generali Real Estate)
– Paola Delmonte (Redo)
– Matteo Lavazza (JLL)
– Raoul Ravara (Hines)

11:30 Debate among promoters/builders – led by Aldo Norsa (Guamari)
– Fabio Cambiaghi (Cmb)
– Edoardo De Albertis (Borio Mangiarotti)
– Luca Guffanti (Guffanti)
– Alessio Parolari (Vitali)
– Giuseppe Provvisiero (Secap)

12:30 Debate among builders – animated by Sara Valaguzza (University of Milan)
– Enrico Barbiero (Sacaim)
– Antonio Brancaccio (Brancaccio)
– Emiliano Cerasi (SAC)
– Orazio Coccia (Coccia)
– Angelo Maiocchi (Nessi & Majocchi)