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ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT 



AS OF AND FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022




Prepared according to IAS/IFRS

(This report has been translated into the English language from the original which was issued in Italian)

  1. TABLE OF CONTENTS


1.     GOVERNING BODIES AND OFFICERS AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2022

2.     DIRECTORS' REPORT ON OPERATIONS

2.1.     Introduction

2.2.     Organizational structure

2.3.     Information about the profitability of the Group

2.3.1.     Revenues

2.3.2.     Operating income (EBIT)

2.3.3.     EBITDA

2.3.4.     Net income

2.4.     Information about the financial resources of the Group

2.4.1.     Current and non-current indebtedness

2.4.2.     Cash flow analysis

2.4.3.     Composition and changes in net working capital

2.5.     Table of reconciliation of the consolidated net income and equity with the Issuer's data

2.6.     Research and development

2.7.     Own shares

2.8.     Report on corporate governance

2.9.     Non-financial report ex Legislative Decree n. 254/2016

2.10.     Shareholdings of the members of the governing and controlling bodies, general managers and managers with strategic responsibilities

2.11.     Evolution of the Italian residential mortgage market

2.12.     Foreseeable evolution

2.12.1.     Broking Division

2.12.2.     BPO Division

2.13.     Other information

2.13.1.     Offices

2.13.2.     Relations with related parties

2.13.3.     Risk management

2.13.4.     Information concerning environment and human resources

2.14.     Net income allocation and dividend distribution proposal

3.     CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL REPORT AS OF AND FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022

3.1.     Financial statements

3.1.1.     Consolidated statement of financial position

3.1.2.     Consolidated income statement

3.1.3.     Consolidated comprehensive income statement

3.1.4.     Consolidated statement of cash flows

3.1.5.     Consolidated statement of changes in shareholders' equity

3.2.     Notes to the consolidated financial statements

4.     ANNUAL REPORT AS OF AND FOR YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022

4.1.     Financial statements

4.1.1.     Statement of financial position

4.1.2.     Income statement

4.1.3.     Comprehensive income statement

4.1.4.     Statement of cash flows

4.1.5.     Statement of changes in shareholders' equity

4.2.     Explanatory notes to the financial statements (statutory financial report)

5.     REPORT ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND COMPANY STRUCTURE

6.     REPORT OF THE BOARD OF STATUTORY AUDITORS

7.     REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS ON THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

8.     REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS ON THE SEPARATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

9.     DECLARATION PURSUANT TO ART. 154-BIS PAR. 5 OF LEGISLATIVE DECREE 58/1998


  1. GOVERNING BODIES AND OFFICERS AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2022


BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chairman     Marco Pescarmona (1) (3) (5) (7)

Chief Executive Officer     Alessandro Fracassi (2) (3) (5)

Directors     Anna Maria Artoni (4)

     Fausto Boni

     Chiara Burberi (4)

     Matteo De Brabant 

     Giulia Bianchi Frangipane (4)

     Klaus Gummerer (4) (6)

     Valeria Lattuada (4) 

     Marco Zampetti


BOARD OF STATUTORY AUDITORS

Chairman     Stefano Gnocchi

Active Statutory Auditors     Paolo Burlando

     Francesca Masotti

Substitute Statutory Auditors     Filippo Colonna

     Barbara Premoli


INDEPENDENT AUDITORS     EY S.p.A.     


COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Audit and Risk Committee     

Chairman     Chiara Burberi

     Giulia Bianchi Frangipane

     Marco Zampetti


Remuneration and Share Incentive Committee

Chairman     Anna Maria Artoni

     Valeria Lattuada

     Matteo De Brabant

     

Committee for Transactions with Related Parties

Chairman     Valeria Lattuada

     Anna Maria Artoni

     Klaus Gummerer




  1. The Chairman is the Company's legal representative.

  2. The Chief Executive Officer legally represents the Company, disjointly from the Chairman, within the limits of the delegated powers.

  3. Executive Director.

  4. Independent non-executive Director.

  5. Holds executive offices in some Group companies.

  6. Lead Independent Director.

  7. Executive Director in charge of overseeing the Internal Control System.













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DIRECTORS' REPORT ON OPERATIONS  



FINANCIAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022


  1. DIRECTORS' REPORT ON OPERATIONS

    1. Introduction

  1. Gruppo MutuiOnline S.p.A. (the "Company" or the "Issuer") is the holding company of a group of firms  (the "Group") with an important position in the Italian market for the online comparison, promotion and intermediation of products provided by financial institutions, e-commerce operators and utility providers (main websites www.mutuionline.it, www.prestitionline.it, www.segugio.it www.trovaprezzi.it and www.sostariffe.it) and in the Italian market for the provision of complex business process outsourcing services for the financial sector. Since February 2023, the Group also has a significant position in the Spanish, French and Mexican markets for the online comparison and intermediation mainly of insurance products.

  2. In the following sections, we illustrate the main aspects regarding the operations during the past financial year and the current economic and financial structure of the Group.

  1. As of December 31, 2022, the Issuer controls, also indirectly, the following companies:

It should be noted that Gruppo Lercari S.r.l. controls the following subsidiaries: Lercari S.r.l., Service Lercari S.r.l., San Filippo S.r.l., Global Care S.r.l., Lercari International Ltd (a company with registered office in UK), Forensic Experts S.r.l., Finprom Insurance S.r.l. (a company with registered office in Romania), Onda S.r.l. (which controls Resolution and Service S.r.l. and Surf S.r.l.), and Lercari Motor S.r.l. (together, the "Lercari Group").

In addition, Gruppo MutuiOnline S.p.A. owns 35% of the share capital of Generale Servizi Amministrativi S.r.l., 50% of the share capital of the joint venture PrestiPro S.r.l. in liquidazione, 35% of the share capital of CFN Generale Fiduciaria S.p.A., 25% of the share capital of CFN Generale Trustee S.r.l. through subsidiary Cesam S.r.l., 20% of the share capital of Geckoway S.r.l. through subsidiary Agenzia Italia S.p.A. and 40% of the share capital of LC Servizi S.r.l. in liquidazione, through subsidiary Gruppo Lercari S.r.l..

On January 17, 2022, the Issuer acquired 100% of the share capital of Luna Service S.r.l., a company operating in the development of software and the provision of services in the property registers area, for a consideration of Euro 974 thousand. 

On February 1, 2022, the Group signed a contract to acquire, through the Lercari Group, 100% of the share capital of Gema Motor S.r.l., a company that offers insurance outsourcing services in the automotive sector, for a consideration of Euro 1,498 thousand.

On February 23, 2022 the joint venture Prestipro S.r.l. was put in liquidation. On January 24, 2023, the liquidation process ended with the cancellation of the company, from which no significant costs for the Group emerged.

On March 1, 2022 the Issuer acquired 100% of the share capital of Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l., a company operating in the field of para-legal services in support of operators in the NPL sector and real estate procedures, for a consideration of Euro 15,256 thousand. In addition, there is an earn-out linked to future economic performance, which at the date of acquisition was estimated at Euro 257 thousand.

In the first quarter of 2022, Finprom Insurance S.r.l., a company under Romanian law, incorporated in December 2021, became operational, to which the business unit relating to insurance outsourcing activities of Finprom S.r.l. was subsequently transferred.

On March 16, 2022, the Group, through its subsidiary 7Pixel S.r.l., signed an agreement to sell 8.0% of the share capital of Zoorate S.r.l., for a consideration equal to Euro 671 thousand. New reciprocal 4-year put/call rights were agreed with the purchasers regarding this shareholding.

On April 26, 2022, the Issuer sold 100% of the share capital of Centro Processi Assicurativi S.r.l. to its subsidiary Gruppo Lercari S.r.l., for a consideration equal to Euro 3,072 thousand.

On May 12, 2022, the Issuer sold 100% of the share capital of Finprom Insurance S.r.l. to its subsidiary Gruppo Lercari S.r.l., for a consideration equal to Euro 2,000 thousand.

On May 27, 2022, the Issuer acquired an additional 9.48% stake of the share capital of CFN Generale Fiduciaria S.p.A. (previously named Generale Fiduciaria S.p.A.), for an amount of Euro 116 thousand, reaching a participation equal to 49.48%. Subsequently, on July 1st, 2022, following an increase of share capital subscribed by the majority shareholders of the associate, the Issuer's shareholding in that company passed from 49.48% to 35.0% of the share capital.

On May 27, 2022, the Issuer sold a 5.0% stake of the share capital of Generale Servizi Amministrativi S.r.l., for an amount of Euro 40 thousand.

On June 1, 2022, the Group signed a contract for the acquisition, through the Lercari Group, of 100% of the share capital of Onda S.r.l., a company at the head of a group of firms (the "Onda Group") specializing in the provision of expert and other after-sales services to insurance companies, at a price of Euro 4,750 thousand.

On July 22, 2022, subsidiary CESAM S.r.l. subscribed 25% of the share capital of the newly incorporated CFN Generale Trustee S.r.l., for an amount equal to Euro 10 thousand.

On August 4, 2022, subsidiary Gruppo Lercari S.r.l. sold its 50% stake in the company SircusGandino S.r.l., for a consideration of Euro 87 thousand.

On August 28, 2022, the Group signed a binding agreement with ZPG Comparison Services Holdings UK Ltd and with its subsidiary Penguin Portals Ltd (the "Sellers"), both part of the RVU Group ("RVU"), concerning (i) the acquisition by the Group of 100% of the share capital of Rastreator.com Ltd and Preminen Price Comparison Holdings Ltd and their subsidiaries, (ii) the grant by the Group to the Sellers of a put option on 100% of the share capital of LeLynx SAS, exercised in 2023 pursuant to articles L 23-10-1 and 23-10-7 of the French Code de Commerce (iii) the transfer to one of the entities of the perimeter acquired by the Group of the IT excellence center with headquarters in India currently at the service of the companies interested by the transaction, with the transfer of a company branch from Inspop.com Limited (the "Transaction"). The main assets of the group of companies involved in the Transaction are the Rastreator.com, LeLynx.fr, and Rastreator.mx portals, which represent leading operators in the sector of online comparison and intermediation of insurance products in Spain, Mexico and France. The Transaction was completed on February 1, 2023, and since that date the acquired entities are part of the Broking Division.

On September 16 and November 10, 2022, respectively, the wholly-owned subsidiaries Above Comparison S.r.l. and Incomparable S.a.r.l. were established to hold, directly and indirectly, the participations concerned by the Transaction.

On October 7, 2022, the Group acquired, through its subsidiary Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l., 100% of the share capital of Sovime S.r.l., a company active in the provision of services and information mainly in the hypocadastral field, for the benefit of banking institutions and operators active in debt management and credit collection, for a consideration equal to Euro 669 thousand. In addition, there is an earn-out linked to the future economic performance of the acquired entity, which at the acquisition date was estimated at Euro 1,163 thousand.

On October 28, 2022, the Group acquired, through the subsidiary Agenzia Italia S.p.A., 100% of the share capital of Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l. ("Trebi"), a leading company in the development and provision of software solutions for the financing sector, including in particular leasing, rental and the management of non-performing loans. The agreed consideration for the purchase of 100% of the share capital of Trebi is equal to Euro 89,500 thousand, of which Euro 77,500 thousand paid at closing and Euro 12,000 thousand retained as escrow to guarantee potential indemnity obligations arising from the sale and purchase agreement, with progressive release over a four-year period. The payment of the price has been financed with available cash and the use of already available credit lines. 

On December 31, 2022, the merger by incorporation of PrestitiOnline S.p.A. into MutuiOnline S.p.A. was completed, with retroactive accounting effects from January 1st, 2022.

Therefore, the consolidation area as of December 31, 2022, presented by Division, is the following: 


Group structure

Broking Division:

Picture 7

BPO Division:


  1. Picture 9

  2. Broking Division

  3. Our Broking Division operates in the Italian market for loan distribution as a credit intermediary, in the market for insurance distribution as a broker, in the market for the distribution of telecommunications and energy services, and in the market for the promotion of e-commerce operators. Since February 2023, the Division has extended its presence to Spain, France and Mexico, where it conducts online distribution of mainly insurance products. The activities carried out by our Broking Division are organized mainly into the following business lines, on the basis of the type of intermediated product: 

  1. Credit Broking: broking of mortgage loans and consumer loans products, mainly through the online channel (www.mutuionline.it and www.prestitionline.it websites); 

  2. Insurance Broking: online broking of insurance products, mainly motor third party liability and other motor insurance products (www.cercassicurazioni.it  website);

  3. E-Commerce Price Comparison: comparison and promotion of e-commerce operators (www.trovaprezzi.it website);

  4. Telco & Energy Comparison: comparison and promotion of telecommunications and energy services (www.sostariffe.it website).

  1. The activity of the Broking Division is also carried out under the "Segugio.it" brand (www.segugio.it website), which operates as a multibrand aggregator for insurance, credit, telecommunications and energy products, mainly pushed by television and online advertising focused on insurance products. Each section of the website is however managed by the product companies of the Group and the related revenues are reported within the above mentioned business lines.

  2. Besides, subsidiary Innovazione Finanziaria SIM S.p.A. - authorized to professionally perform placement services to the public without underwriting or warranties pursuant to article 1, comma 5, letter c-bis) of Legislative Decree no. 58 of February 24, 1998 - manages, by means of website www.fondionline.it, an on-line mutual fund supermarket. 

  3. BPO Division

  4. Our BPO Division provides outsourcing and IT services mainly to the benefit of financial institutions operating on the Italian market, with a high level of specialization in some reference verticals.

  5. Our BPO services are structured along six separate business lines, on the basis of the type of services rendered and the type of underlying financial product:

  1. Mortgage BPO: provides remote loan sales and packaging and mortgage underwriting and closing services; this business line includes notary support services;

  2. Real Estate Services BPO: offers real estate appraisal services and technical real estate services for operators in the financial sector and debt collection;

  3. Loans BPO: provides application processing and portfolio management services for salary/pension guaranteed loans, and for business loans to companies, also assisted by a guarantee from the State;

  4. Insurance BPO: provides management and claim settlement outsourcing services;

  5. Investment services BPO: provides complete operational service solutions and technology platforms to investment and asset management companies;

  6. Leasing & Rental BPO/IT: provides BPO services and IT core solutions for leasing and long-term rental operators.

  1. In the following paragraph we describe the main factors affecting the results of the operations of the Group for the year ended December 31, 2022. The income statement and the cash flow data for the year ended December 31, 2022 are taken from the consolidated annual report prepared according to the international accounting standards approved by the European Union and are compared with the same data for the year ended December 31, 2021.

  2. The following table shows the consolidated income statements of the Group for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, together with the percentage weight of each item on the Group revenues.

  3. Picture 7

  1. % of total revenues

Revenues in the year ended December 31, 2022, are Euro 310,770 thousand, 0.9% lower than in the previous year. Please refer to paragraph 2.3.1 for the evolution of revenues by Division and business line.


In the financial year ended December 31, 2022, services costs decrease by 2.0% compared to the financial year ended December 31, 2021. Such trend is the result of the decrease of the costs of notary services, linked to the sharp drop in volumes of para-notary services provided within the Mortgage BPO business line, due to the significant contraction of the remortgage market. The trend is partly offset by the increase in consultancy costs associated with acquisitions in the period and higher service costs related to the enlargement of the consolidation area. 

Personnel costs increase by 10.8% compared to the financial year ended December 31, 2021, mainly due to the increase of the number of human resources employed by the Group, following the enlargement of the consolidation area.

The following table provides information about the average headcount for the financial years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:

Picture 7

Other operating costs increase by 13.5%, compared to the financial year ended December 31, 2021.

Depreciation and amortization increase by 6.0% in the financial year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the previous financial year, mainly due to the higher values of the assets recognized following the completion of the purchase price allocations related to the acquisitions of Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l., Luna Service S.r.l. e Onda S.r.l..

Financial costs for the financial year ended December 31, 2022, show a negative balance, mainly due to the interest expense on the outstanding loans in the period, equal to Euro 3,916 thousand, partially offset by the dividends received from Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC ("Moneysupermarket") for Euro 3,450 thousand).

The "Income tax expense" item, mainly includes the current taxes related to the financial year 2022 for Euro 11,299 thousand and the utilization of the period of the deferred tax assets related to the higher value of assets revaluated during 2020, for Euro 6,583 thousand. We point out that the item "Income tax expense" as of December 31, 2021 also included the write down of deferred tax assets on trademarks (amounting to Euro 28,801 thousand).

The table below provides a breakdown of our revenues by Division and business line, for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.

Picture 10  

  1. Percentage of total revenues.

  1. Broking Division

In the financial year ended December 31, 2022, revenues of the Broking Division decrease by 2.4%, passing from Euro 134,248 thousand in the financial year ended December 31, 2021 to Euro 131,042 thousand in the financial year ended December 31, 2022.

Credit Broking

Credit Broking revenues go from Euro 63,079 thousand (equal to the sum of Mortgage Broking and Consumer Loan Broking revenues) in 2021 to Euro 50,754 thousand in 2022 (-19.5%), as a result of a sharp drop in volumes of brokered mortgages compared to the previous financial year.

Insurance Broking

Insurance Broking revenues grow from Euro 24,482 thousand in financial year 2021 to Euro 28,399 thousand in financial year 2022 (+7.8%), as a result of the increase of the number of policies brokered.

E-Commerce Price Comparison

E-Commerce Price Comparison revenues go from Euro 34,057 thousand in financial year 2021 to Euro 37,381 thousand in financial year 2022 (+9.8%).

Telco & Energy Comparison

Telco & Energy Comparison revenues go from Euro 9,902 thousand in financial year 2021 to Euro 10,769 thousand in financial year 2022 (+8.8%). 

  1. BPO Division

Revenues of the BPO Division increase, going from Euro 179,216 thousand in financial year 2021 to Euro 179,728 thousand in financial year 2022 (+0.3%). 

Mortgage BPO

Mortgage BPO revenues go from Euro 53.685 thousand in financial year 2021 to Euro 32.627 thousand in financial year 2022 (-39.2%). Such result is mainly due to the sharp drop of activity volumes for para-notary services, as a result of the significant contraction of the remortgage market.

Real Estate Services BPO

Real Estate Services BPO revenues go from Euro 20,894 thousand in financial year 2021 to Euro 29.504 thousand in financial year, 2022 (+41.2%). The increase is mainly due to the contribution of Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l., whose results are consolidated starting from March 1st, 2022, and to the higher volumes of services related to the "Ecobonus 110%", linked to interventions of energy efficiency in buildings. 

Loans BPO

Loans BPO revenues go from Euro 25,206 thousand in financial year 2021 to Euro 26,185 thousand in financial year 2022 (+3.9%).

Insurance BPO

Insurance BPO revenues go from Euro 31,214 thousand in financial year 2021 to Euro 34,806 thousand in financial year 2022 (+11.5%), mainly due to the contribution of the new acquisitions occurred in 2022.

Investment Services BPO

Investment Services BPO revenues go from Euro 10,351 thousand in financial year 2021 to Euro 11,330 thousand in financial year ended 2022 (+9.5%).

Leasing & Rental BPO/IT

Leasing & Rental BPO/IT revenues go from Euro 35.811 thousand in financial year 2021 to Euro 40,312 thousand in financial year 2022 (+12.6%), due to both the growth in activity volumes of Agenzia Italia S.p.A. and the contribution of Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l., whose results are consolidated starting from November 1st, 2022.

  1. Operating income (EBIT) decreases from Euro 68,964 thousand in the financial year ended December 31, 2021 to Euro 66.542 thousand in the financial year ended December 31, 2022 (-3.5%) as detailed in the following table.

  2. Picture 11   

  1. Percentage of total revenues, if appropriate by Division (operating margin).

The operating income margin in financial year 2022 is 21.4% of revenues, slightly down if compared to 22.0% of financial year 2021. 

Such result is due to the decreased operating income margin of the Broking Division, going from 32.9% in 2021 to 30.0% in 2022, partially offset by the increase of the operating income margin of the BPO Division, going from 13.8% in 2021 to 15.2 in 2022. 

The decrease of the margin of the Broking Division is mainly attributable to the significant drop of revenues of the Credit Broking business line.

The increase of the margin of the BPO Division is attributable to the one-off effect of a write down made in 2021, affecting the comparability of results. Net of such effect, the marginality in 2022 is in line with the previous year. 

  1. EBITDA is calculated as net income before income tax expense, net financial income/(expenses), and depreciation and amortization.

  2. The following table presents a reconciliation between net income and EBITDA for the financial years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:

  3. Picture 12   

  4. EBITDA increases in the financial year ended December 31, 2022, passing from Euro 92,552 thousand in 2021 to Euro 88.568 thousand in 2022 (-4.3%).

The table below provides a breakdown of EBITDA by Division, for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:

Picture 13 

  1. Percentage of total revenues, if appropriate by Division (EBITDA  margin).

EBITDA in the financial year ended December 31, 2022 is 28.5% of revenues, down compared to 29.5% in the financial year ended December 31, 2021. 

  1. Net income increases in the financial year ended December 31, 2022, passing from Euro 17,839 thousand in 2021 to Euro 47,529 thousand in 2022 (+166.4%). Such trend is due to the change of income taxes of the period, whose balance in financial year 2021 included the release of deferred tax assets related to the revaluation of trademarks for an amount equal to Euro 28,801 thousand.  

  1. The following table presents the net financial position as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, prepared according to ESMA orientation 32-382-1138 of March 4, 2021 and to Consob guidance n. 5/21 of April 29, 2021:

  2. Picture 14 

  3. * The data as of December 31, 2021 incorporate a reclassification, please see note 5 to the consolidated financial statements.

  4. The net financial position as of December 31, 2022 shows a negative cash balance of Euro 195,247 thousand, worsening for Euro 146,425 thousand if compared to December 31, 2021.

  5. For a description of the evolution of cash flows in the financial year ended December 31, 2022, please refer to the following paragraph 2.4.2.

  1. Current and non-current indebtedness as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 is summarized in the following table.

  2. Picture 9 

  3. Long and medium-term bank borrowings

  1. Long and medium-term bank borrowings as of December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 are summarized in the following table:

  2. Picture 16 

The increase of non-current bank borrowings is mainly due to the subscription by the Issuer of:

Regarding the pre-existing loans, we remind that: 

  1. Short-term bank borrowings and bank credit lines

  2. Short-term bank borrowings refer to the short-term credit lines used by Agenzia Italia S.p.A., for an amount equal to Euro 8,000 thousand as of December 31, 2022. 

  3. Other non-current financial liabilities

  4. Other non-current financial liabilities consist in the financial liabilities for the exercise of the put/call option for the residual 49.9% stake of Gruppo Lercari S.r.l., for the residual 15.5% stake of Agenzia Italia S.p.A., and for the residual 8% stake of Zoorate S.r.l., and in the leasing liabilities deriving from the adoption of the IFRS 16 standard. 

  5. Other current financial liabilities

  6. Other current financial liabilities consist in the current portion of the leasing liabilities deriving from the adoption of the IFRS 16 standard.

  1. In this paragraph we present an analysis of the consolidated cash flows of the Group for the financial years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.

  2. The following table shows a summary of the consolidated statements of cash flows for the financial years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.

  3. Picture 17

  4. In the financial year ended December 31, 2022 the Group generated liquidity for an amount equal to Euro 101,803 thousand, versus an amount of Euro 38,985 thousand during the previous financial year. The cash generation is attributable to the cash flow generated by the operating and financing activities, and it is partially offset by the cash absorbed by the investment activity. 

  5. Cash flow generated by operating activities

  6. Operating activities show a cash generation equal to Euro 61.991 thousand in the financial year ended December 31, 2022, significantly up if compared to the cash generated in the financial year ended December 31, 2021, equal to Euro 1,392 thousand.

Such increase is attributable to the evolution of the changes in net working capital, for the analysis of which refer to paragraph 2.4.3, partially offset by the reduced cash generation from operating activities.

  1. Cash flow generated by investing activities

Investing activities absorbed cash for Euro 159,301 thousand in the financial year ended December 31, 2022, compared to Euro 11,139 thousand of absorbed cash in the financial year ended December 31, 2021. The cash absorbed is mainly attributable to the purchase of Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC shares for Euro 67,373 thousand and to the corporate acquisitions made during the financial year that, net of the cash acquired and the consideration still to be paid, absorbed cash for Euro 87,621 thousand. 

  1. Cash flow generated by financing activities

  2. Financing activities generated cash for Euro 199,113 thousand in the financial year ended December 31, 2022, compared to a cash generation of Euro 26,454 thousand in the financial year ended December 31, 2021.

  1. The cash flows generated during the financial year ended December 31, 2022 are due to the subscription of new bank loans for Euro 272,439 thousand, and they are partially offset by the purchases and disposals of own shares for a net amount equal to 25,025 thousand, the payment of dividends for Euro 15,239 thousand and the reimbursement of outstanding loans for an amount equal to Euro 25,433 thousand.

  1. The following table presents the breakdown of the components of net working capital as of December 31, 2022 and 2021.

  2. Picture 18

  3. Net working capital records an increase equal to Euro 1,506 thousand in the financial year ended December 31, 2022. 

Such trend is mainly related to the increase of the trade receivables, in relation to the higher receivables of Agenzia Italia S.p.A., and to the receivables of subsidiary Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l., acquired during 2022, partially offset by the increase of tax liabilities, and other current liabilities, due to, for Euro 4,350 thousand, to the current portion of the consideration still to be paid for the corporate acquisitions in the period.


Picture 7

  1. Among "Other consolidation adjustments" we also include the higher values deriving from the goodwill recognized upon the first consolidation of the purchased participations, mainly in 7Pixel S.r.l., Quinservizi S.p.A., Centro Processi Assicurativi S.r.l., INSECO S.r.l., EuroServizi per i Notai S.r.l., Agenzia Italia S.p.A., Eagle & Wise Service S.r.l., SOS Tariffe S.r.l., Lercari Group, Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l., Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l. and Onda S.r.l..

  1. Within the Group, several development teams regularly work with the objective of improving and enhancing the IT systems and the software platforms used to supply services to consumers, lenders and insurance companies. 

  2. The capitalized costs related to software development in the financial year ended on December 31, 2022 amount to Euro 7,514 thousand (Euro 4,853 thousand in 2021). During the financial year ended December 31, 2022, the Group increased the resources dedicated to development activities, resulting in an increase in capitalized costs compared to financial year ended December 31, 2021.

  3. The proprietary software platforms represent the core of the operations of the companies of the Group in both Divisions and must be continuously expanded and developed to improve their commercial effectiveness, incorporate legislative changes, manage new kinds of products, simplify processes, increase efficiency, improve consulting ability, increase operators' productivity, adapt to the increasingly sophisticated requirements of our client financial institutions, and ensure data protection and security.

On April 28, 2022, the shareholders' meeting revoked, for the unused portion, the previous authorization for the purchase and sale of own shares dated April 29, 2021 and authorized the purchase of own shares within the limits of retained earnings and distributable reserves from the last approved statutory financial statements of the Issuer and for a period of 18 months, and for a maximum of 20% of ordinary share capital, with the following purposes:

  1. for activities in support of market liquidity;

  2. for the possible use of shares as consideration in extraordinary transactions, including exchanges of participations with other subjects, as part of transactions in the Company's interest;

  3. to allot own shares purchased to distribution programs, against payment or free of charge, of stock options or shares to employees, directors and other personnel of the Company or its subsidiaries, as well as to the service of programs for the free allocation of shares to shareholders;

  4. for the execution of the contract signed between the Issuer and the company acting as specialist operator on the stock market;

  5. for an efficient investment of the liquidity of the Group.

During the year ended December 31, 2022 the Issuer purchased 833.413 own shares equal to 2.084% of ordinary share capital. During the same period following the exercise of vested stock options held by some employees of the Group, the Issuer sold 6.500 own shares equal to 0.016% of ordinary share capital.

Therefore, as of December 31, 2022 the Issuer holds 2,488,954  own shares, equal to 6.222% of ordinary share capital, for a total cost equal to Euro 37,801 thousand. As of the same date, the subsidiaries of the Group do not hold any shares of the Issuer.  

During the first months of 2023, the Issuer purchased 65,477 own shares equal to 0.164% of ordinary share capital. During the same period, the Issuer sold, following the exercise of vested stock options held by some employees of the Group, 100 own shares. 

As of the date of approval of this report, therefore, the Issuer holds a total of 2.554.331 own shares, equal to 6.386% of ordinary share capital, for a total cost equal to Euro 39,653 thousand, equal to Euro 15.52 per share. As of the same date, the subsidiaries of the Group do not hold any shares of the Issuer.  

For the report on corporate governance and on the adhesion to the codes of conduct, please refer to the report approved by the Board of Directors on March 15, 2023 and attached to this document.

The Issuer, in compliance with article 5 comma 3, letter b, of the Legislative Decree n. 254/2016, prepared the non-financial consolidated report which represents a separate report. The non-financial consolidated report 2022, prepared according to the option "In accordance" of the "GRI Standards", is available on the Internet site of the Group.

The following table shows the participations in the ordinary share capital of the Issuer held by the members of the governing and controlling bodies, general managers and managers with strategic responsibilities in the year ended December 31, 2022.

Picture 23

Besides, it is worth pointing out that Marco Pescarmona holds a 50% indirect shareholding in Alma Ventures S.A. (through Guderian S.p.A.) and Alessandro Fracassi holds a 50% indirect shareholding in Alma Ventures S.A. (through Casper S.r.l.) and that Alma Venture S.A., as of December 31, 2022, holds 12,847,842 shares of the Issuer, equal to 32.12% of the ordinary share capital, of which 6.772 purchased during the financial year ended December 31, 2022.

The ongoing contraction of the residential mortgage market continued in the fourth quarter of 2022 and in the early months of 2023, due to a collapse in remortgage volumes and a significant contraction of purchase mortgage volumes.

Data from Assofin, an association representing the main banks active in the sector, show a drop in new gross originations of 18.6% in October, 21.3% in November and 23.6% in December 2022, and 25.1% in January 2023; in January 2023, the year-on-year drop in the volume of purchase mortgages is 24.1%. Data from CRIF, the company that manages the main credit information system in Italy, report a year-on-year drop of 22.7% in credit bureau inquiries for residential mortgage applications for the whole of 2022, while in January and February 2023, the drop is 22.8% and 25.3%, respectively.

The current level of interest rates, together with the situation of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, explain the weak demand for mortgages noted by leading market observers. The market contraction, now mainly caused by the drop in purchase mortgages, is therefore set to continue for several months and may only cease once demand stabilizes. On a more optimistic note, mortgage subsidies for young people have been reinstated until June 2023, the positive effect of which may become apparent in the second quarter of the year.

After a first half of 2022 with solidly growing results, the Broking Division suffered significantly in the second half of the year from the contraction of the mortgage market, which was more pronounced and impactful than expected.

For the first part of 2023, on a like-for-like basis, the weakness in the mortgage market is expected to continue to cause an overall contraction in economic results, despite expectations of stability or growth for other products. For the remainder of the year, expectations are potentially better but still uncertain. 

On the other hand, the international acquisitions, which were finalized on 1° February 2023, may provide a non-negligible positive contribution to the overall results of the Broking Division in the financial year, also increasing the diversification of revenues.

Credit Broking

After a good first half of the year, first the volumes of applications and then the volumes of brokered mortgages decreased significantly. Compared to the original expectation of a sharp drop in volumes of remortgages, which punctually occurred, an unexpectedly significant drop in volumes of purchase mortgages was also observed, especially starting from September. Demand and brokered volumes of consumer credit products, on the other hand, did not suffer to the same extent from the rise in interest rates.

For the first half of 2023, also in light of the weakness of demand in the final part of the previous year, a significant contraction in brokered mortgage volumes is to be expected. On the other hand, incoming demand appears to be improving, even if the recovery derives largely from new demand for remortgages to switch from floating rate to fixed rate, transactions that are encountering less appetite with many banks. The second half of the year could see a better performance in a year-on-year comparison, as a function of both the evolution of demand and a comparison with already weak periods. Regarding consumer credit products, on the other hand, substantial stability is expected.

Insurance broking

During 2022, the business line continued to grow, even if slower than in previous years, especially in terms of new customers. 

For 2023, we observe an initial increase in insurance premiums, which is likely to intensify during the year and may lead to an acceleration of the growth in results, especially in terms of the increased propensity of consumers to seek out the best deals on the market.

Telco and Energy comparison

Fine-tuning of the product and the organization continued during 2022. The Italian energy market remained open, albeit only with indexed price offers. Overall, the business recorded modest revenue growth, resulting from significant growth in energy products and a drop in telecommunications, with profitability improving.

For 2023, results are expected to grow due to the impact of the operational improvements implemented. However, it is difficult to predict the evolution of demand, which can fluctuate significantly with price changes felt by consumers on existing contracts.

E-Commerce price comparison

During 2022, the business continued to grow, although less than in the previous year. Work continued on improving the product and expanding the services offered, aimed at providing consumers with the best options for saving on their online purchases.

2023 is also expected to see moderate growth, however this trend could change depending on the evolution of the Italian e-commerce market and consumer confidence.

International Markets

The companies acquired on February 1st, 2023 are mainly active in the field of online comparison and intermediation of insurance products; consequently, they could react positively to the current inflationary environment, which should encourage consumers to search for new insurance options.

For 2023, the goal is to increase financial performance compared to 2022 through a high focus on execution, leveraging existing resources and transferring some operational and commercial best practices.

In 2022, the BPO Division performed in line with the projections released during the year. Revenues and operating margins at the EBITDA level are broadly in line with 2021. This result benefits from the contribution of acquisitions completed during the year. In particular, the fourth quarter appears to have grown significantly compared to the same period of the last year due to the contribution, starting from November 1st, of the results of Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l.. Excluding the effects of new acquisitions, 2022 revenues would have decreased by about 5% compared to 2021.

In macroeconomic terms, 2023 is expected to see a slowdown in the growth of inflation and interest rates, along with a general cooling of the economy and a reduction in the number of real estate transactions, with potential negative repercussions on house prices as well. In the absence of significant restrictions on the supply of credit, both retail and corporate, the BPO Division expects, albeit with differentiated dynamics at the level of the individual business lines, a 2023 with substantially stable revenues at constant scope, and overall, thanks to the acquisitions finalized in 2022, to reach 200 million in revenues. Management will focus its attention on maintaining current levels of operating margins in the face of inflationary pressure on personnel costs and increasing complexity resulting from recent acquisitions.

Mortgage BPO

While mortgage demand is weak, a 2023 of substantial stability at the turnover level is expected, thanks to the acquisition of a new client for underwriting outsourcing services and the renewed credit appetite of one of the long-standing clients. The slight upturn in remortgages related to the customers' desire to switch to fixed-rate financing in this rising rate scenario should also support a maintenance of the revenue levels achieved in the fiscal year just ended.

Real Estate Services BPO

After a record year, 2023 results will see a reduction related to the gradual phasing out during the year of the market for financial institutions purchasing tax credits related to "Ecobonus" incentives, for which the Division performed audit activities. This decrease will be only partially offset by the contribution of the acquisitions completed during 2023. 

Loans BPO

In 2022, revenues and margins were up slightly compared to 2021. Management expects this positive trend to continue, thanks to a strengthening in our position in the management of guaranteed SME loan portfolios, partly with the role of specialized sub-servicer in structured finance transactions.

Insurance BPO

2022 saw revenue growth at the organic level and through acquisitions, while experiencing pressure on operating margins. In 2023, management expects a continuation of slight organic growth and will focus on streamlining and consolidating the operational machine.

Investment Services BPO


Investment Services BPO confirmed its growth expectations for 2022, even though operating margins were affected by the negative performance of financial markets, to which some of the business line's service billing drivers are linked. 


In 2023, a slight reduction in turnover is expected due to the termination of some contracts and the renegotiation of service pricing with one of the main clients, against a streamlining of services required.

Leasing & Rental BPO/IT


The good performance of the business line related to Leasing & Rental BPO/IT services continues in 2022, despite the fact that the automotive market was still affected by the problems of global logistics chains. 

Significant growth is expected in 2023 for the business line, which will integrate the IT services and platforms of Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l. into its offering. Management will focus on creating an integrated commercial proposition on one hand and managing the organizational integration of the acquired company on the other. It will also begin a major investment in extending the IT platform to rental services.

The registered offices of the Issuer and of the Italian subsidiaries are located in via F. Casati, 1/A, Milan, except for Agenzia Italia S.p.A., whose registered office is located in via V. Alfieri 1, in Conegliano (TV), for some subsidiaries of the Lercari Group, whose registered office is located in Via XII Ottobre 3, in Genoa, for Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l., whose registered office is located in via G. Garibaldi 268, in Messina, and for Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l., whose registered office is located in via Elia Lombardini 13, in Milan.

The registered and operating offices of Finprom S.r.l. and Finprom Insurance S.r.l. are in Str. Cocorilor n. 24/A., Arad, Romania. The registered and operating offices of Lercari International Ltd are in 6 New London Street, London, UK. The registered and operating offices of Incomparable S.a.r.l. are in Rue Belle-Vue 3, Luxembourg. 

The administrative offices of the Group are located at via Desenzano 2, Milan, except for 7Pixel S.r.l., Zoorate S.r.l. and Klikkapromo S.r.l., whose administrative office is in via Lanzoni, 13, Giussago (PV), Agenzia Italia S.p.A., whose administrative office is in via Venezia 13, in San Vendemiano (TV), for some of the companies of the Lercari Group, whose administrative office is in via XII Ottobre 3, in Genoa, for Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l., whose administrative office is located in via G. Garibaldi 268, in Messina, and for Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l., whose administrative office is located in via Elia Lombardini 13, in Milan.

The following table shows the main Italian operating offices of the Group as of December 31, 2022:

Picture 24 

Related party transactions, including intra-group transactions, are part of the ordinary business operations of the Group, and do not include any unusual or atypical transactions.

Relations with related parties are mainly relations with the companies of the Group.

  1. In particular, the main items refer to receivables of the Issuer from some of its subsidiaries derived from the adhesion to the tax consolidation regime for Euro 6,067 thousand, and receivables of the remaining subsidiaries from the Issuer derived from the adhesion to the tax consolidation regime for a total amount equal to Euro 2,196 thousand.

  2. Concerning the main commercial relationships among companies of the Group, they are mainly represented by services, provided at arm's length. In particular, we highlight:

  1. As of December 31, 2022, in the face of the different commercial relationships among the companies of the Group, there are trade receivables/payables among the different companies of the Group for a total amount of Euro 22,019 thousand.

  2. During the financial year ended December 31, 2022:

Risk management of the Group is based on the principle that operating risk or financial risk is managed by the person in charge of the business process involved.

The main risks are reported and discussed at Group top management level in order to create the conditions for their coverage, assurance and assessment of residual risk.

Exchange and interest rate risk

Currently the financial risk management policies of the companies of the Group provide a balanced split between fixed-rate and variable-rate loans, aimed at optimizing the cost of the loans over time. As of today, the risk of incurring greater interest costs as a result of unfavorable variations of market interest rates, as better analyzed in the following, is mitigated by the subscription of hedging derivatives, which change the rate from floating to fixed, on a portion of the Group's debt.

The interest rate on the bank loan from Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A., signed on July 29, 2022, is equal to 6-month Euribor increased by 2.00%. In addition, on 60% of the disbursed amount, and until December 31, 2026, a derivative contract was signed to hedge the interest rate, which is converted to a fixed rate at 1.396%, increased by the margin of 2.00%.

The interest rate on the bank loan from Credit Agricole Italia S.p.A., signed on August 9, 2022, is equal to 3-month Euribor, increased by a spread of 1.65%. 

The interest rate on the bank loan from Unicredit S.p.A., signed on August 9, 2022, is equal to 3-month Euribor, increased by a spread of 1.80%. In addition, on 60% of the financed amount, equal to Euro 30,000 thousand, and until August 29, 2025, a derivative contract was signed into to hedge the interest rate, which is converted to a fixed rate at 1.435%, increased by the margin of 1.80%. 

The interest rate on the bank loan from Banco BPM S.p.A., signed on September 5, 2022, is equal to 6-month Euribor, increased by a spread of 1.80% on a credit line equal to Euro 35,000 thousand ("Line A"), and a spread of 2.00% on a bullet credit line equal to Euro 15,000 thousand ("Line B"). In addition, on 50% of the financed amount, and until the expiration date of each credit line, a derivative contract was signed into to hedge the interest rate, which is converted to a fixed rate at 2.39% for the Line A, and 2.485% for the Line B, increased by the margins described above, and is subject to change over the term of the contract based on the change in the ratio between Net Financial Debt and EBITDA.

The interest rate on the bank loan from Credito Emiliano S.p.A., signed on November 2, 2022, is equal to 1-month Euribor, increased by a spread of 0.90%.

  1. The interest rate on the bank loan from Crédit Agricole Italia S.p.A., signed on June 28, 2018, is equal to 3-month Euribor increased by 0.90%, and it is subject to change during the length of the contract based on the change of the ratio between Net Financial Indebtedness and EBITDA.

  2. The interest rate on the loan from Unicredit S.p.A., obtained on February 26, 2021, is equal to 3-month Euribor increased by 1.60%. On such loan the Issuer subscribed a derivative hedging the variable rate, which converts the 3-months Euribor interest rate into a yearly fixed rate of -0.15%.

  3. A possible unfavorable variation of the Euribor, equal to 1.0%, should produce an additional overall expense for the Group equal to Euro 1,575 thousand in 2023. 

For the remaining loans already described in paragraph 2.4.1, a fixed rate is applied instead.

As regards to the coverage of exchange rate risk, it is worth pointing out that, as of the reference date of this report, there are no significant assets or liabilities denominated in currencies different from the Euro, with the exception of the Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC shares, amounting to Euro 95,448 thousand as of December 31, 2022, denominated in sterling, whose fluctuation can be considered limited. 

Therefore, this risk is considered limited for the Group.

Credit risk

The current assets of the Group, with the exception of cash and cash equivalents, are constituted mainly by trade receivables for an amount of Euro 124,186 thousand, of which the overdue portion as of December 31, 2022 is equal to Euro 36,790 thousand, of which Euro 13,282 thousand is overdue for over 90 days.

Most of the gross overdue receivables were paid by the clients during the first months of 2023. As of the date of approval of this report, receivables not yet collected, overdue as of December 31, 2022, amount to Euro 15,782 thousand, of which Euro 9,395 thousand are receivables already overdue for over 90 days as of December 31, 2022.

Trade receivables are mainly from banks and other financial institutions, insurance companies, leasing/rental companies and public entities, considered highly reliable but, facing receivables for which we consider a credit risk could arise, we allotted an allowance for doubtful receivables equal to Euro 7,571 thousand.

The Group monitors counterparty risk by analyzing the solvency and standing of customers before entering into business relations with them and trying to limit an excessively high concentration of receivables from a few counterparties.

For this purpose, it is worth mentioning that we do not notice any significant concentration of revenues on any client: in 2022 the revenues from the main client of the Group represent 5.4% of total consolidated revenues.

Liquidity risk

Liquidity risk represents the risk that a company is not able to procure financial resources to support short-term operations.

The total amount of liquidity as of December 31, 2022 is Euro 269,647 thousand, and current financial liabilities equal to Euro 66,294 thousand; therefore, the management believes that liquidity risk for the Group is limited, even taking into account the disbursement of Euro 159,194 thousand on February 1st, 2023, related to the payment for the acquisition of 100% of the capital of Rastreator.com Ltd, Preminen Price Comparison Holdings Ltd and LeLynx SAS.

Risk linked to Covid-19 Pandemic

The current scenario had no impact on the economic results realized in the financial year ended December 31, 2022. As of the date of approval of this report, no significant impact is expected on the Group's results in the predictable future. 

Current geopolitical situation - crisis in Ukraine

With regards to the current geopolitical situation, it should be noted preliminary that the Group is not directly exposed to the Russian and Ukrainian economies. The consequences of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation are not currently such as to give rise to concern for the businesses of companies of the Group and are not expected to have any impact on their ability to continue operating as going concerns: however, any significant fall in consumer confidence and/or disposable income could have a negative impact on the activity volumes of the various lines of business. The Group also constantly monitors the trend of rising inflation and higher energy costs, whose impacts are not considered significant in view of the nature of the businesses of the Group companies.

Operating risk and going concern

The technological component is an essential element for the operating activities of the Group; therefore, there is the risk that the possible malfunctioning of the technological infrastructure may cause an interruption of client services or loss of data. However, the companies of the Group have developed a series of plans, procedures and tools to guarantee business continuity and data security. 

Considering the economic and financial situation, in particular the level of available reserves, and taking into account the trend of the net working capital and of the economic and financial situation, the separated and consolidated financial reports have been prepared considering the assumption of going concern respected.

It should also be considered that the Group, as in previous years, achieved positive economic results, and, despite uncertain macroeconomic scenarios, that future economic forecasts are also positive. Finally, the Group has adequate financial resources to meet its future obligations over a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements, and it can, where necessary, activate additional levers to rapidly liquidate significant investments.

Risk linked to Climate Change

With regard to possible impacts related to climate change, the Group, operating in the service sector, has not identified any particular physical risks or significant transitional risks. Therefore, a quantitative assessment of the impacts of physical and transitional risks has not been carried out. With reference to climate change and energy transition, the management, considering the characteristics of the business models of the Group companies, has not identified significant impacts on the economic results or working practices adopted by the Group.

For a more detailed analysis, please refer to the consolidated non-financial statement 2022, available on the Group's website.

With regards to the management of human resources and of environmental matters for the financial year ended December 31, 2022, we are not aware of any events that could entail any responsibility for the Group.

The net income of the Issuer for the financial year ended December 31, 2022 is equal to Euro 45,362,381.00. This income is influenced by the distribution of part of the distributable reserves of the subsidiaries. 

The board of directors resolved to propose to the shareholders' meeting the following allocation, of the net income of the year: 

The Company's statutory financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022 will be approved by the shareholders' meeting of Gruppo MutuiOnline S.p.A., to be held on April 27, 2023 (single call).


Milan, March 15, 2023



For the Board of Directors

The Chairman

(Ing. Marco Pescarmona)


____________________________












Picture 18






CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL REPORT 



AS OF AND FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022




Prepared according to IAS/IFRS

  1. CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL REPORT AS OF AND FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022

    1. Financial statements

      1. Consolidated statement of financial position 


 

 

As of

 

(euro thousand)

Note

December 31, 2022

December 31, 2021*

Intangible assets

     9 

                     299,516 

                     202,758 

Property, plant and equipment

   11 

                       26,763 

                       24,669 

Participations measured with equity method

   12 

                            942 

                         1,058 

Financial assets at fair value

   13 

                     106,640 

                       40,410 

Deferred tax assets

   14 

                       37,756 

                       49,951 

Other non-current assets

   15 

                            446 

                            698 

(of which) with related parties

   41 

                            263 

                            190 

Total non-current assets

 

                     472,063 

                     319,544 

Cash and cash equivalents

   16 

                     269,647 

                     165,857 

Current financial assets

   17 

                         4,677 

                         4,957 

Trade receivables

   18 

                     123,748 

                     104,938 

(of which) with related parties

   42 

                            488 

                              59 

Tax receivables

   19 

                       10,896 

                       12,378 

Other current assets

 

                         8,150 

                         8,931 

Total current assets

 

                     417,118 

                     297,061 

TOTAL ASSETS

 

                     889,181 

                     616,605 

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

 



Share capital

   29 

                            949 

                            970 

Other reserves

   29 

                     222,501 

                     247,082 

Net income

   29 

                       46,875 

                       16,347 

Total group shareholders' equity

29

                     270,325 

                     264,399 

Minority interests

 

                         1,999 

                         4,671 

Total shareholders' equity

 

                     272,324 

                     269,070 

Long-term debts and other financial liabilities

   21 

                     406,030 

                     195,935 

Provisions for risks and charges

   22 

                         1,756 

                         1,882 

Defined benefit program liabilities

   23 

                       19,025 

                       18,226 

Non-current portion of tax liabilities

 

                               -   

                         3,691 

Other non current liabilities

   24 

                       13,078 

                         2,000 

Total non-current liabilities

 

                     439,889 

                     221,734 

Short-term debts and other financial liabilities

   25 

                       66,294 

                       25,211 

Trade and other payables

   26 

                       41,980 

                       43,580 

Tax payables

   27 

                         8,049 

                         4,140 

Other current liabilities

   28 

                       60,645 

                       52,870 

Total current liabilities

 

                     176,968 

                     125,801 

TOTAL LIABILITIES

 

                     616,857 

                     347,535 

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

 

                     889,181 

                     616,605 


* For the disclosure on the reclassification of comparative data as of December 31, 2021, please refer to note 5.




 

 

Years ended

 

(euro thousand)

Note

December 31, 2022

December 31, 2021

Revenues

   31 

                     310,770 

                     313,464 

(of which) with related parties

   41 

                            420 

                            126 

Other income

   32 

                         9,648 

                         5,082 

Capitalization of internal costs

 

                         7,514 

                         4,853 

Services costs

   33 

                    (128,013)

                    (130,635)

Personnel costs

   34 

                      (99,670)

                      (89,919)

Other operating costs

   35 

                      (11,681)

                      (10,293)

Depreciation and amortization

   36 

                      (22,026)

                      (20,787)

Impairments of intangible assets

 

                               -   

                        (2,801)

Operating income

 

                       66,542 

                       68,964 

Financial income

   37 

                            356 

                            469 

Financial expenses

   37 

                        (4,869)

                        (2,379)

Income/(losses) from participations

   37 

                              46 

                             (78)

Income/(losses) from financial assets/liabilities

   37 

                         3,690 

                        (1,783)

Net income before income tax expense

 

                       65,765 

                       65,193 

Income tax expense

   38 

                       18,236 

                       47,354 

Net income

 

                       47,529 

                       17,839 

Attributable to:

 

 

 

Shareholders of the Issuer

 

                       46,875 

                       16,347 

Minority interest

 

                            654 

                         1,492 



Earnings per share basic (Euro)

   44 

                           1.24 

                           0.43 

Earnings per share diluited (Euro)

   44 

                           1.22 

                           0.42 






 

 

Years ended

 

(euro thousand)

Note

December 31, 2022

December 31, 2021

Net income

 

47,529

17,839

Currency translation differences

 

                                4 

                             (59)

Fair value of financial assets/liabilities

13

                        (5,290)

                       22,231 

Actuarial gain/(losses) on defined benefit program liability

 

                         3,414 

                             (81)

Gain/losses on cash flow hedge derivative instruments

 

                         2,826 

                             (12)

Tax effect on actuarial gain/(losses)

 

                           (819)

                              23 

Total other comprehensive income 

 

135

22,102

Total comprehensive income for the period

 

47,664

39,941

Attributable to:

 

 

 

Shareholders of the Issuer

 

                       47,010 

                       38,449 

Minority interest

 

                            654 

                         1,492 





 

 

Years ended

 

(euro thousand)

Note

December 31, 2022

December 31, 2021

Net income

 

47,529

17,839

Amortization and depreciation

9,11

22,026

20,787

Impairments of intangible assets

 

-

2,801

Stock option expenses

29

797

479

Capitalization of internal costs

9

(7,514)

(4,853)

Losses from financial assets/liabilities

37

(3,690)

1,709

Impairment of financial assets

 

-

74

Changes of value of the participations evaluated with the equity method

12

(46)

78

Income tax paid

38

(6,851)

(24,743)

Changes in trade receivables/payables

18

(9,864)

(5,235)

(of which) with related parties

41

(429)

86

Changes in other assets/liabilities

 

18,934

(9,164)

Changes in defined benefit program liability

23

799

1,588

Changes in provisions for risks and charges

22

(129)

32

Net cash generated/(absorbed) by operating activities

 

61,991

1,392

Investments:

 

-

-

- Increase of intangible assets

9

(560)

(608)

- Increase of property, plant and equipment

11

(3,198)

(1,786)

- Increase of financial assets measured at fair value

13

(67,769)

41,303

- Acquisition of subsidiaries

 

(87,621)

(27,770)

- Loans granted to associated companies


(154)

-

- Increase of participations evaluated with the equity method

12

1

-

Net cash generated/(absorbed) by investing activities

 

(159,301)

11,139

Increase of financial liabilities

21

272,439

58,193

Interest paid

 

(3,838)

(1,559)

Decrease of financial liabilities

21

(25,433)

(21,004)

Sale/(purchase) of own shares

29

(25,025)

6,789

Dividends paid to minorities

 

(3,791)

(465)

Dividends paid

29

(15,239)

(15,500)

Net cash generated/(absorbed) by financing activities

 

199,113

26,454

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

 

101,803

38,985

Net cash and cash equivalent at the beginning of the period

 

159,844

120,859

Net cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period

 

261,647

159,844

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year

16

165,857

122,371

Current account overdraft at the beginning of the year

16

(6,013)

(1,512)

Net cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year

 

159,844

120,859

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year

16

269,647

165,857

Current account overdraft at the end of the year

16

(8,000)

(6,013)

Net cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year

 

261,647

159,844








(euro thousand)

Share capital

Legal reserve

Other reserves

Retained earnings including net income of the year

Group total

Minority interest

Total

Shareholders' equity as of January 1, 2021

954

202

17,146

214,955

233,257

3,575

236,832

Distribution of ordinary dividends

-

-

-

(15,500)

(15,500)

-

(15,500)

Purchase of own shares

(2)

-

(2,959)

-

(2,961)

-

(2,961)

Exercise of stock options

18

-

9,732

-

9,750

-

9,750

Stock option plan

-

-

479

-

479

-

479

Other movements

-

-

925

-

925

(396)

529

Net income of the year

-

-

22,102

16,347

38,449

1,492

39,941

Shareholders' equity as of December 31, 2021

970

202

47,425

215,802

264,399

4,671

269,070




 

(euro thousand)

Share capital

Legal reserve

Other reserves

Retained earnings including net income of the year

Group total

Minority interest

Total

Shareholders' equity as of January 1, 2022

970

202

47,425

215,802

264,399

4,671

269,070

Distribution of ordinary dividends

-

-

-

(15,239)

(15,239)

(3,326)

(18,565)

Purchase of own shares

(21)

-

(25,092)

-

(25,113)

-

(25,113)

Exercise of stock options

-

-

88

-

88

-

88

Stock option plan

-

-

797

-

797

-

797

Other movements

-

-

(1,617)

-

(1,617)

-

(1,617)

Net income of the year

-

-

135

46,875

47,010

654

47,664

Shareholders' equity as of December 31, 2022

949

202

21,736

247,438

270,325

1,999

272,324

Note

29

29

29

 

 

 

 

  1. General information

  1. Gruppo MutuiOnline S.p.A. (the "Company" or the "Issuer") is the holding company of a group of firms  (the "Group") with an important position in the Italian market for the online comparison, promotion and intermediation of products provided by financial institutions, e-commerce operators and utilities providers (main websites www.mutuionline.it, www.prestitionline.it, www.segugio.it www.trovaprezzi.it and www.sostariffe.it) and in the Italian market for the provision of complex business process outsourcing services for the financial sector. Since February 2023, the Group also has a significant position in the Spanish, French and Mexican markets for online comparison and intermediation mainly of insurance products.

This consolidated annual report, including the consolidated statement of financial position, consolidated comprehensive income statement, consolidated statement of cash flows and consolidated statement of changes in shareholders' equity as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the relevant notes, has been prepared in accordance with IFRS issued by the International Accounting Standard Board ("IASB") and the related interpretations SIC/IFRIC, adopted by the European Commission. Besides it has been prepared in accordance with CONSOB resolutions No. 15519 and No. 15520 dated July 27, 2006, with ESMA orientation 32-382-1138 of March 4, 2021, with the guidance Consob n. 5/21 of April 29, 2021, and with art. 149-duodecies of the Issuer Regulations. 

IFRS should be understood as the International Financial Reporting Standards, the International Accounting Standards ("IAS"), the interpretations of the International Financial Reporting Interpretation Committee ("IFRIC"), previously denominated Standing Interpretations Committee ("SIC"), as adopted by the European Commission as of December 31, 2022 and published in the EU regulations as of this date.

  1. In particular, the IFRS have been consistently applied to all the periods presented.

The Group has elected the "non-current/current" presentation for the statement of financial position, the presentation of costs by nature for the income statement, the comprehensive income statements and the indirect method for the preparation of the statement of cash flows.

The statement of changes in shareholders' equity was prepared according with IAS 1.

  1. These consolidated financial statements have been prepared in Euro, the currency of the primary economic environment in which the Group operates.

  2. All the amounts included in the tables of the following notes are in thousands of Euros, except where otherwise stated.

  3. These consolidated financial statements have been prepared according to the going concern assumption, due to the economic and financial results achieved.

The Board of Directors approved the publication of the present document on March 15, 2023.

  1. Basis of preparation of the consolidated financial statements

The following consolidation procedures have been applied in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022.

The consolidated financial statements of the Group include the financial statements of Gruppo MutuiOnline S.p.A. and its subsidiaries, over which the Company exercises direct or indirect control and the value measured with the equity method of joint ventures and of associated companies. Subsidiaries are consolidated from the date when control is acquired until the date when it ceases. Control is connected with the ongoing existence of all the following conditions:

The existence of potential voting rights exercisable, if substantial, at the reporting date is also taken into consideration for the purposes of determining control.

Furthermore, it is worth pointing out that once control of an entity is obtained, transactions, in which further minority interests are acquired or sold, without modifying the control exercised on the subsidiary, are considered transactions with the shareholders and therefore should be recorded as equity transactions, without recording any effect in the comprehensive income statement. Subsidiaries are consolidated on a line-by-line basis. The criteria adopted for consolidation on a line-by-line basis are:

A joint venture is an arrangement whereby the parties that have joint control of the arrangement have rights to the net assets of the arrangement. Joint control is the contractually agreed sharing of control of an arrangement, which exists only when decisions about the relevant activities require the unanimous consent of the parties sharing control.

Associated companies are companies, which are neither subsidiaries nor joint-ventures, on which the Issuer exercises a significant influence. Significant influence is presumed when the Issuer owns, directly or indirectly, more than 20% of the ordinary share capital of a company.

Joint ventures and associated companies are evaluated with the equity method.

  1. Scope of consolidation

The consolidation area includes all the entities on which the Issuer exercises control, directly or indirectly, and the companies on which the Issuer exercises a significant influence. 

The controlled and associated entities as of December 31, 2022 are:


Name

Registered office

 Share capital (Euro) 

Consolidation method

% of ownership

Gruppo MutuiOnline S.p.A. (holding)

Milan (Italy)

   1,012,354 

Line-by-line

Holding

65Plus S.r.l.

Milan (Italy)

        75,416 

Line-by-line

72%

7Pixel S.r.l.

Milan (Italy)

        10,500 

Line-by-line

100%

Above Comparison S.r.l.

Milan (Italy)

        10,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Agenzia Italia S.p.A.

Conegliano (Italy)

      100,000 

Line-by-line

84.5%

Centro Finanziamenti S.p.A.

Milan (Italy)

   2,000,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Centro Istruttorie S.p.A.

Milan (Italy)

      500,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Centro Servizi Asset Mangement S.r.l.

Milan (Italy)

        10,000 

Line-by-line

100%

CercAssicurazioni.it S.r.l.

Milan (Italy)

      100,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Lercari Motor S.r.l.*

Milan (Italy)

        50,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Eagle & Wise Service S.r.l. 

Milan (Italy)

      400,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Eagle Agency S.r.l.

Milan (Italy)

        30,000 

Line-by-line

100%

EuroServizi per i Notai S.r.l.

Milan (Italy)

        10,000 

Line-by-line

60%

Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l.

Milan (Italy)

        20,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Finprom S.r.l.

Arad (Romania)

          9,618 

Line-by-line

100%

Finprom Insurance S.r.l.*

Arad (Romania)

               40 

Line-by-line

100%

Forensic Experts S.r.l.*

Bologna (Italy)

        10,000 

Line-by-line

51%

Global Care S.r.l.*

Milan (Italy)

        10,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Gruppo Lercari S.r.l.

Genoa (Italy)

      759,597 

Line-by-line

50%

Incomparable S.a.r.l.

Milan (Italy)

        12,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Innovazione Finanziaria SIM S.p.A.

Milan (Italy)

   2,000,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Klikkapromo S.r.l.

Milan (Italy)

        10,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Lercari S.r.l.*

Milan (Italy)

      500,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Lercari International Ltd*

London (UK)

        11,233 

Line-by-line

100%

Luna Service S.r.l.

Milan (Italy)

        12,500 

Line-by-line

100%

MOL BPO S.r.l.

Milan (Italy)

        10,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Money360.it S.p.A.

Milan (Italy)

      120,000 

Line-by-line

100%

MutuiOnline S.p.A.

Milan (Italy)

   1,000,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Onda S.r.l.*

Lucca (Italy)

        70,000 

Line-by-line

100%

PP&E S.r.l.

Milan (Italy)

      100,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Quinservizi S.p.A.

Milan (Italy)

      150,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Resolution and service S.r.l.*

Ponte Buggianese (Italy)

        30,000 

Line-by-line

100%

San Filippo S.r.l.*

Genoa (Italy)

        30,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Segugio.it S.r.l.

Milan (Italy)

        10,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Service Lercari S.r.l.*

Genoa (Italy)

        50,000 

Line-by-line

100%

SOS Tariffe S.r.l.

Milan (Italy)

        10,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Sovime S.r.l.

Milan (Italy)

        10,500 

Line-by-line

100%

Surf S.r.l.*

Ponte Buggianese (Italy)

        10,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l.**

Milan (Italy)

        50,000 

Line-by-line

100%

Zoorate S.r.l.

Milan (Italy)

      415,654 

Line-by-line

92%

Generale Fiduciaria S.p.A.

Milan (Italy)

      200,000 

Equity method

35%

Generale Servizi Amministrativi S.r.l.

Milan (Italy)

      100,000 

Equity method

35%

LC Servizi S.r.l. in liquidazione*

Milan (Italy)

        10,400 

Equity method

40%

PrestiPro S.r.l. in liquidazione

Milan (Italy)

      120,000 

Equity method

50%


  1.  * the percentage in the table corresponds to the stake held by Gruppo Lercari S.r.l.

  2. * the percentage in the table corresponds to the stake held by Agenzia Italia S.p.A.


  1. During the financial year ended December 31, 2021 the consolidation area changed with reference to the acquisition of Luna Service S.r.l., Gema Motor S.r.l., Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l., Sovime S.r.l., Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l. and Onda S.r.l. and its subsidiaries, and to the establishment of Above Comparison S.r.l. and Incomparable S.a.r.l..


In addition, the consolidation area changed with reference to the mergers by incorporation of Centro Processi Assicurativi S.r.l. in Service Lercari S.r.l., of Gema Motor S.r.l. in Lercari Motor S.r.l., of Onda Service S.r.l. in Onda S.r.l. e of PrestitiOnline S.p.A. in MutuiOnline S.p.A.. 


For the calculation of the equivalent value in Euro of the financial and economic amounts in foreign currency of the foreign subsidiaries and of the Albanian branch of SOS Tariffe S.r.l., we applied the following exchange rates:


 

2022

2021




RON/Euro



Balance sheet items

                    4.950 

                       4.949 

Income statement items

                    4.932 

                       4.922 




GBP/Euro



Balance sheet items

                    0.887 

                       0.841 

Income statement items

                    0.853 

                       0.860 




ALL (Lek) / Euro



Balance sheet items

                114.460 

                   120.710 

Income statement items

                118.930 

                   122.440 

 

 

 


Balance sheet items have been converted by using the exchange rate as of December 31, 2022. while income statement items have been converted by using the average exchange rate of the year. 

  1. Accounting policies

The consolidated financial statements are prepared at cost, with the exception of items specifically described in the following notes, for which the measurement at fair value is adopted. The fair value is the price at which an asset could be exchanged, or a liability discharged. between knowledgeable, willing parties in an arm's length transaction.

IFRS 13 provides for a hierarchy of fair value which classifies on three levels the inputs for the assessment adopted to evaluate fair value. The hierarchy of fair value gives the highest priority to quoted prices (not adjusted) on active markets for the same assets and liabilities (data of Level 1) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (data of Level 3). 

Level 1 inputs are quoted prices (not adjusted) for the same assets and liabilities on active markets, which the entity may access as of the assessment date.

Level 2 inputs are inputs different from the quoted prices included in Level 1 which can be observed directly or indirectly for the asset or the liability. 

Level inputs 3 are unobservable inputs for the asset or the liability.

Receivables are derecognized if the right to receive the cash flows has been transferred or when the entity no longer controls such financial assets.

Payables are derecognized only when they are settled or the specific obligation is met or canceled or expired.

The principal accounting policies are set out below.

  1. Intangible assets

Intangible assets are non-monetary assets that are distinctly identifiable and able to generate future economic benefits. These items are recognized at purchase cost and/or internal production cost. including all costs to bring the assets available for use, net of accumulated amortization and impairment, if any. 

The item includes the goodwill referred to business combinations.

Amortization commences when the asset is available for use and is systematically calculated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the asset. 

(a)     Research and development costs

Research and development costs are recognized as an expense as incurred. Costs incurred on development projects are recognized as intangible assets when:

Amortization is usually calculated on a straight-line basis over 5 years, which represents the estimated useful life of the assets.

(b)     Trademarks, licenses and other rights

Licenses and other rights are amortized on a straight-line basis in order to allocate their acquisition cost over the shorter of useful life and duration of the relevant contracts, starting from the moment of acquisition of the rights and usually lasting for a period of 3 to 5 years.

 For trademarks and customer equity values, amortization is calculated using the straight-line method and it is equal to a period of 10 years.

  1. Property, plant and equipment 

Property, plant and equipment are stated at historical cost of acquisition or production less accumulated depreciation and impairment. Historical cost includes expenditure that is directly attributable to the acquisition. 

All other repairs and maintenance are charged to the income statement during the financial period in which they are incurred. Subsequent costs are included in the asset's carrying amount or recognized as a separate asset, as appropriate, only when it is probable that future economic benefits associated with the item will flow to the Group and the cost of the item can be reliably measured. When assets are composed of different identifiable components whose useful life is significantly different, each component is depreciated separately applying the "component approach". 

Depreciation is charged to each asset on a systematic basis over the estimated useful life from the date of initial recognition.

Property, plant and equipment are depreciated with useful lives as follows:


Description of the main categories of the item "Property, plan and equipment"

 Period 

 

 

Land

not depreciated

Buildings

30 years

Generic equipment

5 years

Specific equipment

2,5-7 years

Leasehold improvements

shorter of contract duration and usedful life

Hardware

2-5 years

Office equipment

2-5 years

Furniture and fittings

8 years

Auto vehicles

4 years

 

 

The assets' residual values and useful lives are reviewed, and adjusted if appropriate, at each balance sheet date.

  1. Investments measured with the equity method

A joint venture is an arrangement whereby the parties that have joint control of the arrangement have rights to the net assets of the arrangement. Joint control is the contractually agreed sharing of control of an arrangement, which exists only when decisions about the relevant activities require the unanimous consent of the parties sharing control.

An associated entity is a company, which is neither a subsidiary nor a joint venture, on which the Issuer exercises a significant influence. Significant influence is presumed when the Issuer owns, directly or indirectly, more than 20% of the ordinary share capital of a company.

Joint ventures and investments in associated entities are measured for an amount equal to the corresponding fraction of equity in the last financial statements of the same entities, after the transfer of dividends and the application of adjustments in accordance with the disclosures for the preparation of the financial statements. 

Gains and losses arising from changes of the adjusted equity of associated companies are recorded in the income statement for the period in which they arise.

  1. Leases

IFRS 16 sets out the principles for the recognition, measurement, presentation and the disclosure of leases and requires lessees to account for all leases under a single on-balance sheet model similar to the accounting for finance leases under IAS 17. At the commencement date of a lease. a lessee recognizes a liability to make lease payments (i.e. the lease liability) and an asset representing the right to use the underlying asset during the lease (i.e. the right of use asset). Lessees separately recognize the interest expenses on the lease liability and the depreciation expense on the right of use asset.

Lessees will be also required to re-measure the lease liability on the occurrence of certain events (e.g. a change in the lease term, a change in the future lease payments resulting from a change in an index or rate used to establish those payments). The lessee will generally recognize the re-measurement amount of the lease liability as an adjustment to the right of use of the asset.

The standard includes two recognition exemptions for lessees:

Positions that are affected by the application of IFRS 16, with a significant effect for the Group are linked to: 

  1. Business combinations 

Business combinations are valued with the acquisition method. 

The cost of the acquisition is determined by the sum of the considerations transferred in a business combination, measured at the fair value at the acquisition date, the acquired liabilities and the equity instruments issued. The assets, the acquired liabilities and the potential liabilities in a business combination are initially measured at their fair value.

The minority interests in the acquired entity are measured at their fair value and at the pro-quota value of the net assets recognized for the acquired company.

The surplus between the considerations transferred, the amount of the minority interests and the fair value of the non-controlling participations held before the acquisition date, compared to the fair value of the controlling stake of the net assets acquired, is recorded as goodwill.

If the value of the net assets acquired at the acquisition date exceeds the sum of the considerations transferred, of the minority interests and of the fair value of any previously held participation in the acquired company, this surplus is recorded as income of the closed transaction in the income statement.

  1. It is worth pointing out that the Group, based on shareholders' agreements related to the acquisition of Agenzia Italia S.p.A., considers applicable IAS 32 rather than IFRS 10, and recognized in the consolidated financial statement the financial liability related to the put/call option over the shares not yet purchased, without recognizing non-controlling interest. According to such approach, the business combination is accounted on the basis of the assumption that the Group could get economic benefits also on shares under the put/call option. No non-controlling interest was recognized also when we determined the goodwill arising from the acquisition. 

  2. With reference to the acquisition of Lercari Group, the Group has applied the approach, provided for by IFRS 10, of the partial recognition of minority interests, on the basis of which, at the end of the financial year, the minority interests have been reclassified as financial liabilities, related to the put/call option on the residual stake of 49.9%.

According to provisions of IFRS 3, in step acquisitions (acquisitions achieved in stages) a business combination is achieved only after control has been obtained, and at this moment all the acquired entity's identifiable net assets should be measured at the fair value; minority interests should be measured based on their fair value or based on the proportionate share of the fair value of identifiable net assets of the acquired entity (a method already permitted under the previous version of IFRS 3).

In a step acquisition of an associate, the previously held investment, until then accounted according to IAS 39 ("Financial instruments: recognition and measurement"), or according to IAS 28 ("Investments in Associates") or according to IFRS 11 ("Joint arrangements), shall be treated as if it had been sold and repurchased as of the date on which control is acquired. This participation should be measured at its "sale" date fair value and the resulting profit or loss of this measurement should be recorded in the income statement. In addition, any value previously recorded in the shareholder's equity, which should be charged in the income statement after the sale of the relevant assets, should be reclassified in the income statement. The goodwill or income (in case of badwill) deriving from the deal concluded with the subsequent acquisition should be determined as the sum of the compensation paid to acquire the control, the value of minority interests (measured according to one of the methods permitted by the standard), and the fair value of the previously held minority shareholdings, net of the fair value of the identifiable net assets of the acquired entity. 

In addition, according to IFRS 3 the costs related to the acquisition of business combinations are recognized as expenses in the period in which these costs are incurred. Finally, under IFRS 3 contingent consideration is recognized as a part of the transfer price of the acquired net assets and is measured at the acquisition date fair value. The fair value of these liabilities is restated as of the date of each financial report. Similarly, if the combination agreement includes the right to return some consideration components if specified conditions are met, that right is classified as an asset by the acquirer. Any subsequent changes in the fair value of the net assets acquired should be recognized as adjustments to the original accounting treatment only if they are determined by additional or better information about the fair value and occur within 12 months from the acquisition date; all other changes must be recorded in profit or loss.

  1. Impairment

The Group verifies, at least annually, whether there are indicators of a potential loss in value of intangible and tangible assets. If the Group finds that such indications exist, it estimates the recoverable value of the relevant asset.

In addition, intangible assets with an indefinite useful life or that are not available for use and goodwill are subject to an impairment test each year, or more frequently if there is an indication that the asset may have been subject to a loss in value.

The ability to recover the assets is ascertained by comparing the reported value to the related recoverable value, which is represented by the greater of the fair value less disposal costs and the value in use.

In the absence of a binding sale agreement, the fair value is estimated on the basis of recent transaction values in an active market, or based on the best information available to determine the amount that could be obtained from selling the asset.

The value in use is determined by discounting expected cash flows resulting from the use of the asset, and if significant and reasonably determinable, the cash flows resulting from its sale at the end of its useful life.

Cash flows are determined on the basis of reasonable, documentable assumptions representing the best estimate of the future economic conditions that will occur during the remaining useful life of the asset, with greater weight given to outside information.

The discount rate applied takes into account the implicit risk of the business segment.

When it is not possible to determine the recoverable value of an individual asset, the Group estimates the recoverable value of the unit that incorporates the asset and generates cash flows ("CGU", shorthand of Cash Generating Unit).

A loss of value is reported if the recoverable value of an asset is lower than its carrying value.

This loss is booked to the income statement unless the asset was previously written up through a shareholders' equity reserve. In this case, the reduction in value is first allocated to the revaluation reserve.

If, in a future period, a loss on assets, other than goodwill, does not materialize or is reduced, the carrying value of the asset or CGU is increased up to the new estimate of recoverable value, and may not exceed the value that would have been determined if no loss from a reduction in value had been reported.

The recovery of a loss of value is posted to the income statement, unless the asset was previously reported at its revalued amount. In this case, the recovery in value is first allocated to the revaluation reserve.

The value in use of an asset that does not generate independent cash flows is determined in relation to the CGU to which this asset belongs. Impairment is recognized in the income statement whenever the carrying amount of the asset and of the related CGU exceeds its recoverable value. Whenever the circumstances causing the impairment cease to exist, the book value of the asset, except the goodwill, is restored with the recognition in the income statement, up to the net value that the asset would have had if it were not impaired and regularly depreciated.

Goodwill is not amortized, but is subject annually, or more frequently if specific events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset might be impaired, to tests in order to identify possible impairments. Following initial recognition, goodwill is measured at cost less any accumulated impairment losses.

The impairment of goodwill recorded as of the date of the financial report is shown in the income statement under depreciation of intangible assets.

  1. Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash, bank deposits and highly liquid short-term investments (readily convertible to cash within three months). Overdrafts are included in short-term borrowings and are measured at fair value.

  1. Financial assets at fair value through OCI

Upon initial recognition, the Group can elect to irrevocably classify its equity investments as equity instruments designated at fair value through other comprehensive income ("OCI") when they meet the definition of equity under IAS 32 "Financial Instruments: Presentation" and are not held for trading, The classification is determined on an instrument-by-instrument basis. Gains and losses on these financial assets are never recycled to profit or loss. Dividends are recognized in the profit and loss statement when the right of payment has been established, except when the Group benefits from such proceeds as a recovery of part of the cost of the financial asset, in which case, such gains are recorded in OCI. Equity instruments designated at fair value through OCI are not subject to impairment assessment.

  1. Financial assets at fair value through profit and loss

Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss include financial assets held for trading, financial assets designated upon initial recognition at fair value through profit or loss, or financial assets mandatorily required to be measured at fair value. Financial assets are classified as held for trading if they are acquired for the purpose of selling or repurchasing in the near term. Derivatives, including separated embedded derivatives, are also classified as held for trading unless they are designated as effective hedging instruments. Financial assets with cash flows that are not solely payments of principal and interest are classified and measured at fair value through profit or loss, irrespective of the business model. Financial assets at fair value through profit and loss are classified in the financial statements at fair value and the fair value changes are recorded in profit and loss. 

  1. Trade receivables

Trade receivables are valued initially at fair value and subsequently at amortized cost using the effective interest rate basis. 

Any losses arising as a result of impairment reviews are recognized in the income statement. In particular, IFRS 9 requires the Group to record expected credit losses on all its debt securities, loans and trade receivables, either over a 12-month period or on a lifetime basis (e.g. lifetime expected loss). The Group opted for the simplified approach and therefore records the expected losses on all trade receivable based on their residual contractual duration. The Group however continues to analytically consider the specificity of the sector and of some clients in its assessments.

In the presence of impairment indicators, the values of the assets are reduced to the present value of expected future cash flows and the differences are recognized in the income statement, with a provision for bad debts as counterbalance, offsetting trade receivables. If in subsequent periods the reasons for such impairments are no longer valid, the values of the assets are reinstated up to the amortized cost as if the impairment had never occurred.

  1. Own shares

Own shares are booked as a reduction of shareholders' equity. Being the shares without nominal value, the purchase cost is deducted from the share capital for an amount implicitly corresponding to the nominal value and from the distributable reserves for an amount equal to the remaining part of the purchase cost. 

  1. Trade payables and financial liabilities

Financial liabilities, trade payables and other debts are initially recognized at fair value, net of transaction costs incurred, and are subsequently stated at amortized cost. Any difference between the proceeds (net of transaction costs) and the redemption value is recognized in the income statement over the period of the borrowings using the effective interest method. Amortization is determined based on the effective interest rate which equates, at the initial moment, the present value of cash flows connected with the liability and its initial recorded amount (amortized cost method).

Whenever expected future cash flows change, and these could be reliably estimated, the value of the liability is recalculated on the basis of the new cash flows and the initial effective interest rate.

  1. Provisions for risks and charges

Provisions are recognized when; (i) the existence of a current obligation, legal or implicit, arising from a past event, is probable; (ii) it is probable that the fulfillment of the obligation will be onerous; (iii) the amount of the obligation can be reliably estimated. Provisions are recognized based on the best estimate of the expenditure required to settle the present obligation or to transfer it to a third party at the balance sheet date. When the financial effect of the timing of the obligation is significant and the dates of the payments can be reliably estimated, the provision is discounted back. Provisions are measured at the present value of the payments expected to be required to settle the obligation using a rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the obligation.

  1. Defined benefit program liability

Employee termination benefits ("Trattamento Fine Rapporto", or "TFR"), which are compulsory for Italian companies in accordance with the civil code, are considered by IFRS as a defined benefit program, based, among other things, on the period of employment and the remuneration of the employee during a predefined period. 

The TFR liability is determined by independent actuaries using the Projected Unit Credit Method to account for the time value of money. According to "revised" IAS 19 the adjustments deriving from the changes in actuarial assumptions are recorded in equity, by means of the recognition in the comprehensive income statements. 

The implicit interest cost for the adjustment of the present value of the TFR liability over time is recognized in the financial expenses in the income statement.

The legislative changes that become effective in 2007 had no material impact on the evaluation method adopted by the Group because the percentage of employees adhering to the funds at the relevant date was low and besides the greater part of employees of the companies of the Group is employed in companies that did not exceeded the limits, provided by the new law and calculated on the average number of employees in 2006, over which a company is obliged to contribute the accrued fund to the National Institute for Social Security ("INPS") when employees choose to keep their TFR in the company.

During the financial year ended December 31, 2022, the Group introduced a long-term incentive plan in favor of certain employees, linked to certain economic indicators achieved by the Group in the medium term. In accordance with IAS 19, the cost of this plan is recognized on a straight-line basis over the duration of the plan, in the income statement under personnel costs, together with interest and remeasurements of the related liability.

  1. Share based payments

The Group has a stock option plan for the benefit of directors, employees and other personnel. As per IFRS 2 ("Share based payments"), stock option plans are valued at the fair value of the option at grant date, using methods that take into account the exercise price and vesting period of the option, the current stock price, the expected volatility and dividend payout of the shares, and the risk-free interest rate determined on the day of the option grant. 

As of the grant date, the expense related to the stock option plan is recognized on a straight-line basis in personnel costs in the income statement over the vesting period of the option, and in a reserve in shareholders' equity.

  1. Revenue recognition

Revenues and other income are recognized net of discounts, allowances and bonuses and of the provision for possible repayments of commissions upon early repayment or insolvency of brokered loans.

IFRS 15 provides for the recognition of revenues for an amount which reflects the compensation at which the entity believes to be entitled in the economic transaction with the customer for the transfer of products and services.

Revenues are recognized in the income statement when it is probable that future economic benefits will flow to the Group.

The methods of revenue recognition for the main activities of the Group are as follows: 

(a)      Credit, insurance, telecommunications and energy broking services, and e-commerce price comparison

Revenues from credit, insurance, telecommunications and energy broking services are recognized upon the actual disbursement of loans by lenders, the actual underwriting of contracts by insurance companies or the subscription of the contract for telecommunications or energy. The Group is entitled to receive its commission for the service provided only when the operation is closed with the disbursement of a loan. the activation/renewal of an insurance policy or a utility contract.

Those revenues include fees whose recognition is based on information coming from consumers and not yet confirmed by the client companies as of the end of the financial year.

Revenues from e-commerce price comparison activities are recorded at the time of click (in the case of pay per click) or at the time of product purchase (in the case of pay per sale).

(b)      BPO services

Revenues from BPO services are recognized based on the type of services provided and contractual conditions agreed with clients. In particular, we can identify the following categories of services provided:

  1. Government grants

Government grants are recognized when it is reasonably certain that the Group will respect the related conditions and they will be received.

  1. Cost recognition

Costs are recognized as the assets and services are consumed during the relevant period or when they are sustained. when it is not possible to determine future economic benefits.

  1. Financial income and expenses

Interest income and expenses are recognized in the accrual period on the net value of the relevant financial assets and liabilities using the effective interest rate method.

Financial expenses are recognized on an accrual basis and recorded in the income statement in the accrual period.

  1. Taxation

Current income taxes are accounted on the basis of estimated taxable income and the relevant applicable tax rates.

Deferred income taxes are determined based on temporary differences arising between the tax bases of assets and liabilities (excluding goodwill) and their carrying amounts, and differences arising from undistributed reserves registered in the shareholders' equity of the subsidiaries when the timing of reversal of these differences is under the Group's control and they will probably reverse within a reliably foreseeable period. Deferred income tax assets, including those on tax loss carryforwards, and not offset by deferred tax liabilities, are recognized to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profit will be available against which the temporary differences can be utilized. Deferred income taxes are calculated using tax rates (and laws) that are expected to apply when the related deferred income tax assets are realized or the deferred income tax liabilities are settled. 

Current and deferred income taxes are recognized in the income statement with the exception of the items that are recognized directly in shareholders' equity in which case the tax effect is accounted for in the relevant equity reserve, Current and deferred tax assets and liabilities are netted only when the entity has a legally enforceable right to offset the recognized amounts.

Substitute tax relates to the revaluation of assets according to Italian tax legislation and is recognized in income tax expense in the income statement. Other taxes, not related to income, are recognized in other operating costs in the income statement.

  1. Financial instruments

A financial instrument is any contract that gives rise to a financial asset of one entity and a financial liability or equity instrument of another entity.

IFRS 9 Adoption

  1. IFRS 9 sets out the accounting of financial instruments with reference to the following areas: classification and measurement, impairment and hedge accounting. 

  2. The main areas of intervention on the discipline operated by the standard are described below.

Classification and measurement of the financial assets and liabilities

  1. The Group does not own at present any financial liability measured at fair value through profit and loss due to the adoption of the so-called fair value option. 

  2. Concerning financial assets, the new standard provides that the classification of the assets depends on the characteristics of the financial flows linked to such assets and to the business model used by the Group for their management. The Group at present does not own nor managed during the financial year any financial asset, such as debt securities, with sale purpose nor in absolute terms, except for the financial instruments managed as part of the core business of the company Centro Finanziamenti S.p.A. and for the financial instruments acquired following the change in the consolidation area occurred in the period. In addition, the Group does not own participations as investments which could be included under IFRS 9 or derivatives, even embedded ones. Trade receivables are held to be cashed at the contractual maturities of the cash flows related to them in capital and interest, where applicable. The Group assessed the characteristics of the contractual cash flows of these instruments and concluded that they respect the criteria for the measurement at amortized cost according to IFRS 9. Therefore, it was not necessary to reclassify these financial instruments. We can reach the same conclusions for the items recorded as cash and cash equivalents.

  3. Impairment

  4. IFRS 9 requires the Group to record expected credit losses on all its debt securities, loans and trade receivables, either over a 12-month period or on a lifetime basis (e.g. lifetime expected loss). The Group opted for the simplified approach and therefore records the expected losses on every trade receivable based on their residual contractual duration. The standard allows the adoption of matrixes for the measurement of the provision, capable of incorporating forecast information and not limited to historical evidences, as a practical expedient. The Group however continues to analytically consider the specificity of the sector and of some clients in its assessments. 

  5. Hedge accounting 

  6. Given that IFRS 9 does not modify the general principle according to which an entity accounts for the effective hedging instruments, the main changes compared to the previous regulation IAS 39 are the following: (i) the hedge effectiveness test is only perspective and can also be based on qualitative aspects, replacing the previous 80-125% test and focusing on the economic relationship between hedge and hedged element; (ii) the possibility to designate as subject to hedging only a component of risk also for non-financial elements (provided that the risk component can be separately identifiable and reliably estimated); (iii) introduction of the cost of hedging concept; (iv) greater possibility to designate groups of elements as subject to hedging, including stratifications and some net positions. Without hedge accounting, the changes in the fair value of derivatives will continue to be recorded in the income statement.

  1. Earnings per share 

(a)     Basic

Basic earnings per share are calculated by dividing the net income attributable to the Group by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the year, excluding own shares.

(b)     Diluted

Diluted earnings per share are calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding, excluding own shares, assuming the exercise of all potentially dilutive rights, whilst the Group's net income is adjusted to account for the effect of the conversion, net of taxes. The diluted earnings per share are not calculated in the event of losses, given that any such calculation would result in an improvement in the Group's results.

  1. Accounting estimates and judgments

The preparation of the financial statements requires the application by the directors of principles and accounting methodologies that sometimes require the use of estimates and judgments based on historical experience and other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The application of these estimates and assumptions impacts on the amounts included in the statement of financial position, income statement, statement of cash flows and the notes to the financial statements. The resulting accounting estimates could differ from the related actual results because of the uncertainty influencing the assumptions.

The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities are discussed below.

(a)     Deferred taxes

Deferred tax assets/liabilities are recognized on the basis of expectations of future earnings. The estimate of future earnings for purposes of the recognition of deferred taxes depends on factors that could vary over time and significantly affect the amount of deferred tax assets/liabilities.

(b)     Stock options

The valuation of stock option plans is based on valuation techniques that take into consideration the expected volatility of share prices and the dividend yield. Should different assumptions be applied, the valuation of the stock option plans and the related expenses could be different.

(c)     Impairment test for the evaluation of goodwill and participations

The impairment test provides for the use of valuation methods based on estimations and assumptions which could be subject to significant changes with subsequent impacts on the results of the evaluations done.

(d)     Fair value of net assets acquired in a business combination 

Pursuant to IFRS 3, the Group records the identifiable acquired assets and liabilities at fair value as of the date of acquisition of control. The residual amount is recorded as goodwill arising from the acquisition. These values are determined by estimating the identifiable assets and liabilities, based on reasonable and realistic assumptions using the information available at the date when control was acquired, which had an effect on the value of the recognized assets, liabilities and goodwill, as well as on the revenues and expenses for the period. 

  1. New principles effective starting from the financial year ended December 31, 2022 not relevant to the Group

  1. The following standards, amendments and interpretations, applicable from January 1st , 2022, are not relevant or they did not involve effects for the Group:

  1. Reclassification of comparative figures as of December 31, 2021

In order to better represent current assets in the balance sheet for the year ended 31 December 2021, financial receivables attributable to subsidiary Centro Finanziamenti S.p.A., previously recognized under the item "Trade receivables", were reclassified under the item "Current financial assets" for an amount of Euro 4.957 thousand.

  1. Financial risk analysis

Risk management of the Group is based on the principle that operating risk or financial risk is managed by the person in charge of the business process involved.

The main risks are reported and discussed at Group top management level in order to create the conditions for their coverage, assurance and assessment of residual risk.

Exchange and interest rate risk

Currently the financial risk management policies of the companies of the Group provide a balanced split between fixed-rate and variable-rate loans, aimed at optimizing the cost of the loans over time. As of today, the risk of incurring greater interest costs as a result of unfavorable variations of market interest rates, as better analyzed in the following, is mitigated by the subscription of hedging derivatives, which change the rate from floating to fixed, on a portion of the Group's debt.

The interest rate on the bank loan from Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A., signed on July 29, 2022, is equal to 6-month Euribor increased by 2.00%. In addition, on 60% of the disbursed amount, and until December 31, 2026, a derivative contract was signed to hedge the interest rate, which is converted to a fixed rate at 1.396%, increased by the margin of 2.00%.

The interest rate on the bank loan from Credit Agricole Italia S.p.A., signed on August 9, 2022, is equal to 3-months Euribor, increased by a spread of 1.65%. 

The interest rate on the bank loan from Unicredit S.p.A., signed on August 9, 2022, is equal to 3-months Euribor, increased by a spread of 1.80%. In addition, on 60% of the financed amount, equal to Euro 30,000 thousand, and until August 29, 2025, a derivative contract was signed into to hedge the interest rate, which is converted to a fixed rate at 1.435%, increased by the margin of 1.80%. 

The interest rate on the bank loan from Banco BPM S.p.A., signed on September 5, 2022, is equal to 6-months Euribor, increased by a spread of 1.80% on a credit line equal to Euro 35,000 thousand ("Line A"), and a spread of 2.00% on a bullet credit line equal to Euro 15,000 thousand ("Line B"). In addition, on 50% of the financed amount, and until the expiration date of each credit line, a derivative contract was signed into to hedge the interest rate, which is converted to a fixed rate at 2.39% for the Line A, and 2.485% for the Line B, increased by the margins described above, and is subject to change over the term of the contract based on the change in the ratio between Net Financial Debt and EBITDA.

The interest rate on the bank loan from Credito Emiliano S.p.A., signed on November 2, 2022, is equal to 1-month Euribor, increased by a spread of 0.90%.

  1. The interest rate on the bank loan from Crédit Agricole Italia S.p.A., signed on June 28, 2018, is equal to 3-month Euribor increased by 0.90%, and it is subject to change during the length of the contract based on the change of the ratio between Net Financial Indebtedness and EBITDA.

  2. The interest rate on the loan from Unicredit S.p.A., obtained on February 26, 2021, is equal to 3-month Euribor increased by 1.60%. On such loan the Issuer subscribed a derivative hedging the variable rate, which converts the 3-months Euribor interest rate into a yearly fixed rate of -0.15%.

  3. A possible unfavorable variation of the Euribor, equal to 1.0%, should produce an additional overall expense for the Group equal to Euro 1,575 thousand in 2023. 

For the remaining loans already described in paragraph 2.4.1. a fixed rate is applied instead.

As regards to the coverage of exchange rate risk, it is worth pointing out that, as of the reference date of this report, there are no significant assets or liabilities denominated in currencies different from the Euro, with the exception of the Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC shares, amounting to Euro 95,448 thousand as of December 31, 2022, denominated in sterling, whose fluctuation can be considered limited. 

Therefore, this risk is considered limited for the Group.

Credit risk

The current assets of the Group, with the exception of cash and cash equivalents, are constituted mainly by trade receivables for an amount of Euro 124,186 thousand, of which the overdue portion as of December 31, 2022 is equal to Euro 36,790 thousand, of which Euro 13,282 thousand is overdue for over 90 days.

Most of the gross overdue receivables were paid by the clients during the first months of 2023. As of the date of approval of this report, receivables not yet collected, overdue as of December 31, 2022, amount to Euro 15,782 thousand, of which Euro 9,395 thousand are receivables already overdue for over 90 days as of December 31, 2022.

Trade receivables are mainly from banks and other financial institutions, insurance companies, leasing/rental companies and public entities, considered highly reliable but, facing receivables for which we consider a credit risk could arise, we allotted an allowance for doubtful receivables equal to Euro 7,571 thousand.

The Group monitors counterparty risk by analyzing the solvency and standing of customers before entering into business relations with them and trying to limit an excessively high concentration of receivables from a few counterparties.

For this purpose, it is worth mentioning that we do not notice any significant concentration of revenues on any client: in 2022 the revenues from the main client of the Group represent 5.4% of total consolidated revenues.

Liquidity risk

Liquidity risk represents the risk that a company is not able to procure financial resources to support short-term operations.

The total amount of liquidity as of December 31, 2022 is Euro 269,647 thousand, and current financial liabilities equal to Euro 66,294 thousand; therefore, the management believes that liquidity risk for the Group is limited, eventaking into account the disbursement of Euro 159,194 thousand on February 1st, 2023, related to the payment for the acquisition of 100% of the capital of Rastreator.com Ltd, Preminen Price Comparison Holdings Ltd and LeLynx SAS.

Risk linked to Covid-19 Pandemic

The current scenario had no impact on the economic results realized in the financial year ended December 31, 2022. As of the date of approval of this report, no significant impact is expected on the Group's results in the predictable future. 

Current geopolitical situation - crisis in Ukraine

With regards to the current geopolitical situation, it should be noted preliminary that the Group is not directly exposed to the Russian and Ukrainian economies. The consequences of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation are not currently such as to give rise to concern for the businesses of companies of the Group and are not expected to have any impact on their ability to continue operating as going concerns: however, any significant fall in consumer confidence and/or disposable income could have a negative impact on the activity volumes of the various lines of business. The Group also constantly monitors the trend of rising inflation and higher energy costs, whose impacts are not considered significant in view of the nature of the businesses of the Group companies.

Operating risk and going concern

The technological component is an essential element for the operating activities of the Group; therefore, there is the risk that the possible malfunctioning of the technological infrastructure may cause an interruption of client services or loss of data. However, the companies of the Group have developed a series of plans, procedures and tools to guarantee business continuity and data security. 

Considering the economic and financial situation, in particular the level of available reserves, and taking into account the trend of the net working capital and of the economic and financial situation, the separated and consolidated financial reports have been prepared considering the assumption of going concern, respected.

It should also be considered that the Group, as in previous years, achieved positive economic results, and, despite uncertain macroeconomic scenarios, that future economic forecasts are also positive. Finally, the Group has adequate financial resources to meet its future obligations over a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements, and it can, where necessary, activate additional levers to rapidly liquidate significant investments.

Risk linked to Climate Change

With regard to possible impacts related to climate change, the Group, operating in the service sector, has not identified any particular physical risks or significant transitional risks. Therefore, a quantitative assessment of the impacts of physical and transitional risks has not been carried out. With reference to climate change and energy transition, the management, considering the characteristics of the business models of the Group companies, has not identified significant impacts on the economic results or working practices adopted by the Group.

For a more detailed analysis, please refer to the consolidated non-financial statement 2022, available on the Group's website. 

  1. Segment reporting

The primary segment reporting is by business segments; the board of directors of the Issuer identifies the business segments of the Group in Broking and BPO Division:

Detailed information relative to each division is provided below. For this purpose, it is worth highlighting that the allocation of the costs incurred by the Issuer and by PP&E S.r.l. for the benefit of each Division is based on the relevant headcount in Italy at the end of the period.

Revenues by Division


 

Years ended

(euro thousand)

December 31,
2022

December 31,
2021

 

 

 

Broking Division revenues

131,042

134,248

BPO Division revenues

179,728

179,216

 

 

 

Total revenues

310,770

313,464


Operating income by Division


 

Years ended

(euro thousand)

December 31,
2022

December 31,
2021

 

 

 

Broking Division operating income

39,284

44,197

BPO Division operating income

27,258

24,767

 

 

 

Total operating income

66,542

68,964

 

 

 

Financial income

                    356 

                    469 

Financial expenses

                (4,869)

                (2,379)

Income/(losses) from participations

                      46 

                     (78)

Income/(losses) from financial assets/liabilities

                 3,690 

                (1,783)

 

 

 

Net income before income tax expense

               65,765 

               65,193 

 As follows we provide the breakdown of revenues by client for each Division:


 

Years ended

(euro thousand)

December 31,
2022

(a)

December 31,
2021

(a)

 

 

 

 

 

Client A

              10,149 

7.7%

              22,946 

17.1%

Client B

                8,661 

6.6%

                9,260 

6.9%

Client C

                8,477 

6.5%

                7,326 

5.5%

Client D

                7,545 

5.8%

                4,901 

3.7%

Other Clients

              96,210 

73.4%

              89,815 

66.9%

 

 

 

 

 

Total Broking Division revenues

            131,042 

100.0%

            134,248 

100.0%

 

 

 

 

 

Client E

              14,531 

8.1%

              14,873 

8.3%

Client F

                8,919 

5.0%

              11,339 

6.3%

Client G

                8,301 

4.6%

              10,132 

5.7%

Client H

                6,693 

3.7%

                9,972 

5.6%

Other Clients

            141,284 

78.6%

            132,900 

74.2%

 

 

 

 

 

Total BPO Division revenues

            179,728 

100.0%

            179,216 

100.0%

   

Assets by Division 

The allocation of property, plant and equipment shared by both Divisions is based on space occupied.


(euro thousand)

 As of
December 31, 2022 

 As of
December 31, 2021 

Broking Division assets

                    192,265 

                    205,113 

BPO Division assets

                    291,849 

                    173,281 

Not allocated

                    135,420 

                      72,354 

Cash and cash equivalents

                    269,647 

                    165,857 

Total assets

                    889,181 

                    616,605 


The item "not allocated" mainly includes the value of the Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC shares, equal to Euro 95,448 thousand, and the assets attributable to the Issuer and the subsidiary P.P.&E. S.r.l..

Liabilities by Division


(euro thousand)

 As of
December 31, 2022 

 As of
December 31, 2021 

Broking Division liabilities

                      31,125 

                      36,214 

BPO Division liabilities

                    125,906 

                      98,766 

Not allocated

                    459,826 

                    212,555 

Total liabilities

                    616,857 

                    347,535 

The item "not allocated" mainly includes the financial liabilities of the Issuer for Euro 444,412 thousand. and the other liabilities attributable to the Issuer and the subsidiary P.P.&E. S.r.l..

  1. Business combinations

  1. Acquisition of Luna Service S.r.l.

  2. On January 17, 2022, the Issuer acquired 100% of the share capital of Luna Service S.r.l., a company operating in the development of software and the provision of services in the property registers area, for a consideration of Euro 974 thousand.

  3. Following the analysis aimed at determining the fair value of the assets, the liabilities and potential liabilities, the management, also through the support of a specifically appointed independent advisor, defined the allocation of the purchase price paid for the acquisition of Luna Service S.r.l., as follows:

 

 

Cash and cash equivalent

21

Non-current assets

1,008

of which allocated to software

985

Current assets

227

Non-current liabilities

(352)

of which deferred tax liabilities on allocated software

(275)

Current liabilities

(106)

 

 

Fair value of net assets purchased

798

 

 

Price Paid (A)

974

 

 

Difference between price paid and fair value of net purchased assets

176

 

 

Higher value allocated to goodwill

176

 

 

Cash of the entity at the date of the acquisition (B)

21

 

 

Net cash flow absorbed by the acquisition (A-B)

953


  1. The results of Luna Service S.r.l. will be included in the "Real Estate Services BPO" business line, within the BPO Division, starting from the acquisition date.

  2. Acquisition of Gema Motor S.r.l.

  3. On February 1, 2022, the Group signed a contract to acquire, through subsidiary Gruppo Lercari S.r.l., 100% of the share capital of Gema S.r.l., a company that offers insurance outsourcing services in the automotive sector, for a consideration of Euro 1,498 thousand.

  4. Following the analysis aimed at determining the fair value of the assets, the liabilities and potential liabilities, the management, also through the support of a specifically appointed independent advisor, defined the allocation of the purchase price paid for the acquisition of Gema Motor S.r.l., as follows:


 

 

Cash and cash equivalent

10

Non-current assets

10

Current assets

349

Non-current liabilities

(113)

Current liabilities

(187)

 

 

Fair value of net assets purchased

69

 

 

Price Paid (A)

1,498

 

 

Difference between price paid and fair value of net purchased assets

1,429

 

 

Higher value allocated to goodwill

1,429

 

 

Cash of the entity at the date of the acquisition (B)

10

 

 

Net cash flow absorbed by the acquisition (A-B)

1,488


  1. The results of Gema Motor S.r.l. will be included in the "Insurance BPO" business line, within the BPO Division, starting from the acquisition date.

  2. Acquisition of Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l.

  3. On March 1st, 2022 the Issuer acquired 100% of the share capital of Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l., a company operating in the field of para-legal services in support of operators in the NPL sector and real estate procedures, for a consideration of Euro 15,256 thousand. In addition there is an earn-out linked to future economic performance of the acquired company, which at the date of acquisition was estimated at Euro 257 thousand.

Following the analysis aimed at determining the fair value of the assets, the liabilities and potential liabilities, the management, also through the support of a specifically appointed independent advisor, defined the allocation of the purchase price paid for the acquisition of Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l., as follows:  


 

 

Cash and cash equivalent

46

Non-current assets

8,738

of which allocated to equity value

8,527

Current assets

3,446

Non-current liabilities

(2,382)

of which deferred tax liabilities on allocated equity value

(2,379)

Current liabilities

(12)

 

 

Fair value of net assets purchased

9,836

 

 

Price Paid (A)

15,513

 

 

Difference between price paid and fair value of net purchased assets

5,677

 

 

Higher value allocated to goodwill

5,677

 

 

Cash of the entity at the date of the acquisition (B)

46

 

 

Net cash flow absorbed by the acquisition (A-B)

15,467

  1.  

  1. The results of Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l. will be included in the "Real Estate Service BPO" business line, within the BPO Division. starting from the acquisition date.


The costs linked to the acquisition of Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l. are equal to euro 50 thousand and are recorded in the income statement among "Service costs".

  1. Acquisition of the Onda Group

  2. On June 1st, 2022, the Group signed a contract for the acquisition, through subsidiary Gruppo Lercari S.r.l., of 100% of the share capital of Onda S.r.l., a company at the head of a group of companies specializing in the provision of expert and other after-sales services to insurance companies, for a price of Euro 4,750 thousand.

Following the analysis aimed at determining the fair value of the assets, the liabilities and potential liabilities, the management, also through the support of a specifically appointed independent advisor, defined the allocation of the purchase price paid for the acquisition of the Onda Group, as follows:

  

 

 

Cash and cash equivalent

936

Non-current assets

6,639

of which allocated to software

6,193

Current assets

2,532

Non-current liabilities

(2,005)

of which deferred tax liabilities on allocated software

(1,728)

Current liabilities

(3,866)

 

 

Fair value of net assets purchased

4,235

 

 

Price Paid (A)

4,750

 

 

Difference between price paid and fair value of net purchased assets

515

 

 

Higher value allocated to goodwill

515

 

 

Cash of the entity at the date of the acquisition (B)

936

 

 

Net cash flow absorbed by the acquisition (A-B)

3,814


  1. The results of the Onda Group will be included in the "Insurance BPO" business line, within the BPO Division, starting from the acquisition date.


The costs linked to the acquisition of Onda S.r.l. are equal to euro 15 thousand and are recorded in the income statement among "Service costs".

  1. Acquisition of Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l.

On October 28, 2022, the Group acquired, through subsidiary Agenzia Italia S.p.A., 100% of the share capital of Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l. ("Trebi"), a leading company in the development and provision of software solutions for the financing sector, including in particular leasing, rental and the management of non-performing loans (the "Acquisition"). The agreed consideration for the purchase of 100% of the share capital of Trebi is equal to Euro 89,500 thousand, of which Euro 77,500 thousand paid at closing and Euro 12,000 thousand retained as escrow to guarantee any indemnity obligations arising from the sale and purchase agreement, with progressive release over a four-year period.

The initial allocation of the purchase price relative to the business combination has not been completed as of the date of approval of the annual report, as we have decided to take advantage of the option provided by paragraph 45 of IFRS 3 which allows the provisional allocation of the purchase cost. The reasons for this decision are linked to the fact that we are still acquiring the required information to define the fair value of the assets, the liabilities and the potential liabilities of the acquired entity, Such allocation will be completed as soon as we have sufficient information to define the fair value of the assets, the liabilities and the potential liabilities of the acquired entity and in any case within one year of the acquisition date.

Therefore, we have determined a provisional goodwill, as reported below, equal to Euro 80,120 thousand which has been allocated to Trebi, considered a CGU. The following table presents the book value of the assets and the liabilities of the purchased business at the acquisition date, and the calculation of provisional goodwill:


 

 

Cash and cash equivalent

7,497

Non-current assets

2,145

Current assets

7,254

Non-current liabilities

(3,142)

Current liabilities

(4,374)

 

 

Fair value of net assets purchased

9,380

 

 

Price Paid (A)

89,500

 

 

Difference between price paid and fair value of net purchased assets

80,120

 

 

Higher value provisionally allocated to goodwill

80,120

 

 

Cash of the entity at the date of the acquisition (B)

7,497

 

 

Net cash flow absorbed by the acquisition (A-B)

82,003


  1. The results of Trebi will be included in the "Leasing & Rental BPO/IT" business line, within the BPO Division, starting from the acquisition date.


The costs linked to the acquisition of Trebi are equal to Euro 478 thousand and are recorded in the income statement among "Service costs".

  1. Acquisition of Sovime S.r.l.

On October 7, 2022, the Group acquired, through its subsidiary Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l., 100% of the share capital of Sovime S.r.l., a company active in the provision of services and information mainly in the hypocadastral field, for the benefit of banking institutions and operators active in debt management and credit collection, for a consideration equal to Euro 669 thousand. In addition, there is an earn-out linked to future economic performance, which at the acquisition date was estimated at Euro 1,163 thousand.

The initial allocation of the purchase price relative to the business combination has not been completed as of the date of approval of the annual report, as we have decided to take advantage of the option provided by paragraph 45 of IFRS 3 which allows the provisional allocation of the purchase cost. The reasons for this decision are linked to the fact that we are still acquiring the required information to define the fair value of the assets, the liabilities and the potential liabilities of the acquired entity. Such allocation will be completed as soon as we have sufficient information to define the fair value of the assets, the liabilities and the potential liabilities of the acquired entity and in any case within one year of the acquisition date.

Therefore, we have determined a provisional goodwill, as reported below, equal to Euro 737 thousand which has been allocated to Sovime S.r.l., considered a CGU. The following table presents the book value of the assets and the liabilities of the purchased business at the acquisition date, and the calculation of provisional goodwill:


 

 

Cash and cash equivalent

628

Non-current assets

59

Current assets

855

Non-current liabilities

(64)

Current liabilities

(383)

 

 

Fair value of net assets purchased

1,095

 

 

Price Paid (A)

1,832

 

 

Difference between price paid and fair value of net purchased assets

737

 

 

Higher value provisionally allocated to goodwill

737

 

 

Cash of the entity at the date of the acquisition (B)

628

 

 

Net cash flow absorbed by the acquisition (A-B)

1,204


  1. The results of Sovime S.r.l. will be included in the "Real Estate Service BPO" business line, within the BPO Division, starting from the acquisition date.

  1. NON-CURRENT ASSETS

  1. Intangible assets

The following table presents the situation and the variation of the item as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:

(euro thousand)

 Proprietary software 

 Trademarks, licenses and
other rights 

 Goodwill 

 Other intangible assets 

 Total 

Net value as of December 31, 2020 (restated)

44,689

10,096

154,450

48

209,283

Increases

5,108

347

-

4

5,459

Other movements

4,587

439

746

20

5,792

Amortization expense/write downs

(13,995)

(935)

(2,801)

(47)

(17,778)

Net value as of December 31, 2021

40,389

9,947

152,395

25

202,756

Increases

7,513

538

-

23

8,074

Other movements

7,178

66

88,654

8,538

104,436

Amortization expense

(13,023)

(1,957)

-

(770)

(15,750)

Net value as of December 31, 2022

42,057

8,594

241,049

7,816

299,516

 

The item "Proprietary software" includes the higher value of the software recognized following the consolidation of the Lercari Group (Euro 14,460 thousand), the higher value of the software recognized following the consolidation of SOS Tariffe (Euro 8,842 thousand) and the higher value of the software recognized following the consolidation of Zoorate (Euro 3,135 thousand), the higher value of the software recognized following the consolidation of the Onda Group (Euro 5,470 thousand), the higher value of the software recognized following the consolidation of Luna Service (Euro 788 thousand), and the development costs mainly refer to the personnel costs capitalized for the creation and development of the proprietary software platforms used by Group companies to perform their activities, The increases in the financial year ended December 31, 2022, are related to purchases and capitalizations for Euro 7,513 thousand, and to the recognition of the higher value of the software following the consolidation of Onda Group and Luna Service.

The item "Trademarks, licenses and other rights" includes the higher value of the trademark recognized following the consolidation of the Lercari Group (Euro 4,000 thousand), the higher value of the trademark recognized following the consolidation of SOS Tariffe (Euro 2,396 thousand) and the value of the licenses for the utilization of third-party software. The increases in the financial year ended December 31, 2022 mainly refer to software licenses purchased during the financial year for Euro 347 thousand.

  1. The item "Goodwill" includes the goodwill emerged from the allocation of the purchase prices of the investments acquired. The increase of the year equal to Euro 88,654 thousand refers to the recognition of the goodwill allocated following the acquisition of Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l. (Pprovisional allocation of Euro 80,120 thousand), Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l. (Euro 5,677 thousand), Gema Motor S.r.l. (Euro 1,429 thousand), Sovime S.r.l. (Euro 737 thousand), the Onda Group (Euro 515 thousand), and Luna Service S.r.l. (Euro 176 thousand). 

  2. The item "Other intangible assets" mainly includes the customer equity value allocated following the consolidation of Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l. in 2022 (and amortized over a 10-year time horizon) for an amount of Euro 7,816 thousand as of December 31, 2022.

  1. Recoverability of intangible assets

The following table presents the detailed goodwill reported as of December 31, 2022 and subject to impairment test, which differs if compared to the previous year due to the recognition of the goodwill arising from the acquisition of Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l., the Onda Group, Gema Motor S.r.l., Luna Service S.r.l., Sovime S.r.l. and of Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l.:


(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l.

                     80,120 

                                   -   

Agenzia Italia S.p.A.

                     45,288 

                            45,288 

Gruppo Lercari

                     44,240 

                            44,240 

7Pixel S.r.l.

                     33,374 

                            33,374 

SOS Tariffe S.r.l.

                     13,147 

                            13,147 

Eagle&Wise Service S.r.l.

                       8,292 

                              8,292 

Quinservizi S.p.A.

                       6,583 

                              6,583 

Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l.

                       5,677 

                                   -   

Gema Motor S.r.l.

                       1,429 

                                   -   

Sovime S.r.l.

                          737 

                                   -   

Zoorate S.r.l.

                          746 

                                 746 

CESAM S.r.l.

                          595 

                                 595 

Onda S.r.l.

                          515 

                                   -   

Luna Service S.r.l.

                          176 

                                   -   

EuroServizi per i Notai S.r.l.

                          130 

                                 130 

Totale goodwill

                   241,049 

                          152,395 

 

Each goodwill recorded in the financial statements as of December 31, 2022 and indicated above belongs to a specific CGU.

As regards the determination of the recoverable amount of the CGUs, based on the value-in-use method, the cash flows generated by the CGUs themselves have been estimated. Forecasts of operating cash flows derive from the related business plans of four years' duration, approved by the Board of Directors of the Issuer held on March 15, 2023.

The main assumptions regarding the value-in-use of the CGUs are the operating cash flows during the four-year forecast period, the discount rate and the growth rate used to determine the terminal value, equal to 2.0%.

The composition of future cash flows has been determined based on reasonable, prudent and consistent criteria regarding the attribution of future general expenditures, capital investment, financial balance and the main macroeconomic variables. Finally, it is worth pointing out that cash flow forecasts refer to ordinary activities and, therefore, they are not comprehensive of cash flows deriving from possible extraordinary activities.

The terminal value has been estimated with the discounted cash flow formula for perpetuities. 

The value-in-use of the CGUs has been determined by discounting the value of the estimated future cash flows, including the terminal value, which are supposed to be derived from ongoing activities, at a discount rate, net of taxes, adjusted for risk and reflecting the weighted average cost of capital.

In particular, the discount rate used is calculated starting from the Weighted Average Cost of Capital ("WACC") of the two Divisions of the Group, for the determination of which, reference was made to indicators and parameters observable on the reference market of the CGUs in question, at the current value of money. In particular, the determination of the WACC refers to the following parameters:

Based on the above, the discount rate is 10.82% for the Broking Division and 10.03% for the BPO Division.

As of December 31, 2021, the in-use values of the CGUs evaluated, determined as described above, are higher if compared to the carrying amounts of the assets allocated to them, goodwill included.   

Keeping into consideration the actual situation of volatility of the markets and of uncertainty upon future economic perspectives, we developed a sensitivity analyses on the recoverable value of goodwill. 

In particular, we developed a sensitivity analysis on the recoverable amount of the CGUs, assuming an increase of the discount rate, a decrease on the perpetual growth rate. 

The sensitivity analysis, pursuant to paragraph 134 of IAS 36, of the results of impairment test for the CGUs for which we that did not notice any impairment shows the following margins of tolerance:

Based on the analyses performed, the Directors of the Issuer considered recoverable the book value of the goodwill recorded in the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2022.

Regarding the Gruppo Lercari CGU, the sensitivity analysis showed that the value in use of the CGU remains higher than the book value, with an increase of the discount rate up to 10.66% or, keeping the WACC unchanged, with a decrease of "g rate" up to 1.19%. In light of this, the Directors of the Issuer consider recoverable the book value of the goodwill of the CGU recorded in the consolidated financial statements as at 31 December 2022, but, since the conditions to confirm this assessment would not be met in the event of a significant change in the parameters used or in the economic conditions underlying the analysis carried out, they will constantly monitor the CGU during the financial year ended December 31, 2023, performing further assessments and, if necessary, write down the CGU if its value in use is lower than its book value.

  1. Property, plant and equipment

The following table presents the situation and the variation of the item as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:


(euro thousand)

 Land and
buildings 

 Plant and
machinery 

 Other tangible assets 

 Total 

Cost as of January 1, 2021

28,046

15,106

8,290

51,442

IFRS 16 - Additions of the period

114

-

608

722

Additions

146

978

713

1,837

Others

-

-

123

123

Cost as of December 31, 2021

28,306

16,084

9,734

54,124

Accumulated depreciation as of January 1, 2021

7,419

10,410

5,773

23,601

Depreciation expense

3,291

1,460

1,060

5,811

of which IFRS 16 effect

2,969

-

236

3,205

Others

-

-

43

43

Accumulated depreciation as of December 31, 2021

10,710

11,870

6,876

29,455

Net book value as of December 31, 2021

17,596

4,214

2,858

24,669

Cost as of January 1, 2022

28,306

16,084

9,734

54,124

IFRS 16 - Additions of the period

4,153

-

717

4,870

Additions

503

1,883

812

3,198

Others

-

2

300

302

Cost as of December 31, 2022

32,962

17,969

11,563

62,494

Accumulated depreciation as of January 1, 2022

10,710

11,870

6,876

29,455

Depreciation expense

3,520

1,613

1,143

6,276

of which IFRS 16 effect

3,112

-

360

3,472

Others

-

-

-

-

Accumulated depreciation as of December 31, 2022

14,230

13,483

8,019

35,731

Net book value as of December 31, 2022

18,732

4,486

3,544

26,763


As of December 31, 2022, the net value of property, plant and equipment is equal to Euro 26,763 thousand (Euro 24,669 thousand as of December 31, 2021). During the financial year ended December 31, 2022 we record increases for a total amount of Euro 8,370 thousand, of which Euro 4,870 thousand related to the adoption of IFRS 16 (for which please refer to the table below), Euro 1,883 thousand refer to the purchase of plant and machinery, mainly related to production hardware, Euro 717 thousand refer to the purchase of other tangible assets, mainly related to office equipment and furniture.

The other movements include the property, plant and equipment acquired with the corporate acquisitions of the period. 

The net book value of "Land and buildings" as of December 31, 2022 mainly refers to the operating office of 7Pixel S.r.l., in Giussago (Province of Pavia) for Euro 5,544 thousand (of which Euro 892 thousand related to the land), to the building and land located in Cagliari, respectively equal to Euro 1,908 thousand and Euro 372 thousand, to the building located in Monastir (Province of Cagliari) for Euro 1,208 thousand, and to the right of use deriving from the adoption of IFRS 16 standard for Euro 8,549 thousand, in relation to the rental contracts for operating offices not owned by the Group.

The item "Plant and machinery" includes investments in generic electronic office equipment, in the different operating offices of the Group, and for production hardware. 

The item "Other tangible assets" includes investments in furniture and fittings, specific equipment and vehicles. Increases for the period included purchases for Euro 756 thousand, mainly related to office machinery and furniture, and other movements for Euro 300 thousand, related to fixed assets of newly acquired companies.

  1. Changes in the values of the rights of use and the leasing liabilities during the financial year ended December 31, 2022 is shown below:


(euro thousand)

Buildings

Vehicles

Total property, plant and equipment

Lease liabilities

As of January 1, 2022

7,508

860

8,368

9,054

Increases / (decreases)

     4,153 

             717 

                            4,870 

                   1,617 

Amortization

   (3,112)

           (360)

                           (3,472)

                           - 

Financial expenses

            - 

                 - 

                                    - 

                     (143)

As of June 30, 2022

8,549

1,217

9,766

10,528

The main increases refer to the right of use assets attributable to the companies acquired during 2022, and in particular refer to the building rental agreements subscribed by them, of vehicles, as a result of the higher agreements signed during 2021. 

  1. Participations measured with the equity method

The item includes the participation in the subsidiaries Fin.it S.r.l., CFN Generale Fiduciaria S.p.A., Generale Servizi Amministrativi S.r.l., CFN Generale Trustee S.r.l. and Geckoway S.r.l..

The following table shows the changes in this item for financial year ended December 31, 2022:


(Euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2021 

 Net income of the year attributable to the Group 

 Others 

 As of June 30, 2022 

Geckoway S.r.l.

                  61 

(16)

-

45

CFN Generale Fiduciaria S.p.A.

                518 

11

111

640

CFN Generale Trustee S.r.l.

                     - 

-

10

10

Generale Servizi Amministrativi S.r.l. 

                427 

(175)

(5)

247

LC Servizi S.r.l. in liquidazione

                  39 

(39)

-

-

SircusGandino S.r.l.

                  13 

49

(62)

-

Total

             1,058 

(170)

54

                942 

  1.   

The item "Participations measured with the equity method" shows a decrease equal to Euro 1,116 thousand.

The other movements include the increase of the value of the participation in CFN Generale Fiduciaria S.p.A. for Euro 111 thousand, due to the purchase by the Issuer of a further 9.48% stake of share capital, passing to 49.48% (and subsequently decreased to 35% as a result of a share capital increase subscribed by the majority shareholder), the decrease of the value of the participation in Generale Servizi Amministrativi S.r.l. for Euro 5 thousand, due to the disposal by the Issuer of a 5% staek of the share capital, the disposal of the participation in SircusGandino S.r.l., and the subscription of a 25% of the share capital of CFN Generale Trustee S.r.l. for Euro 10 thousand.

  1. Financial assets at fair value

The following table presents the variation of the item as of and for the financial year ended December 31, 2022:


(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2021 

 Purchases/
Increases 

 Revaluations/
(Depreciations) 

 Reimbursements/
Sales 

 As of December 31, 2022 

Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC shares

                       38,559.00 

                       63,368.00 

                                   -   

                       (6,479.00)

                       95,448.00 

Igloo notes

                            341.00 

                         4,396.00 

                                   -   

                                   -   

                         4,737.00 

Other securities

                         1,510.00 

                                   -   

                         1,243.00 

                                   -   

                         2,753.00 

Mark to market interest rate hedging instruments

                                   -   

                                   -   

                                   -   

                         3,702.00 

                         3,702.00 

Financial assets at fair value

                            40,410 

                            67,764 

                              1,243 

                            (2,777)

                          106,640 

Financial assets at fair value show a balance equal to Euro 106,640 thousand as of December 31, 2022 (Euro 40,410 thousand as of December 31, 2021), and include n. 44,000,000 Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC ordinary shares (equal to 8.21% of the share capital) for an amount equal to Euro 95,448 thousand.  The "Revaluations/(Depreciations)" item refers to the lower market value of the shares compared to the purchase price, for Euro 6,479 thousand. We point out that at the approval date of this report, the value of such shares is equal to Euro 116,401 thousand. Such financial assets are evaluated at fair value through OCI. 

The item also includes notes related to the "Igloo" securitization promoted by subsidiary Centro Finanziamenti S.p.A. for Euro 4,737 thousand (of which Euro 4,396 thousand subscribed during 2022), and other secutiries and insurance savings products held by the Lercari Group, Onda S.r.l. and Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l. for Euro 2,753 thousand (of which Euro 1,243 thousand attributable to the new acquired subsidiaries Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l. e Onda S.r.l.).

The item "Mark to market interest rate hedging instruments" refers to the positive value, equal to Euro 3,702 thousand, of interest rate hedging derivatives on loans with Unicredit S.p.A., Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A. and Banco BPM S.p.A..

  1. Deferred tax assets and liabilities

The following tables present the situation and the variation of the item as of and for the financial year ended December 31, 2022 and 2022:

Year ended December 31, 2021


(euro thousand)

As of January 1, 2021

Accrual

Other movements

Utilization

As of December 31, 2021

Expiring within 1 year

Expiring after 1 year

Deferred tax assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Costs with different tax deductibility

           1,603 

              576 

                 -   

             (456)

           1,723 

           1,723 

                 -   

Differences between the tax bases of assets and their carrying amounts

         97,298 

              142 

                 -   

        (38,729)

         58,711 

           8,930 

         49,781 

Defined benefit program liability

              535 

                36 

                 -   

               (42)

              529 

                 -   

              529 

Tax loss carry forwards

              315 

                 -   

                 -   

             (223)

                92 

                 -   

                92 

Total deferred tax assets

         99,751 

              754 

                 -   

        (39,450)

         61,055 

         10,653 

         50,402 

Deferred tax liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Differences between the tax bases of assets and their carrying amounts

        (13,563)

                 (9)

                 -   

           2,588 

        (10,984)

          (2,402)

          (8,582)

Dividends deliberated not yet paid

               (60)

               (97)

                 -   

                60 

               (97)

               (97)

                 -   

Others

               (63)

               (28)

                 -   

                68 

               (23)

                 -   

               (23)

Total deferred tax liabilities

        (13,686)

             (134)

                 -   

           2,716 

        (11,104)

          (2,499)

          (8,605)

Total

         86,065 

              620 

                 -   

        (36,734)

         49,951 

           8,154 

         41,797 


Year ended December 31, 2022


(euro thousand)

As of January 1, 2022

Accrual

Other movements

Utilization

As of December 31, 2022

Expiring within 1 year

Expiring after 1 year

Deferred tax assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Costs with different tax deductibility

           1,723 

              261 

                13 

             (668)

           1,329 

           1,329 

                 -   

Differences between the tax bases of assets and their carrying amounts

         58,711 

                  2 

                 -   

          (9,219)

         49,494 

           9,135 

         40,359 

Defined benefit program liability

              529 

              121 

                 -   

             (834)

             (184)

                 -   

             (184)

Tax loss carry forwards

                92 

              944 

                 -   

                 (3)

           1,033 

                 -   

           1,033 

Total deferred tax assets

         61,055 

           1,328 

                13 

        (10,724)

         51,672 

         10,464 

         41,208 

Deferred tax liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Differences between the tax bases of assets and their carrying amounts

        (10,984)

          (4,382)

                 -   

           2,814 

        (12,552)

          (3,031)

          (9,521)

Dividends deliberated not yet paid

               (97)

             (383)

                 -   

                  9 

             (471)

             (471)

                 -   

Others

               (23)

             (889)

                 -   

                19 

             (893)

                 -   

             (893)

Total deferred tax liabilities

        (11,104)

          (5,654)

                 -   

           2,842 

        (13,916)

          (3,502)

        (10,414)

Total

         49,951 

          (4,326)

                13 

          (7,882)

         37,756 

           6,962 

         30,794 


Among deferred tax assets referring to differences between the tax bases of assets and their carrying amounts there is, as of December 31, 2022, the amount of Euro 47,710 thousand, related to the revaluation of software, trademarks and real estate properties owned by some entities of the Group, among the measures introduced by the Art. 110 of the Law Decree n. 104/2020, converted in the Law n. 126/2020, enacting "Urgent measures to support and relaunch the economy". During the financial year ended December 31, 2022, we booked the use in the period of deferred tax assets relating to the higher value of assets revalued in 2020, for Euro 6,583 thousand.

The item also includes deferred tax assets for Euro 893 thousand, deriving from the tax release, performed in the financial year ended December 31, 2012, of the consolidation differences emerged after the purchase of the participations in Key Service S.r.l. by Quinservizi S.p.A., and in Quinservizi S.p.A. itself by Centro Perizie S.r.l. (now Eagle & Wise Service S.r.l.). The amount used during 2022 amounts to Euro 127 thousand.

Among deferred tax assets referring costs with different tax deductibility, there is the tax credit, equal to Euro 420 thousand, deriving from the accruals recorded over the years among the provisions for risks and charges. 

Among deferred tax liabilities referring to differences between the tax bases of assets and their carrying amounts, as of December 31, 2022, there is the amount related to the tax effect of the higher values recognized to the assets of SOS Tariffe S.r.l., the Lercari Group, and since 2022 of the Onda Group, Luna Service S.r.l. and Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l. (the latter acquired during 2022) for a total amount equal to Euro 12,212 thousand. With reference to such provisions, the increases of the period, attributable to the corporate acquisitions of the period, amount to Euro 4,382 thousand, while the utilizations amount to Euro 2,846 thousand.

  1. Other non-current assets

The following table presents the situation of the item as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:


(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Loan to joint venture Prestipro S.r.l.

                                      263 

                                      130 

Security deposits on lease contracts 

                                      183 

                                      218 

Other security deposits

                                         -   

                                      350 

Other non current assets

                                      446 

                                      698 

The item as of December 31, 2022, equal to Euro 446 thousand, includes a non-interest bearing loan granted, in 2022. to the associated company CFN Generale Trustee S.r.l. for Euro 263 thousand, and security deposits related to lease contracts for Euro 183 thousand.

We point out that the item, as of December 31, 2022, included a security deposit in favor of a supplier of the BPO Division to guarantee the payment of professional services in the mortgage area, and a loan granted to the joint venture Prestipro S.r.l. for Euro 130 thousand.

CURRENT ASSETS

  1. Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand and bank deposits. The item includes cash on bank deposits with specific destinations for Euro 6,971 thousand, used for claims settlement activities on behalf of clients.

For comments on the evolution of cash and cash equivalents, please refer to the management report.

The following table presents net financial position as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, prepared according to ESMA orientation 32-382-1138 of March 4, 2021 and to Consob guidance n. 5/21 of April 29. 2021:


 

 

 As of 

 

 

 

 

(euro thousand)

 December 31, 2022 

 December 31, 2021* 

Change

 % 

A.

Cash and current bank accounts

        269,647 

                     165,857 

                     103,790 

62.6%

B.

Cash equivalents

                    - 

                                 - 

                                 - 

N/A

C.

Other current financial assets

            7,430 

                         6,467 

                            963 

14.9%

D.

Liquidity (A) + (B) + (C)

        277,077 

                     172,324 

                     104,753 

60.8%

E.

Current financial liabilities

         (11,948)

                        (9,163)

                        (2,785)

30.4%

F.

Current portion of non-current financial liabilities

         (54,346)

                      (16,048)

                      (38,298)

238.6%

G.

Current indebtedness (E) + (F)

         (66,294)

                      (25,211)

                      (41,083)

163.0%

H.

Net current financial position (D) + (G)

        210,783 

                     147,113 

                       63,670 

43.3%

I.

Non-current financial liabilities

       (406,030)

                    (195,935)

                    (210,095)

107.2%

J.

Bonds issued

                    - 

                                 - 

                                 - 

N/A

K.

Trade and other non-current payables

                    - 

                                 - 

                                 - 

N/A

L.

Non-current indebtedness (I) + (J) + (K)

       (406,030)

                    (195,935)

                    (210,095)

107.2%

M.

Net financial position (H) + (L)

       (195,247)

                      (48,822)

                    (146,425)

299.9%

The net financial position as of December 31, 2022 shows a negative cash balance, for Euro 195,247 thousand, worsening by Euro 146,425 thousand compared to the previous financial year. The worsening is mainly due to the payment of dividends for Euro 15,239 thousand, to the considerations paid (net of the cash acquired) for the corporate acquisitions of the period for Euro 87,621 thousand, to the purchase of Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC shares for Euro 63,373 thousand, to the subscription of n related to "Igloo" securitizations for Euro 4,396 thousand, to the purchase of own shares for Euro 25,025 thousand, partially offset by the cash generated by the operating activities, equal to Euro 61,991 thousand.

  1. Current financial assets

As of December 31, 2022, current financial assets amount to Euro 4,677 thousand, and refer to the receivables linked to the subsidiary Centro Finanziamenti S.p.A., for the originated secured employee/pensioner ("cessione del quinto") and guaranteed SME loans, and transferred to the assignee after December 31, 2022.

  1. Trade receivables 

The following table presents the situation of the item as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:


(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Trade receivables

                               131,319 

                               129,061 

(allowance for doubtful receivables)

                                (7,571) 

                                (5,876) 

Total trade receivables

                               123,748 

                               123,185 

 

Trade receivables refer to ordinary sales to client companies operating in the banking and financial sector.

It is worth pointing out that trade receivables include a portion related to the estimation of conditional considerations upon the occurrence of certain contractual events, and that IFRS 15 standard defines as "contract assets". In particular, the considerations refer to: 

The following tables present the variation of the allowance for doubtful receivables in the financial years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:

Year ended December 31, 2021


(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2020 

 Change in the scope of consolidation 

 Accrual 

 Utilization 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Provision for bad debts

                    5,204 

                         41 

                       908 

                      (277)

                    5,876 

Total

                    5,204 

                         41 

                       908 

                      (277)

                    5,876 


Year ended December 31, 2022


(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2021 

 Change in the scope of consolidation 

 Accrual 

 Utilization 

 As of December 31, 2022 

Provision for bad debts

                    5,876 

                       828 

                    1,040 

                      (173)

                    7,571 

Total

                    5,876 

                       828 

                    1,040 

                      (173)

                    7,571 


The change in the scope of consolidation mainly refers to the provision for bad debts of the Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l. and Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l., included in the consolidation area during the financial year ended December 31, 2022.

The acrruals for the year mainly include the adjustments to the bad debt provision booked by the subsidiary Agenzia Italia S.p.A..


  1. Tax receivables

This item, equal to Euro 10,896 thousand as of December 31, 2022 (Euro 12,371 thousand as of December 31, 2021), refers to the credit for current taxes due to the payments of advances by the companies of the Group during 2022 higher than the amount of the tax due on the taxable income. 

  1. Other current assets

The following table presents the situation of the item as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:


(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Accruals and prepayments

                                   2,349 

                                   2,210 

Advances to suppliers

                                   1,106 

                                   1,339 

Others

                                      917 

                                      460 

VAT receivables

                                   3,778 

                                   4,922 

Total other current assets

                                   8,150 

                                   8,931 

 The item "Accruals and prepayments" mainly includes the payments for software licenses, leases and maintenance services already paid but pertaining to subsequent financial years as well as revenues already accrued on services not yet completed. The increase compared to the previous year is the result of the higher costs for the use of third-party software licenses, and the enlargement of the consolidation area.

The item "Advances to suppliers" as of December 31, 2022 mainly includes advance payments for consulting and services not yet performed. 

The decrease of VAT receivables is due to the lower credit recorded by some companies of the Group.

NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES

  1. Long-term debts and other financial liabilities  

The following table presents the situation of the item as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:


(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Long-term bank borrowings

                               139,534 

                               209,019 

Term between 1 and 5 years

                              114,963 

                              181,414 

Term over 5 years

                                24,571 

                                27,605 

Other non-current financial liabilities

                                 56,401 

                                   1,076 

Put/call option liability Agenzia Italia S.p.A.

                                17,812 

                                        -   

Put/call option liability Gruppo Lercari S.r.l.

                                32,672 

                                 (1,170)

Put/call option liability Zoorate S.r.l.

                                        -   

                                  1,498 

Non-current lease liabilities

                                  5,917 

                                     665 

Totale long-term debts and other financial liabilities

                               195,935 

                               420,107 

  

Bank loans

Non-current bank borrowings refer to the outstanding loans from Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A. for Euro 154,764 thousand, Crédit Agricole Italia S.p.A., for Euro 73,165 thousand, Banco BPM S.p.A., for Euro 46,316 thousand, Credito Emiliano S.p.A. for Euro 20,683 thousand, Unicredit S.p.A. for Euro 51,097 thousand, and BPER Banca S.p.A. for Euro 2,528 thousand.

The repayment schedule is as follows:


(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 

- between one and two years

                                 80,396 

                                 24,215 

- between two and three years

                                 81,595 

                                 35,682 

- between three and four years

                                 73,358 

                                 31,168 

- between four and five years

                                 61,028 

                                 23,898 

- more than five

                                 52,176 

                                 24,571 

Total

                               348,553 

                               139,534 

 Loans from Crédit Agricole Italia S.p.A.

  1. On June 28, 2018 the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Crédit Agricole Italia S.p.A., for an amount equal to Euro 20,000 thousand, paid in two tranches on June 28, 2018 and July 4, 2018. The schedule of the loan provides for six-monthly reimbursements starting from December 31, 2018 to June 30, 2025, at a yearly interest rate equal to 3-month Euribor increased by 0.90%, subject to variation at each payment date based on the ratio between the Net Financial Indebtedness and EBITDA. 

  2. On March 30, 2020 the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Crédit Agricole Italia S.p.A., for an amount equal to Euro 15,000 thousand, expiring on June 30, 2026, at a yearly fixed rate equal to 1.05%

  3. On August 9, 2022 the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Credit Agricole Italia S.p.A., disbursed in the fourth quarter for Euro 60,000 thousand, with expiration date at June 30, 2028, with a variable interest rate equal to 3-month Euribor, increased by a spread of 1.65%.

With regard to such loans, the Issuer is obliged to comply with the following consolidated financial covenant: ratio between Net Financial Position and EBITDA not over 3.25 in 2022, and not over 3.00 starting from 2023.

Loan from Banco BPM S.p.A.

On September 5, 2022,  the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Banco BPM S.p.A., for a total amount equal to Euro 50,000 thousand, with a variable interest rate equal to 6-month Euribor, increased by a spread of 1.80% on a credit line equal to Euro 35,000 thousand ("Line A"), with expiration date at June 30, 2028, and a spread of 2.00% on a bullet credit line equal to Euro 15,000 thousand ("Line B"), with expiration date at December 31, 2028. In addition, on 50% of the financed amount, and until the expiration date of each credit line, a derivative contract was signed into to hedge the interest rate, which is converted to a fixed rate at 2.39% for the Line A, and 2.485% for the Line B, increased by the margins described above.

With regard to the loan obtained from Banco BPM S.p.A., the Issuer is obliged to comply with the following consolidated financial covenant, as resulting from the consolidated financial statement for each full and half year, clarifying that the economic data are to be considered on an yearly basis: ratio between Net Financial Position and EBITDA not over 3.0.

Loans from Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A.

On March 30, 2021 the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A., for an amount equal to Euro 80,000 thousand, expiring March 30, 2028, with a fixed interest rate equal to 1.45%. We point out that such loan was partially used for the early reimbursement of the previous loans of the same bank, which had a residual debt equal to Euro 37,009 thousand.

On July 29, 2022 the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A. composed of two tranches, respectively of Euro 40,000 thousand and 60,000 thousand, both disbursed in 2022. The contract provides, for both tranches of the loan, an expiration date of December 31, 2028, with an interest rate equal to the 6-month Euribor rate, increased by a margin of 2.00%. In addition, on 60% of the disbursed amount, and until December 31, 2026, a derivative contract was signed to hedge the interest rate, which is converted to a fixed rate at 1.396%, increased by the margin of 2.00%.

As regard the loan obtained from Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A., the Group is obliged to comply with the following consolidated financial covenants: i) ratio between Net Financial Position and EBITDA not over 3.5 in 2022, not over 3.0 in 2023 and not over 2.5 starting from 2024; ii) ratio between Net Financial Position and Equity not over 2.0. In addition, in the event that the ratio between Net Financial Position and EBITDA should result higher than 2.0 but lower that 2.5. the Issuer is obliged not to distribute profits and/or reserves made up of undistributed profits from previous years in excess of 50%, while in the event that such ratio should result higher than 2.5, the Issuer is obliged not to distribute profits and/or reserves made up of undistributed profits from previous years in excess of 25%.

Loans from Unicredit S.p.A.

On February 26, 2021 the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Unicredit S.p.A., for an amount equal to Euro 10,000 thousand, expiring February 28, 2026, with a variable interest rate equal to 3-month Euribor increased by 1.60%. On such loan we took a derivative contract to hedge the variable rate, which converts the 3-month Euribor interest rate into a yearly fixed rate of minus 0.15% and whose fair value as of December 31, 2021 shows a negative value equal to Euro 16 thousand.

On August 9, 2022 the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Unicredit S.p.A., for an amount equal to Euro 50,000 thousand, with expiration date at August 31, 2028, with a variable interest rate equal to 3-month Euribor, increased by a spread of 1.80%. In addition, on 60% of the financed amount, equal to Euro 30,000 thousand, and until August 29, 2025, a derivative contract was signed into to hedge the interest rate, which is converted to a fixed rate at 1.435%, increased by the margin of 1.80%. 

As regard the loans obtained from Unicredit S.p.A., the Group is obliged to comply with the following consolidated financial covenant, as resulting from the consolidated financial statements for each full and half year, clarifying that the economic data are to be considered on a yearly basis: ratio between Net Financial Position and EBITDA not over 3.0. In addition, in the event that such ratio should be higher than 2.25, the Issuer is obliged not to distribute or resolve the distribution of profits of the year in amounts exceeding 50% of the consolidated annual net income.

Loans from Credito Emiliano S.p.A.

On September 9, 2021 the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Credito Emiliano S.p.A., for an amount equal to Euro 20,000 thousand, expiring September 9, 2026, with a fixed interest rate equal to 0.58%, We point out that such loan was mainly used for the early reimbursement of the previous loans of the same bank, which had a residual debt equal to Euro 16,798 thousand.

On November 2, 2022 the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Credito Emiliano S.p.A., for an amount equal to Euro 10,000 thousand, with expiration date at November 2, 2026, with a variable interest rate equal to Euribor 1-month, increased by a spread of 0.90%

As regard the loans obtained from Credito Emiliano S.p.A., the Group is obliged to comply with the following consolidated financial covenant, as resulting from the consolidated financial statements for each full and half year: ratio between Net Financial Position and EBITDA not over 3.0.

It is specified that for the calculation of the above ratios, based on the current contractual agreements with the banks. with the exception of the loans with Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A., the calculation of the Net Financial Position also includes the value of the Moneysupermarket.com shares, the amount of which as of December 31, 2022 is equal to Euro 95,448 thousand.

The Group has complied with these covenants as of December 31, 2022. 

Changes in liabilities

We provide below the table required by IAS 7 about the changes of the liabilities related to financing activities:

(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2021 

 Cash flows 

 Others 

 As of December 31, 2022 

Crédit Agricole Italia S.p.A.

                                 20,956 

                                 57,000 

                            (4,791)

                            73,165 

Credito Emiliano S.p.A.

                                 17,658 

                                   7,646 

                            (4,621)

                            20,683 

Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A.

                                 79,893 

                                 83,333 

                            (8,462)

                          154,764 

Banco BPM S.p.A.

                                 14,540 

                                 34,160 

                            (2,384)

                            46,316 

Unicredit S.p.A.

                                   6,487 

                                 46,535 

                            (1,925)

                            51,097 

BPER Banca S:p.A.

                                         -   

                                   2,528 

                                   -   

                              2,528 

Long-term borrowings

139,534

231,202

(22,183)

348,553


The "Cash flows" column includes the non-current portion of the new obtained loans. 

The "Others" column refers to the reclassification among current liabilities of the portions of the loans that will expire during the next twelve months.

Other non-current financial liabilities

Finally, "Other non-current financial liabilities" are composed of the estimated liability for the exercise of the put/call option on the residual 49.9% stake of Gruppo Lercari S.r.l., equal to Euro 31,502 thousand, the estimated liability for the exercise of the put/call option on the residual 15.5% stake of Agenzia Italia S.p.A., equal to Euro 17,895 thousand, the estimated liability for the exercise of the put/call option on the residual 8% stake of Zoorate S.r.l., equal to Euro 1,498 thousand, and the leasing liabilities deriving from the adoption of IFRS 16, for Euro 6,582 thousand.

  1. Provisions for risks and charges

The following tables present the situation and the variation of the item as of and for the financial year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:

Year ended December 31, 2021


(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2020 

 Change in the scope of consolidation 

 Accrual 

 Utilization 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Provision for early repayment of mortgages

180

-

-

-

180

Other provisions for risks

1,670

-

72

(40)

1,702

Total

                    1,850 

                            - 

                         72 

(40)

1,882

   

Year ended December 31, 2022

(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2021 

 Change in the scope of consolidation 

 Accrual 

 Utilization 

 As of December 31, 2022 

Provision for early repayment of mortgages

180

-

-

-

180

Other provisions for risks

1,702

3

18

(147)

1,576

Total

                    1,882 

                           3 

                         18 

(147)

1,756

The provision for early repayment of mortgages includes the estimation of possible repayment of commissions received for mortgages intermediated in the year ended at the financial statements date, if particular clauses of the agreements with the banks provide for the reversal of the fees in case of loan prepayment or borrower default. The item also includes a provision of Euro 126 thousand, booked during financial year ended December 31, 2019, which refers to an estimation of the economic indemnities that may have to be paid to customers and/or assignees by a company of the Group which provides loans subsequently transferred to other intermediaries, in the event of requests for early repayment, pursuant to the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of September 11, 2019 about the repayment - pro rata - of the total cost of the receivable in case of early repayment.

The "Other provisions for risks" include, for Euro 875 thousand, the estimation of the liability deriving from the probable charging by some suppliers of the Group of additional costs compared to the previously foreseeable amount, related to professional services supplied to the Mortgage BPO business line. The management considers it appropriate to allot those amounts since, based on the agreements with these suppliers, the Group must bear the direct costs incurred by the suppliers in the provision of these services. The item also includes the measurement of the liability considered probable related to labor claims, for Euro 694 thousand (the utilization of this provision amount to Euro 147 thousand in 2022).

  1. Defined benefit program liabilities 

The following table presents the situation of the item as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:


(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Employee termination benefits

                                 18,420 

                                 17,936 

Directors' termination benefits

                                      460 

                                      290 

Long Term Incentive Plan liability

                                      145 

                                         -   

Total defined benefit program liabilities

                                 19,025 

                                 18,226 

  

The liability for Long Term Incentive Plan refers to the estimated liability due to the employees benefiting from the incentive plan, the amount of which is calculated based on the results to be achieved by the Group in the financial year ending December 31, 2024.

The economic and demographic assumptions used for the actuarial determination of the defined benefit program liabilities are provided below for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:


 

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 




ECONOMIC ASSUMPTIONS



Inflation rate

2.50%

1.50%

Discount rate

3.70%

1.00%

Salary growth rate

3.00%

2.50%

TFR growth rate

3.38%

2.63%

 

 

 

   

 

 

DEMOGRAPHIC ASSUMPTIONS

 

 

Expected mortality rate

Expected mortality rate of Italian population, according with data from Ragioneria Generale dello Stato (RG48)

Expected invalidity rate

Data split by sex, driven by the INPS model and projected to 2010. Expectations are constructed using the age and gender of the living pensioners at January 1, 1987 beginning from 1984, 1985, 1986 for the personnel of the credit sector.

Expected termination rate

As regards the expected termination, a rate of 7.50% p.a. has been applied for all employees. 

Expected retirements

It is expected that employees will reach the pensionable age provided within local laws

Expected early repayment rate

A rate of 3% p.a. has been applied.

 

 

 

Actuarial gains deriving from the liability as of December 31, 2022. equal to Euro 3,414 thousand, are recorded in equity, with the recognition in the comprehensive income statement.

The following table presents the variation of the employee termination benefit liability for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:

(euro thousand)

 

Value as of December 31, 2020

16,368

Current service cost

2,737

Interest cost

58

Change in the scope of consolidation

314

Benefits paid

(1,622)

Losses /(Gains) of the year

81

Value as of December 31, 2021

17,936

Current service cost

3,141

Interest cost

182

Change in the scope of consolidation

2,766

Benefits paid

(2,191)

Losses /(Gains) of the year

(3,414)

Value as of December 31, 2022

18,420

   

Expenses related to the defined benefit program liability that are recognized in the income statement are as follows:

 

Years ended

 

(euro thousand)

December 31, 2022

December 31, 2021

Current personnel cost

                 (3,141)

                 (2,737)

Implicit interest cost

                    (182)

                      (58)

Total expenses related to the defined benefit program

                 (3,323)

                 (2,795)


As regards the discount rate, the reference rate used for the valorization of this parameter is the Iboxx Eur Corporate AA 10+ index (maturity over 10 years) as of the valuation date. This term is in fact linked to the average residual permanence of the employees of the Group, weighed with the expected payments.

The directors' termination benefits for the companies of the Group are recognized pursuant to the resolutions of the relevant shareholders' meetings. The increase of Euro 168 thousand refers to the provision of the year.

  1. Other non-current liabilities

The item, equal to Euro 13,078 thousand as of December 31, 2022, mainly includes the non-current portion of the consideration still to be paid for the acquisition of Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l. for Euro 9,000 thousand, Onda S.r.l. for Euro 750 thousand, Gema Motor S.r.l. for Euro 188 thousand, Luna Service S.r.l. for Euro 100 thousand, Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l. for Euro 1,757 thousand and Sovime S.r.l. for Euro 1,163 thousand.

CURRENT LIABILITIES

  1. Short-term debts and other financial liabilities

The following table presents the situation of the item as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:


(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Short-term bank debts

                                   8,000 

                                   6,013 

Current portion of long-term loans:

                                 54,346 

                                 16,048 

Crédit Agricole Italia S.p.A.

                                   7,214 

                                   4,319 

Credito Emiliano S.p.A.

                                   6,993 

                                   2,330 

Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A.

                                 24,609 

                                      290 

Banca Popolare di Milano S.p.A.

                                   8,683 

                                   5,102 

Unicredit S.p.A.

                                   5,201 

                                   2,007 

BPER Banca S.p.A.

                                   1,646 

                                   2,000 

Other financial liabilities:

                                   3,948 

                                   3,150 

Current lease liabilities

                                   3,948 

                                   3,134 

Liability for derivative on loan

                                          - 

                                        16 

Short-term debts and other financial liabilities

                                 66,294 

                                 25,211 

The item "Short-term debts and other financial liabilities" amounting to Euro 66,294 thousand as of December 31, 2022, includes the current portions of bank borrowings and the interest payable on the outstanding loans, for an amount equal to Euro 54,346 thousand, the bank liabilities related to the short-term credit lines used by Agenzia Italia S.p.A., for an amount equal to Euro 8,000 thousand, the current portion of the lease liabilities (according to IFRS 16) for Euro 3,948 thousand. 

We provide below the table required by IAS 7 about the changes of the liabilities related to financing activities:


(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2021 

 Cash flows 

 Others 

 As of December 31, 2022 

Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A.

                                      290 

                                 16,518 

                              7,801 

                            24,609 

Credito Emiliano S.p.A.

                                   2,330 

                                        37 

                              4,626 

                              6,993 

Crédit Agricole Italia S.p.A.

                                   4,319 

                                 (1,350)

                              4,245 

                              7,214 

Banco BPM S.p.A.

                                   5,102 

                                   1,023 

                              2,558 

                              8,683 

Unicredit S.p.A.

                                   2,007 

                                   1,271 

                              1,923 

                              5,201 

BPER Banca S.p.A.

                                   2,000 

                                    (354)

                                   -   

                              1,646 

Short-term borrowings

16,048

17,145

21,153

54,346

  

The "Cash flows" column includes the current portion of the new obtained loans. net of the reimbursements of the period.

The "Others" column refers to the reclassification among current liabilities of the portions of the loans that will expire during the next twelve months.

  1. Trade and other payables

Trade and other payables include the payables to suppliers for the purchase of goods and services, for Euro 41,980 thousand as of December 31, 2022, compared to Euro 43,580 thousand as of December 31, 2021.

  1. Tax payables  

Tax payables include payables for current taxes. As of December 31, 2022, the item includes mainly the liability for accrued IRES and IRAP. It is worth pointing out that during the financial year ended December 31, 2022. the Group paid a total amount of Euro 3,161 thousand for the final balance of the income taxes related to financial year 2021 and for the advances on the income taxes related to financial year 2022, and Euro 3,690 thousand related to the second installment of the substitute tax related to the revaluations.

  1. Other current liabilities

The following table presents the situation of the item as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:


(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Liabilities to personnel

                                 18,981 

                                 16,712 

Social security liabilities

                                   6,686 

                                   5,256 

Social security liabilities on behalf of employees

                                   3,735 

                                   3,856 

Accruals

                                   5,791 

                                   2,826 

VAT liabilities

                                   2,678 

                                   2,052 

Consideration for the purchase of Zoorate S.r.l.

                                         -   

                                   1,052 

Advances from clients

                                 13,220 

                                 15,600 

Other liabilities

                                   9,554 

                                   5,516 

Total other current liabilities

                                 60,645 

                                 52,870 

   

Liabilities to personnel are mainly liabilities for salaries accrued in December, paid at the beginning of 2023, for accrued holidays and for deferred expenses as of December 31, 2022 that are still to be paid and bonus liabilities for the financial year 2022 not yet paid as of December 31, 2022. The increase compared to the previous year is mainly due to the increase in the average number of employees.

The item "Accruals" mainly includes deferred revenues linked to outsourcing activities performed by the Leasing & Rental BPO/IT business line, and deferred revenues linked to the activities of subsidiary Zoorate S.r.l., The increase with respect to the previous year is mainly due both to the inclusion of Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l. in the consolidation area, and to higher deferred revenues within the Leasing & Rental BPO/IT business line.

The item "Advances from clients" mainly includes payables to customers of the Insurance BPO business line for advances received for claim settlements for Euro 9,015 thousand, payables to customers of the Loans BPO business line for Euro 2,482 thousand, payables of the subsidiary Centro Finanziamenti S.p.A. to its loan buyers for expected early repayments on the transferred loans for Euro 1,784 thousand, and payables to customers of the Leasing & Rental BPO/IT business line, for advances received by subsidiary Agenzia Italia S.p.A. in relation to car stamp duties to be paid in the short term, amounting to Euro 870 thousand. 

The item "Other payables" mainly includes the unpaid portion of the consideration for the acquisition of the Lercari Group, SOS Tariffe S.r.l., Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l., Luna Service S.r.l., Onda S.r.l. and Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l., for a total amount equal to Euro 6,350 thousand.

  1. Shareholders' equity

The following table presents the situation of the item as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:


(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Share capital

949

970

Legal reserve

202

202

Other reserves

21,736

47,425

Retaind earnings

247,438

215,802

Total Group shareholders' equity

270,325

264,399

Other reserves of minority interest

1,345

3,179

Retained income of minority interest

654

1,492

Total shareholders' equity

272,324

269,070

 

  1. For the changes in shareholders' equity, refer to the relevant table.

  2. On April 28, 2022 the shareholders' meeting resolved the distribution of a dividend of Euro 0.40 per share, for a total amount of Euro 15,239 thousand. Such dividend has been paid out with ex-dividend date May 16, 2022 record date May 17, 2022 and payable date May 18, 2022.

  3. The Company, as of December 31, 2022, has a share capital of Euro 1,012,354.01, formed by 40,000,000 ordinary shares without nominal value, unchanged if compared to December 31, 2021.

  4. As of December 31, 2022, the Issuer holds 2,488,954 own shares, equal to 6.222% of ordinary share capital, for a total cost of Euro 37,801 thousand. Being the shares without nominal value, the purchase cost is deducted from the share capital for an amount implicitly corresponding to the nominal value, equal to Euro 63 thousand as of December 31, 2022, and from available reserves for an amount equal to the remaining part of the purchase cost.

The following table presents the impact of the purchase and sale of own shares by the companies of the Group on the consolidated share capital and net equity of the shareholders of the Issuer as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:


(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Share capital underwritten and paid

                                   1,012 

                                   1,012 

Own shares' nominal value

                                     (63) 

                                     (42) 

Total share capital

                                      949 

                                      970 


(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Other reserves gross of own shares

                               307,177 

                               276,320 

Surplus on own shares

                              (37,801) 

                              (12,891) 

Total other reserves

                               269,376 

                               263,429 


  1. Stock option plans

  1. The following table summarizes the variation of the stock options during the year: 





Stock options as of January 1, 2022


822,507

Stock options offered in 2022

 


277,000

Stock options cancelled due to resignations in 2022

 


(4,500)

Stock options exercised in 2022

 


(6,500)

Stock options as of December 31, 2022

 


1,088,507

(of which vested as of December 31, 2022

 


624,007

 

 

 

 

  1.   

  2. The outstanding stock options as of December 31, 2022 are as follows:


Date of shareholders' meeting resolution

Date of assignment

Vesting date

Expiry date

# options

Strike price

Value of the option








April 27, 2017

March 12, 2018

March 12, 2021

March 11, 2024

        464,007 

       13.549 

           2.61 

April 27, 2017

July 5, 2019

July 8, 2022

July 7, 2025

        160,000 

       15.887 

           3.21 

April 27, 2017

September 1, 2020

September 1, 2023

August 31, 2026

          24,000 

       22.755 

           4.90 

April 29, 2021

November 15, 2021

November 15, 2024

November 14, 2027

        163,500 

       44.379 

           8.77 

April 29, 2021

May 12, 2022

May 12, 2025

May 11, 2028

          65,000 

       30.316 

           6.86 

April 29, 2021

November 2, 2022

November 2, 2025

November 1, 2028

        212,000 

       21.868 

           9.24 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total options

     1,088,507 

 

 

  1.  

  2. The weighted average price of the shares for the year ended December 31, 2022 is equal to Euro 30.622.

  3. Personnel costs for the year ended December 31, 2022 include Euro 797 thousand related to the Group's stock option plan. In the income statement for the year ended December 31, 2021 there are costs equal to Euro 479 thousand related to the stock option plan.

NOTES TO THE MAIN ITEMS OF THE CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT

  1. Revenues 

  1. The following table presents the details of the item for the financial years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:


 

Years ended

(euro thousand)

December 31,
2022

December 31,
2021

 

 

 

Broking Division revenues

131,042

134,248

BPO Division revenues

179,728

179,216

 

 

 

Total revenues

310,770

313,464

  1.  

  2. For comments on the evolution of revenues, please refer to the management report.

  1. Other income

  1. The following table presents the details of the item for the financial years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:


 

Years ended

 

(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Reimbursement of costs

                                   7,836 

                                   3,598 

Others

                                   1,625 

                                   1,373 

Grants

                                      187 

                                      111 

Total other income

                                   9,648 

                                   5,082 

  1.  

  2. The item "Reimbursement of costs" includes incomes from the re-invoicing of expenses incurred on behalf of customers. The increase for the period is mainly attributable to the contribution of the subsidiary Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l..

  1. Services costs

The following table presents the details of the item for the financial years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:


 

Years ended

 

(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Marketing expenses

(49,089)

(48,956)

Notarial and appraisal services

(32,888)

(40,547)

Technical, legal and administrative advice

(17,216)

(13,495)

Commission payout

(6,145)

(4,784)

Rental and lease expenses

(4,688)

(4,064)

Post and courier expenses

(3,365)

(3,363)

IT Services

(2,030)

(2,264)

Utilities and cleaning costs

(1,890)

(1,399)

Telecommunications

(1,372)

(1,631)

Travel expenses

(1,270)

(586)

Other general expenses

(8,060)

(9,546)

Total services costs

(128,013)

(130,635)

   

"Marketing expenses" refer to activities aimed at increasing the awareness and reputation of the Group and of its brands and to acquire new perspective clients. In particular, these costs mainly include costs for online advertising for Euro 38,441 thousand, including the purchase of keywords and banners, and costs for offline advertising for Euro 8,465 thousand, including the purchase of advertising space on TV, radio and print media..

"Notary and appraisal services" mainly refer to services purchased by the BPO Division and show a significant drop, due to lower business volumes whithn notary services, consistent with the revenue trend.

"Technical, legal and administrative advice" costs refer to expenses incurred for professional advice for legal, financial and fiscal matters, for audit activities, for administrative and operating support, as well as for IT and technology consulting. The increase compared to the previous year is the result of the higher costs of the Group for strategic, financial, fiscal and compliance advice, mainly in relation to the acquisitions in the period. In particular, the item includes one-off costs for legal and financial advice for an amount equal to Euro 2,091 thousand.

"Commission payout" is related in particular to the broking fees paid to the agents of the Money360 network, whose increase is partly due to the higher volumes realized by the subsidiary.

"Rental and lease expenses" include mainly the fees paid by the companies of the Group for software use costs. The increase compared to the previous year is due to the higher software use costs. 

"Postage and delivery charges" refer mainly to expenses incurred for the shipping of documentation on behalf of the clients of the BPO Division. 

"IT Services" refer to the various IT services provided, in order to support the operating activities of subsidiary Agenzia Italia S.p.A.. 

The "Other general expenses" include costs of various services, such as administrative and document scanning services used by subsidiary Agenzia Italia S.p.A., for Euro 3,391 thousand.

  1. Personnel costs

The following table presents the details of the item for the financial years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:


 

Years ended

 

(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Wages and salaries

(67,160)

(60,480)

Social security contributions

(18,075)

(15,583)

Professional collaborators and project workers costs

(2,610)

(2,568)

Directors' compensation

(5,613)

(6,203)

Defined benefit program costs

(4,635)

(4,135)

Other costs

(598)

(471)

Stock options

(979)

(479)

Total personnel costs

(99,670)

(89,919)

The increase compared to the previous financial year is mainly due to the growth of the average headcount, due to the enlargement of the consolidation area.

The average headcount is as follows:


 

Years ended

 

December 31, 2022

December 31, 2021

 

 

 

Managers

                    33 

                    31 

Supervisors

                    89 

                    74 

Employees

               2,333 

               2,224 

Professional collaborators and project workers

                  100 

                    32 

 

 

 

Average headcount

               2,555 

               2,361 

 

 

 

Headcount in Italy

               1,927 

               1,764 

Headcount in Romania

                  531 

                  459 

Headcount in Albania

                    93 

                  134 

Headcount in Germany

                      4 

                      4 

 

 

 


  1. Other operating costs

Other operating costs as of December 31, 2022 amount to Euro 11,681 thousand (Euro 10,293 thousand as of December 31, 2021) and mainly include non-deductible VAT costs relating to the financial years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively equal to Euro 7,511 thousand and Euro 6,971 thousand.

The item also includes expenses for the purchase of consumables and minor equipment for Euro 709 thousand (Euro 610 thousand in financial year ended December 31, 2021) and Euro 1,058 thousand relating to provisions (Euro 941 thousand in the financial year ended December 31, 2021).

  1. Depreciation and amortization

The following table presents the details of the item for the financial years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:


 

Years ended

 

(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Amortization of intangible assets

                               (15,750)

                               (14,976)

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment

                                 (6,276)

                                 (5,811)

of which IFRS 16 effect

                                 (3,472)

                                 (3,205)

Total depreciation and amortization

                               (22,026)

                               (20,787)

Depreciation and amortization costs in the financial year ended December 31, 2022 includes the amortization costs related to the higher values of the software and trademark following the consolidation of the Lercari Group for Euro 5,320 thousand, the higher values of the software and trademark following the consolidation of SOS Tariffe for Euro 3,247 thousand, the higher value of the customer equity following the consolidation of Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l. for Euro 711 thousand, the higher value of the software following the consolidation of Onda S.r.l., for Euro 723 thousand, and the higher value of the software acquired following the consolidation of Zoorate S.r.l. for Euro 917 thousand.

The increase of the amortization costs of intangible assets is mainly attributable to the higher values of the intangible assets recognized following the completion of the purchase price allocation related to the acquisitions of Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l., Onda S.r.l and Luna Service S.r.l., partially offset by the completion of the amortization of the higher values of the assets recognized following the consolidation of Agenzia Italia S.p.A. and Eagle & Wise Service S.r.l..

The increase of the amortization costs of property, plant and equipment, is due to the higher value of such item, partially attributable to the adoption of the IFRS 16 accounting standard.

  1. Net financial income

The following table presents the details of the item for the financial years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:


 

Years ended

 

(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Financial income

                                      356 

                                      469 

Income/(losses) from participations

                                        46 

                                      (78)

Income from acquisition of control

                                 (4,079)

                                 (1,752)

Other financial expenses

                                    (143)

                                    (104)

Dividends paid to third-party shareholders

                                    (465)

                                    (465)

Implicit interest cost on defined benefit program liability

                                    (182)

                                      (58)

Income/(losses) from financial assets/liabilities

                                   3,690 

                                 (1,783)

Net financial income/(loss)

                                    (777)

                                 (3,771)

  

Financial income mainly includes the interest income accrued in the period from the use of Group's available liquidity. 

Gains from participations refers to the evaluation with the equity method of the participations in the associated companies CFN Generale Fiduciaria S.p.A. and GSA S.r.l..

The item "Interest expense - borrowings" mainly includes Euro 3,916 thousand for the interest expenses on bank loans, increasing compared to the previous year, as a result of the higher outstanding loans and the higher interest rates on variable-rate loans.

The item "Other financial expenses" includes Euro 143 thousand related to the accounting of the right of use in relation to rental buildings, according to IFRS 16.

Dividends paid to third-party shareholders refer to the dividend paid by Agenzia Italia S.p.A. to third-party shareholders for Euro 465 thousand.

The item "Income/(Losses) from financial assets/liabilities" mainly includes the dividends received from Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC for Euro 3,450 thousand.

  1. Income tax expense

The following table presents the details of the item for the financial years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:


 

Years ended

 

(euro thousand)

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 

Current income taxes

                               (11,299)

                               (11,241)

Income/(losses) from deferred tax assets

                                 (6,937)

                               (36,113)

Income tax expense

                               (18,236)

                               (47,354)

  

The item "Current income taxes" item includes IRES taxes for Euro 8,756 thousand, and IRAP taxes for Euro 2,543 thousand. 

The "Income/(losses) from deferred tax assets" item mainly includes the utilization of the period of the deferred tax assets related to the higher value of assets revaluated during 2020, for Euro 6,583 thousand. We point out that the item as of December 31, 2021 also included the write down of deferred tax assets on trademarks (amounting to Euro 28,801 thousand).

The reconciliation between the theoretical tax rate and the effective tax rate for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 is provided in the following table:

 

Years ended

 

 As of December 31, 2022 

 As of December 31, 2021 




Corporate income tax (IRES)



Theoretical tax rate

24.0%

24.0%

Differences due to costs non-deductible for IRES

3.7%

3.6%

Differences of the tax rate on foreign company income

0.0%

-0.1%

Impact of the tax benefits

-13.3%

-5.4%

Deferred tax assets DL 104/2020 art. 110

10.1%

39.4%

Others

0.0%

-0.3%




Effective IRES tax rate

24.5%

61.2%




Regional income tax (IRAP)



Theoretical tax rate

3.9%

3.7%

Differences due to costs non-deductible for IRAP

2.7%

5.9%

Impact of the tax benefits

-4.8%

-4.6%

Deferred tax assets DL 104/2020 art. 110

1.6%

6.4%

Others

-0.1%

0.0%




Effective IRAP tax rate

3.3%

11.4%

 

  1. Potential liabilities

In addition to what described in the previous notes, we do not recognize any further potential liability.

With reference to the preliminary investigation proceedings started on May 11, 2021 by the Italian Antitrust Authority against the subsidiary CercAssicurazioni.it S.r.l., the other insurance comparators and the main direct insurance companies operating in Italy, aimed at ascertaining whether the companies that offer price comparison services and the insurance companies involved in the proceedings have entered into an agreement that restricts competition by exchanging sensitive information on the economic conditions of direct sales of third-party motor liability policies, we point out that on May 10, 2022 the Authority closed the proceedings without finding infringements and accepted the commitments presented by CercAssicurazioni.it S.r.l. and the other parties involved in the proceedings.

  1. Classes of financial assets and liabilities

In the balance sheet as of December 31, 2022 financial assets and liabilities are classified as follows:

All the financial liabilities recorded in the balance sheet as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 are stated at amortized cost, except the earn outs, measured at fair value (category 3). The method for the assessment at fair value of these liabilities is based on the income approach. The incomes deriving from the measurement of these liabilities recorded in the income statement for the financial year ended December 31, 2022, is equal to Euro 236 thousand.

Among financial assets as of December 31, 2022 are the shares of Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC (Euro 95,448 thousand), measured at fair value (category 1) through OCI, and the notes of the "Igloo" securitization (Euro 4,737 thousand) measured at fair value (category 2) through profit and loss, and insurance and investment products attributable to some companies of the Group (Euro 2,768 thousand) measured at fair value (category 2) through profit and loss. 

  1. Related parties

Related party transactions, including intra-group transactions, are part of the ordinary business operations of the Group, and do not include any unusual or atypical transactions.

Compensation paid to the members of the governing and controlling bodies, general managers and managers with strategic responsibilities 

The following table shows the compensation paid to the members of the governing and controlling bodies, general managers and managers with strategic responsibilities in the year ended December 31, 2022:

Name

Office

Holding period of the office

Term of the office

Compensation for the office

Non-
monetary benefits

Bonus and other incentives

Other

From

To

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Pescarmona

Chairman

1/1/2022

12/31/2022

Appr. of 2022 fin. stat.

400

30

240

201

Alessandro Fracassi

CEO

1/1/2022

12/31/2022

Appr. of 2022 fin. stat.

400

14

240

198

Anna Maria Artoni

Director

1/1/2022

12/31/2022

Appr. of 2022 fin. stat.

38

-

-

-

Giulia Bianchi Frangipane

Director

1/1/2022

12/31/2022

Appr. of 2022 fin. stat.

37

-

-

-

Fausto Boni

Director

1/1/2022

12/31/2022

Appr. of 2022 fin. stat.

30

-

-

-

Chiara Burberi

Director

1/1/2022

12/31/2022

Appr. of 2022 fin. stat.

40

-

-

-

Matteo De Brabant

Director

1/1/2022

12/31/2022

Appr. of 2022 fin. stat.

35

-

-

-

Klaus Gummerer

Director

1/1/2022

12/31/2022

Appr. of 2022 fin. stat.

31

-

-

-

Valeria Lattuada

Director

1/1/2022

12/31/2022

Appr. of 2022 fin. stat.

37

-

-

-

Marco Zampetti

Director

1/1/2022

12/31/2022

Appr. of 2022 fin. stat.

92

-

-

-

Stefano Gnocchi

Chairman of the board of st. aud.

1/1/2022

12/31/2022

Appr. of 2022 fin. stat.

30

-

-

-

Paolo Burlando

Statutory auditor

1/1/2022

12/31/2022

Appr. of 2023 fin. stat.

47

-

-

-

Francesca Masotti

Statutory auditor

1/1/2022

12/31/2022

Appr. of 2023 fin. stat.

39

-

-

-

Alessio Santarelli

Manager with strategic responsibilities

1/1/2022

12/31/2022

N/A

-

16

200

361

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The column "other" includes the compensation for office in subsidiaries, wages received as employees, and the provisions for benefits upon termination.

Fees paid to the independent auditors

The following table provides the fees paid to the independent auditors by the Issuer and its subsidiaries during the year ended December 31, 2022, separating the fees paid for audit services from the fees paid for other attestation services:


 

Year ended

 

December 31, 2022

(euro thousand)

Gruppo MutuiOnline S.p.A.

Subsidiaries

 

 

 

Audit

107

414

Audit of non financial disclosure pursuant to Lesislative Decree 254/2016

32

-

 

 

 

Total fees paid to the independent auditor 

139

414

 

  1. Disclosure on public grants pursuant to article 1, comma 125, of Law 124/2017

In relation to the provisions of Article 1, comma 125, of Law 124/2017, subsequently reworded by Article 35 of Law Decree 34/2019, regarding the obligation to provide evidence in the notes of the financial statements of any public disbursements received during the financial year by way of grants, subsidies, advantages, contributions or aids, in cash or in kind, not of a general nature (therefore excluding tax benefits and contributions that may be granted to subjects which meet certain conditions), but attributable to bilateral relations with the subjects referred to in paragraph 125 of that article, the Group has not received public funds during 2022. For a complete disclosure, please refer to the National Register of State Aid.

  1. Subsequent events 

Purchase of own shares

Pursuant to the share buyback program within the limits and with the purposes of the authorization granted by the shareholders' meeting of April 28, 2022, after December 31, 2022, the Group purchased 65,477 own shares, equal to 0.164% of the share capital.

In addition, after December 31, 2022, following the exercise of stock options by employees of the Group, the Issuer sold a total of 100 own shares in portfolio.

As of the date of approval of this consolidated financial report the Issuer owns in total 2,554,331 own shares, equal to 6.386% of share capital, for a total cost equal to Euro 39,653 thousand.

Closing of Rastreator and LeLynx acquisition

On February 1, 2023, following the fulfilment of the suspensive conditions and the exercise by the sellers of the put option relating to LeLynx SAS, the closing of the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of Rastreator.com Ltd, Preminen Price Comparison Holdings Ltd and LeLynx SAS, pre-announced on August 29, 2022, was completed.

  1. Earnings per share

Earnings per share for the year ended December 31, 2021, equal to Euro 0.43, are calculated by dividing the net income attributable to the shareholders of the Issuer for the year (Euro 16,347 thousand) by the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the financial year ended December 31, 2021 (38,128,936 shares).

Earnings per share for the year ended December 31, 2022, equal to Euro 1.24, are calculated by dividing the net income attributable to the shareholders of the Issuer for the year (Euro 46,875 thousand) by the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the financial year ended December 31, 2022 (37,831,135 shares).

For the financial year ended December 31, 2022 diluted earnings per share are equal to Euro 1.22 as the average number of equity instruments (stock options) that meet the requirements provided by IAS 33 to generate dilutive effects on the earnings per share is equal to 645,323.


Milan, March 15, 2023



For the Board of Directors

The Chairman

(Ing. Marco Pescarmona)


____________________________

 












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ANNUAL REPORT 



AS OF AND FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022




Prepared according to IAS/IFRS

  1. ANNUAL REPORT AS OF AND FOR YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022

    1. Financial statements

      1. Statement of financial position

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  1. Basis of preparation of the financial statements

  1. This annual report, including the statement of financial position, comprehensive income statement, statement of cash flows and statement of changes in shareholders' equity as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the relevant notes, has been prepared in accordance with IFRS issued by the International Accounting Standard Board ("IASB") and the related interpretations SIC/IFRIC, adopted by the European Commission. Besides it has been prepared in accordance with CONSOB resolutions No. 15519 and No. 15520 dated July 27, 2006, with ESMA orientation 32-382-1138 of March 4, 2021, with the guidance Consob n. 5/21 of April 29, 2021, and with art. 149-duodecies of the Issuer Regulations.

The financial statements are prepared at cost, with the exception of the items specifically described in the following notes, for which the measurement at fair value is adopted. The fair value is the price at which an asset could be exchanged, or a liability discharged, between knowledgeable, willing parties in an arm's length transaction as of the date of measurement.

IFRS 13 provides for a hierarchy of fair value which classifies on three levels the inputs for the assessment adopted to evaluate fair value. The hierarchy of fair value gives the highest priority to quoted prices (not adjusted) on active markets for the same assets and liabilities (data of Level 1) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (data of Level 3). 

Level 1 inputs are quoted prices (not adjusted) for the same assets and liabilities on active markets, which the entity may access as of the assessment date.

Level 2 inputs are inputs different from the quoted prices included in Level 1 which can be observed directly or indirectly for the asset or the liability. 

Level inputs 3 are unobservable inputs for the asset or the liability.

Receivables are derecognized if the right to receive the cash flows has been transferred or when the entity no longer controls such financial assets.

Payables are derecognized only when they are settled or the specific obligation is met or canceled or expired.

In particular, the IFRS have been consistently applied to all the periods presented.

  1. All the amounts included in the tables of the following notes are in thousands of Euro.

  2. Following the effectiveness of EU Regulation N 1606/1002 and the related national provisions of enactment, starting from year 2007, Gruppo MutuiOnline S.p.A. adopts the International Financial Standard issued by the International Accounting Standard Board ("IASB") and the related interpretations, adopted by the European Commission ("IFRS"). IFRS should be understood as the International Financial Reporting Standards, the International Accounting Standards ("IAS"), the interpretations of the International Financial Reporting Interpretation Committee ("IFRIC"), previously denominated Standing Interpretations Committee ("SIC").

  3. The financial statement schemes adopted are in accordance to the ones provided by IAS 1 ("Presentation of financial statements") and in particular:

In addition, in accordance with revised IAS 1 ("Presentation of financial statements"), in the income statement after the net income for the period we also present the comprehensive income components.

These consolidated financial statements have been prepared according to the going concern assumption, due to the economic and financial results achieved.

The most significant provisions adopted for the preparation of the consolidated financial statements are the following: 

  1. Intangible assets

Intangible assets are non-monetary assets that are distinctly identifiable and able to generate future economic benefits. These items are recognized at purchase cost and/or internal production cost, including all costs to bring the assets available for use, net of accumulated amortization and impairment, if any. 

Amortization commences when the asset is available for use and is systematically calculated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the asset. 

(a)     Licenses and other rights

Licenses and other rights are amortized on a straight-line basis in order to allocate their acquisition cost over the shorter of useful life and duration of the relevant contracts, starting from the moment of acquisition of the rights and usually lasting for a period of 3 to 5 years.

  1. Property, plant and equipment 

Property, plant and equipment are stated at historical cost of acquisition or production less accumulated depreciation and impairment. Historical cost includes expenditure that is directly attributable to the acquisition. 

All other repairs and maintenance are charged to the income statement during the financial period in which they are incurred. Subsequent costs are included in the asset's carrying amount or recognized as a separate asset, as appropriate, only when it is probable that future economic benefits associated with the item will flow to the Group and the cost of the item can be reliably measured. When assets are composed of different identifiable components whose useful life is significantly different, each component is depreciated separately applying the "component approach". 

Depreciation is charged to each component on a systematic basis over the estimated useful life from the date of initial recognition.

Property, plant and equipment are depreciated with useful lives as follows:

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The assets' residual values and useful lives are reviewed, and adjusted if appropriate, at each balance sheet date.

  1. Leases

  1. IFRS 16 sets out the principles for the recognition, measurement, presentation and the disclosure of leases and requires lessees to account for all leases under a single on-balance sheet model similar to the accounting for finance leases under IAS 17. At the commencement date of a lease, a lessee recognizes a liability to make lease payments (i.e. the lease liability) and an asset representing the right to use the underlying asset during the lease (i.e. the right of use asset). Lessees recognize the interest expenses on the lease liability and the depreciation expense on the right of use asset.

  2. Lessees will be also required to re-measure the lease liability on the occurrence of certain events (e.g. a change in the lease term, a change in the future lease payments resulting from a change in an index or rate used to establish those payments). The lessee will generally recognize the re-measurement amount of the lease liability as an adjustment to the right of use of the asset.

  3. The standard includes two recognition exemptions for lessees: 

  1. Investments in subsidiaries

An entity is defined subsidiary when the Issuer owns, directly or indirectly, the control. 

Control is connected with the ongoing existence of all the following conditions:

The existence of potential voting rights exercisable at the reporting date is also taken into consideration for the purposes of determining control.

  1. Investments in subsidiaries are measured at cost adjusted for any impairment loss recognized in the income statement. When the motives for such losses are no longer valid, the value of investments is increased up to the relevant cost of acquisition. This recovery is recognized in the income statement.

  2. Investments in joint ventures and associated companies 

A joint venture is an arrangement whereby the parties that have joint control of the arrangement have rights to the net assets of the arrangement. Joint control is the contractually agreed sharing of control of an arrangement, which exists only when decisions about the relevant activities require the unanimous consent of the parties sharing control.

An associated entity is a company, which is neither a subsidiary nor a joint venture, on which the Issuer exercises a significant influence. Significant influence is presumed when the Issuer owns, directly or indirectly, more than 20% of the ordinary share capital of a company.

Joint ventures and investments in associated entities are measured at the equity method. 

  1. Impairment of assets

At each balance sheet date the Issuer assesses property, plant and equipment, intangible assets and financial assets in order to identify possible indicators of impairment, deriving from both internal and external sources of the Company. If such indicators are identified, an estimate of the recoverable value is made and any impairment of the relevant book value is recognized in the income statement. The recoverable amount of an asset is the higher amount between its fair value, less sales costs, and its value in use, equal to actualized value of the expected cash flows of such asset. In calculating the value in use, the expected cash flows are discounted using a discount rate reflecting the current market value of the investments and the specific risks associated with the asset. 

The value in use of an asset that does not generate independent cash flows is determined in relation to the cash generating unit to which this asset belongs. Impairment is recognized in the income statement whenever the carrying amount of the asset and of the related cash generating unit exceeds its recoverable value. Whenever the circumstances causing impairment cease to exist, the book value of the asset, except the goodwill, is restored with the recognition in the income statement, up to the net value that the asset would have had if it were not impaired and regularly depreciated.

  1. Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash, bank deposits and highly liquid short term investments (readily convertible to cash within 3 months), that are easily convertible to cash and not subject to risk of change in value. Overdrafts are included in short-term borrowings and are measured at the fair value.

  1. Financial assets at fair value through OCI

Upon initial recognition, the Group can elect to irrevocably classify its equity investments as equity instruments designated at fair value through other comprehensive income ("OCI") when they meet the definition of equity under IAS 32 "Financial Instruments: Presentation" and are not held for trading. The classification is determined on an instrument-by-instrument basis. Gains and losses on these financial assets are never recycled to profit or loss. Dividends are recognized in the profit and loss statement when the right of payment has been established, except when the Group benefits from such proceeds as a recovery of part of the cost of the financial asset, in which case, such gains are recorded in OCI. Equity instruments designated at fair value through OCI are not subject to impairment assessment.

  1. Trade receivables and other credits

Trade receivables are valued initially at fair value and subsequently at amortized cost using the effective interest rate basis. 

Any losses arising as a result of impairment reviews are recognized in the income statement. In particular, IFRS 9 requires the Issuer to record expected credit losses on all its debt securities, loans and trade receivables, either over a 12-month period or on a lifetime basis (e.g. lifetime expected loss). The Issuer opted for the simplified approach and therefore records the expected losses on all trade receivable based on their residual contractual duration. The Issuer however continues to analytically consider the specificity of the sector and of some clients in its assessments.

In the presence of impairment indicators, the values of the assets are reduced to the present value of expected future cash flows and the differences are recognized in the income statement, with a provision for bad debts as counterbalance, offsetting trade receivables. If in subsequent periods the reasons for such impairments are no longer valid, the values of the assets are reinstated up to the amortized cost as if the impairment had never occurred.

  1. Own shares

Own shares are booked as reduction of shareholders' equity. Being the shares without nominal value, the purchase cost is deducted from the share capital for an amount implicitly corresponding to the nominal value and from the distributable reserves for an amount equal to the remaining part of the purchase cost. 

  1. Trade payables and financial liabilities

Financial liabilities, trade payables and other debts are initially recognized at fair value, net of transaction costs incurred, and are subsequently stated at amortized cost. Any difference between the proceeds (net of transaction costs) and the redemption value is recognized in the income statement over the period of the borrowings using the effective interest method. Amortization is determined based on the effective interest rate which equates, at the initial moment, the present value of cash flows connected with the liability and its initial recorded amount (amortized cost method).

Whenever expected future cash flows change, and these could be reliably estimated, the value of the liability is recalculated on the basis of the new cash flows and the initially determined effective internal rate of return.

  1. Defined benefit program liability

Employee termination benefits ("Trattamento Fine Rapporto", or "TFR"), which are compulsory for Italian companies in accordance with civil code, are considered by IFRS as a defined benefit program, based, among other things, on the period of employment and the remuneration of the employee during a predefined period. 

The TFR liability is determined by independent actuaries using the Projected Unit Credit Method to account for the time value of money. According to IAS 19 "revised" the adjustments deriving from the changes in actuarial assumptions are recorded in equity, by means of the recognition in the comprehensive income statements. The implicit interest cost for the adjustment of the present value of the TFR liability over time is recognized in the financial expenses in the income statement.

The legislative changes that became effective in 2007 had no significant impact on the evaluation method adopted by the Company because the percentage of employees adhering to the funds at the relevant date was low and besides the Company does not exceed the limits, provided by the new law and calculated on the average number of employees in the year in force, over which a company is obliged to contribute the accrued fund to the National Institute for Social Security ("INPS") when employees choose to keep their TFR in the company.

During the financial year ended December 31, 2022, the Group introduced a long-term incentive plan in favor of certain employees, linked to certain economic indicators achieved by the Group in the medium term. In accordance with IAS 19, the cost of this plan is recognized on a straight-line basis over the duration of the plan, in the income statement under personnel costs, together with interest and remeasurements of the related liability.

  1. Share based payments

The Company has a stock option plan for the benefit of directors, employees and other personnel. As per IFRS 2, stock option plans are valued at the fair value of the option at grant date, using methods that take into account the exercise price and vesting period of the option, the current stock price, the expected volatility and dividend payout of the shares, and the risk-free interest rate determined on the day of the option grant. 

As of the grant date the expense related to the stock option plan is recognized on a straight-line basis in personnel costs in the income statement over the vesting period of the option, and in a reserve in shareholders' equity.

With respect to the valuation of the stock options assigned to directors and employees of subsidiaries, if a mechanism to charge back the cost incurred to such subsidiaries is not present, the book value of the participations is increased by an amount equal to the cost incurred for the options, counter-balanced by the appropriate shareholders' equity reserve. 

  1. Revenue and cost recognition

Revenues and costs are recognized on an accrual basis. Services revenues are recognized when the services are performed.

IFRS 15 provides for the recognition of revenues for an amount which reflects the compensation at which the entity believes to be entitled in the economic transaction with the customer for the transfer of products and services.

Revenues and other income are recognized net of discounts, allowances and bonuses and the taxes directly related to the services.

Revenues are recognized in the income statement when it is probable that future economic benefits will flow to the Company.

  1. Costs are recognized as the assets and services are consumed during the relevant period or when they are incurred, when it is not possible to determine future economic benefits.

  1. Dividends

Dividends received are recognized when the Company obtains the right to receive the payment. This right arises on the date of the resolution of the shareholders' meeting of the subsidiary that distributes the dividends.

In the income statement, dividends received are classified among the revenues.

  1. Financial income and expenses

Interest income and expenses are recognized in the accrual period on the net value of the relevant financial assets and liabilities using the effective interest rate method.

Financial income and expenses are recognized on an accrual basis and recorded in the income statement in the accrual period.

  1. Taxation

Current income taxes are accounted on the basis of estimated taxable income and the relevant applicable tax rates.

Deferred income tax is provided in full on temporary differences arising between the tax bases of assets and liabilities (excluding goodwill) and their carrying amounts, and differences arising from undistributed reserves registered in the shareholders' equity of the subsidiaries when the timing of reversal of these differences is under the Group's control and they will probably reverse within a reliably foreseen period. Deferred income tax assets, including those on tax loss carry forwards, and not offset by deferred tax liabilities, are recognized to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profit will be available against which the temporary differences can be utilized. Deferred income taxes are calculated using tax rates (and laws) that are expected to apply when the related deferred income tax assets are realised or the deferred income tax liabilities are settled. 

Current and deferred income taxes are recognized in the income statement with the exception of the items that are recognized directly in shareholders' equity in which case the tax effect is accounted for in the relevant equity reserve. Current and deferred tax assets and liabilities are netted only when the entity has a legally enforceable right to offset the recognized amounts.

  1. Starting from the financial year ended December 31, 2006 the Company and its subsidiaries exercised, upon the occurrence of the conditions of law, the option for the tax consolidation regime as provided by Italian law, which allows to calculate the corporate income tax ("IRES") on a taxable income corresponding to the algebraic sum of the taxable incomes or losses of the Companies of the Group. The economic relationships, besides the mutual responsibilities and duties, among the holding and its subsidiaries that exercised the option, are regulated by contracts drawn up at the exercise of the option. Tax liabilities are counterbalanced by other current assets of the parent company versus its subsidiaries corresponding to the taxable income transferred within the tax consolidation regime.  

It is worth pointing out that subsidiaries Agenzia Italia S.p.A., Gruppo Lercari S.r.l. and Zoorate S.r.l. do not adhere to the tax consolidation regime.

Other taxes, not related to income, are recognized as operating costs in the income statement.

  1. Financial instruments

A financial instrument is any contract that gives rise to a financial asset of one entity and a financial liability or equity instrument of another entity.

IFRS 9 requires the initial recognition of financial assets and financial liabilities to be at fair value. Financial instruments arising from group transactions are initially recognized at their fair value. 

IFRS 9 Adoption

  1. IFRS 9 sets out the accounting of financial instruments with reference to the following areas: classification and measurement, impairment and hedge accounting. 

  2. The main areas of intervention on the discipline operated by the standard described below.

Classification and measurement of the financial assets and liabilities

  1. The Issuer does not own at present any financial liability measured at fair value through profit and loss due to the adoption of the so-called fair value option. Concerning financial assets, the new standard provides that the classification of the assets depends on the characteristics of the financial flows linked to such assets and to the business model used by the Issuer for their management. The Issuer at present does not own nor managed during the financial year any financial asset, such as debt securities, with sale purpose nor in absolute terms. In addition, the Issuer does not own participations as investments which could be included under IFRS 9 or derivatives, even embedded ones. Trade receivables are held to be cashed at the contractual maturities of the cash flows related to them in capital and interest, where applicable. The Issuer assessed the characteristics of the contractual cash flows of these instruments and concluded that they respect the criteria for the measurement at amortized cost according to IFRS 9. Therefore, it was not necessary to reclassify these financial instruments. We can arrive at the same conclusions for the items recorded as cash and cash equivalents.

Impairment

  1. IFRS 9 requires the Issuer to record expected credit losses on all its debt securities, loans and trade receivables, either over a 12-month period or on a lifetime basis (e.g. lifetime expected loss). The Issuer has opted the simplified approach and therefore will record the expected losses on every trade receivable based on their residual contractual duration. The Issuer however continues to analytically consider the specificity of the sector and of some clients in its assessments. 

Hedge accounting 

  1. Given that IFRS 9 does not modify the general principle according to which an entity accounts for the effective hedging instruments, the main changes compared to the previous regulation IAS 39 concern: (i) the hedge effectiveness test is only perspective and can also be based on qualitative aspects, replacing the previous 80-125% test and focusing on the economic relationship between hedge and hedged element (ii) the possibility to designate as subject to hedging only a component of risk also for non-financial elements (provided that the risk component can be separately identifiable and reliably estimated) (iii) introduction of the cost of hedging concept (iv) greater possibility to designate groups of elements as subject to hedging, including stratifications and some net positions. Without hedge accounting, the changes in the fair value of derivatives will continue to be recorded in the income statement. 

  1. Earnings per share

  1. Since the Company prepares both the consolidated and separate annual reports, the required information is presented only in the consolidated annual report.

  1. Accounting estimates and judgments

The preparation of the financial statements requires the application by the directors of principles and accounting methodologies that sometimes require the use of estimates and judgments based on historical experience and other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The application of these estimates and assumptions impacts on the amounts included in the statement of financial position, income statement, statement of cash flows and the notes to the financial statements. The resulting accounting estimates could differ from the related actual results because of the uncertainty influencing the assumptions.

For the Company, the estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities are those regarding the accounting representation of the stock options. The valuation of stock option plans is based on valuation techniques which take into consideration the expected volatility of share prices and the dividend yield. Should different assumptions be applied, the valuation of the stock option plans and the related expenses could be different.

The impairment test provides for the use of valuation methods based on estimations and assumptions which could be subject to significant changes with subsequent impacts on the results of the evaluations done.  

  1. New principles effective starting from the financial year ended December 31, 2022 not relevant to the Issuer

  1. The following standards, amendments and interpretations, applicable from January 1, 2020, are not relevant or they did not involve effects for the Issuer:

  1. Risk analysis

Gruppo MutuiOnline S.p.A. is a holding company and for this reason it is indirectly subject to the peculiar risks of its subsidiaries. In this respect, please refer to the notes to the consolidated financial statements and to the directors' report on operations of each subsidiary.

Instead the Company is autonomously subject to exchange and interest rate risk and liquidity risk.

Exchange and interest rate risk 

As of today, financial risk management is performed at Group level.

The Company presents a financial indebtedness equal to Euro 311,579 thousand, of which, however Euro 152,536 thousand are represented by short-term financial debts with subsidiaries within the Group's cash pooling services. In addition, current assets include cash and cash equivalents equal to Euro 234,474 thousand, of which Euro 27,614 thousand from subsidiaries within the Group's cash pooling services.

Currently the financial risk management policies of the companies of the Group provide a balanced split between fixed-rate and variable-rate loans, aimed at optimizing the cost of the loans over time. As of today, the risk of incurring in greater interest costs as a result of unfavorable variations of market interest rates, as better analyzed in the following, is mitigated by the subscription of hedging derivatives, which change the rate from floating to fixed, on a portion of the Group's debt.

  1. The interest rate on the loan from Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A., signed on July 29, 2022, is equal to 6-month Euribor increased by a spread equal to 2.00%. In addition, on 60% of the disbursed amount, and until December 31, 2026, a derivative contract was signed to hedge the interest rate, which is converted to a fixed rate at 1.396%, increased by the margin of 2.00%.

The interest rate on the bank loan from Credit Agricole Italia S.p.A., signed on August 9, 2022, is equal to 3-months Euribor, increased by a spread of 1.65%. 

The interest rate on the bank loan from Unicredit S.p.A., signed on August 9, 2022, is equal to 3-months Euribor, increased by a spread of 1.80%. In addition, on 60% of the financed amount, equal to Euro 30,000 thousand, and until August 29, 2025, a derivative contract was signed into to hedge the interest rate, which is converted to a fixed rate at 1.435%, increased by the margin of 1.80%. 

The interest rate on the bank loan from Banco BPM S.p.A., signed on September 5, 2022, is equal to 6-months Euribor, increased by a spread of 1.80% on a credit line equal to Euro 35,000 thousand ("Line A"), and a spread of 2.00% on a bullet credit line equal to Euro 15,000 thousand ("Line B"). In addition, on 50% of the financed amount, and until the expiration date of each credit line, a derivative contract was signed into to hedge the interest rate, which is converted to a fixed rate at 2.39% for the Line A, and 2.485% for the Line B, increased by the margins described above, and is subject to change over the term of the contract based on the change in the ratio between Net Financial Debt and EBITDA.

The interest rate on the bank loan from Credito Emiliano S.p.A., signed on November 2, 2022, is equal to 1-month Euribor, increased by a spread of 0.90%.

  1. The interest rate on the bank loan from Crédit Agricole Italia S.p.A., signed on June 28, 2018, is equal to 3-month Euribor increased by 0.90%, and it is subject to change during the length of the contract based on the change of the ratio between Net Financial Indebtedness and EBITDA.

  2. The interest rate on the loan from Unicredit S.p.A., obtained on February 26, 2021, is equal to 3-month Euribor increased by 1.60%. On such loan the Issuer subscribed a derivative hedging the variable rate, which converts the 3-months Euribor interest rate into a yearly fixed rate of -0.15%.

A possible unfavorable variation of the interest rate, equal to 1.0%, should produce an overall additional expense for the Issuer equal to Euro 1,575 thousand in 2023. It is worth pointing out that such variation of the interest rate would be more than compensated by the favorable impact on available liquidity.

  1. For the remaining loans a fixed rate is applied instead.

As regards to the coverage of exchange rate risk, it is worth pointing out that, as of the reference date of this report, there are no significant assets or liabilities denominated in currencies different from the Euro, with the exception of the Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC shares, amounting to Euro 95,448 thousand as of December 31, 2022, denominated in sterling, whose fluctuation can be considered limited. 

Liquidity risk

Liquidity risk is evident when a company is not able to procure financial resources to support short-term operations.

The Company holds cash and cash equivalent as of December 31, 2022 equal to Euro 234,474 thousand, of which Euro 27,614 thousand with subsidiaries, against current liabilities equal to Euro 202,609 thousand, of which, however Euro 152,536 thousand consist in current financial debts and other current liabilities with subsidiaries. Furthermore, the current assets include receivables and other current assets from subsidiaries equal to Euro 53,747 thousand, which have considerable liquidity, making such receivables easily collectable. This provides the Company with easily available financial resources to support short-term operations. Therefore, the management believes that liquidity risk for the Group is limited, even taking into account the disbursement of Euro 159,194 thousand on February 1st, 2023, related to the payment for the acquisition of 100% of the capital of Rastreator.com Ltd, Preminen Price Comparison Holdings Ltd and LeLynx SAS.

  1. Moreover, the risk arising from the potential default of bank counterparties of the Issuer is mitigated by the policy of diversifying the available deposits with different banking institutions. 

Risk linked to Covid-19 Pandemic

The current scenario had no impact on the economic results realized in the financial year ended December 31, 2022. As of the date of approval of this report, no significant impact is expected on the Group's results in the predictable future.

Current geopolitical situation - crisis in Ukraine

With regards to the current geopolitical situation, it should be noted preliminary that the Group is not directly exposed to the Russian and Ukrainian economies. The consequences of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation are not currently such as to give rise to concern for the businesses of companies of the Group and are not expected to have any impact on their ability to continue operating as going concerns: however, any significant fall in consumer confidence and/or disposable income could have a negative impact on the activity volumes of the various lines of business. The Group also constantly monitors the trend of rising inflation and higher energy costs, whose impacts are not considered significant in view of the nature of the businesses of the Group companies.

Operating risk and going concern

Considering the economic and financial situation, in particular the available level of reserves, and taking into account the trend of the net working capital and of the economic and financial situation, the separated and consolidated financial reports have been prepared with a perspective of going concern.

It should also be considered that the Issuer, as in previous years, achieved positive economic results, and, despite uncertain macroeconomic scenarios, that future economic forecasts are also positive. Furthermore, the Issuer, as indicated in the comment related to "Liquidity Risk", has adequate financial resources to meet its future obligations over a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements, and it can, where necessary, activate additional levers to collect highly liquid investments of significant amounts very quickly.

As a result of the above, the directors prepared the financial statements on a going concern basis.

NON-CURRENT ASSETS

  1. Intangible assets 

The following table presents the details of the item as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:

Picture 92

The change of licenses and other rights are due to the amortization of the period, for Euro 42 thousand.

  1. Plant and equipment 

The following table presents the details of plant and equipment as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:



Picture 93

  1. Changes in the values of the rights of use and the lease liabilities during the financial year ended December 31, 2022 is shown below:

  2. Picture 94 

  1. Investments in subsidiaries

The following table provides the detail of investments in subsidiaries as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:

Picture 95

The following table describes the list of the subsidiaries and the changes of the item during the financial year:

Picture 9

During the financial year ended December 31, 2022, the Issuer acquired 100% of the share capital of Luna Service S.r.l. for Euro 989 thousand, and 100% of the share capital of Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l. for Euro 15,563 thousand. The write-off of the participation in Centro Processi Assicurativi S.r.l. refers to the disposal of the company to subsidiary Gruppo Lercari S.r.l., while the change in the participations in MutuiOnline S.p.A. and PrestitiOnline S.p.A. refers to the merger by incorporation of PrestitiOnline S.p.A. into MutuiOnline S.p.A..

Criteria used to determine the value in use of equity investments

The main assumptions regarding the value-in-use of the participations are the operating cash flows during the forecast period, of four years, the discount rate and the growth rate used to find out the terminal value, equal to 2.0%, and the discount rate used to discounting cash flows.

The valuation of future cash flows has been determined on reasonable and consistent basis regarding the charge of future general expenditures, capital investment, financial balance and the main macroeconomic variables. Finally, it is worth pointing out that cash flow forecasts are referring to ordinary activities and, therefore, they are not comprehensive of cash flows deriving from possible extraordinary activities.

The terminal value has been estimated as the present value of a perpetuity. 

The value-in-use of the participation has been determined discounting the value of the estimated future cash flows, including the terminal value, which are supposed to be derived from ongoing activities, at a discount rate, net of taxes, adjusted for risk and keeping into consideration the weighted average cost of capital. 

In particular, the discount rate used is calculated starting from the Weighted Average Cost of Capital ("WACC") of the two Divisions of the Group, for the determination of which, reference was made to indicators and parameters observable on the reference market of the CGUs in question, at the current value of money. In particular, the determination of the WACC refers to the following parameters:

On the basis of the above, applying the Capital Asset Pricing Model, the WACC is 10.82% for the companies of the Broking Division and 10.03% for the companies of the BPO Division.

The following tables provide a brief summary of the main data of the subsidiaries.

65Plus S.r.l.

Picture 97

Referring to 65Plus S.r.l., the book value of the participation is higher than the value of its shareholders' equity.

Therefore, the Board of Directors decided to perform an impairment test, in order to determine the recoverable value of the participation. This assessment is based on the value-in-use method, which relies on forecasts of cash flows generated by the asset. Forecasts of operating cash flows derive from the 2023 budget and from the 2024-2026 strategic plan of the company, approved by the Board of Directors of the Issuer on March 15, 2023.

Regarding the criteria used to determine the value in use of participations and the discount rate, this is equal to 10.03%.

As of December 31, 2022, the value-in-use of the participation in 65Plus S.r.l., determined as described above, is higher than the book value of the participation itself.

Considering also the present situation of market volatility and uncertainty about future economic perspectives, we developed sensitivity analysis on the recoverable value of the participation, in particular assuming an increase of the discount rate and a decrease of the perpetual growth rate.

Sensitivity analysis, pursuant to paragraph 134 of IAS 36, of the results of impairment test for the participation shows the following margins of tolerance:

Based on these assessments, the management of the Issuer considers the book value of the participation in the annual report as of December 31, 2022, but, since the conditions to confirm this assessment would not be met in the event of a significant change in the parameters used or in the economic conditions underlying the analysis carried out, they will constantly monitor the participation during the financial year ended December 31, 2023, performing further assessments and, if necessary, write down the participation if its value in use is lower than its book value.

7Pixel S.r.l.

Picture 98 

Referring to 7Pixel S.r.l., the book value of the participation is higher than the value of its shareholders' equity.

Therefore, the Board of Directors decided to perform an impairment test, in order to determine the recoverable value of the participation. This assessment is based on the value-in-use method, which relies on forecasts of cash flows generated by the asset. Forecasts of operating cash flows derive from the 2023 budget and from the 2024-2026  strategic plan of the company, approved by the Board of Directors of the Issuer on March 15, 2023.

Regarding the criteria used to determine the value in use of participations and the discount rate, this is equal to 10.82%. 

As of December 31, 2022, the value-in-use of the participation in 7Pixel S.r.l., determined as described above, is higher than the book value of the participation itself.

Considering also the present situation of market volatility and uncertainty about future economic perspectives, we developed sensitivity analysis on the recoverable value of the participation, in particular assuming an increase of the discount rate and a decrease of the perpetual growth rate.

Sensitivity analysis, pursuant to paragraph 134 of IAS 36, of the results of impairment test for the participation shows the following margins of tolerance:

Based on these assessments, the management of the Issuer considers the book value of the participation in the annual report as of December 31, 2022, as recoverable.

Centro Finanziamenti S.p.A.

Picture 99

Centro Istruttorie S.p.A.

Picture 100

Cesam S.r.l.

Picture 101

With reference to this shareholding, it is specified that the loss realized by the subsidiary is not considered an impairment loss, in consideration of the positive prospective economic results, and the positive EBITDA of Euro 1,852 thousand realized by the company in 2022.

Cercassicurazioni.it S.r.l.

 Picture 102

Eagle & Wise Service S.r.l.

Picture 103

Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l.

Picture 104

Referring to Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l., the book value of the participation is higher than the value of its shareholders' equity.

Therefore, the Board of Directors decided to perform an impairment test, in order to determine the recoverable value of the participation. This assessment is based on the value-in-use method, which relies on forecasts of cash flows generated by the asset. Forecasts of operating cash flows derive from the 2023 budget and from the 2024-2026 strategic plan of the company, approved by the Board of Directors of the Issuer on March 15, 2023.

Regarding the criteria used to determine the value in use of participations and the discount rate, this is equal to 10.03%.

As of December 31, 2022, the value-in-use of the participation in Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l., determined as described above, is higher than the book value of the participation itself.

Considering also the present situation of market volatility and uncertainty about future economic perspectives, we developed sensitivity analysis on the recoverable value of the participation, in particular assuming an increase of the discount rate and a decrease of the perpetual growth rate.

Sensitivity analysis, pursuant to paragraph 134 of IAS 36, of the results of impairment test for the participation shows the following margins of tolerance:

Based on these assessments, the management of the Issuer considers the book value of the participation in the annual report as of December 31, 2022, as recoverable.

Euroservizi per i notai S.r.l.

Picture 105 

With reference to this shareholding, it is specified that the loss realized by the subsidiary is not considered an impairment loss, in consideration of the positive prospective economic results, and the positive EBITDA of Euro 2,121 thousand realized by the company in 2022.

Finprom S.r.l.

Picture 106

Gruppo Lercari S.r.l.

Picture 107

Referring to Gruppo Lercari S.r.l., the book value of the participation is higher than the value of its shareholders' equity.

Therefore, the Board of Directors decided to perform an impairment test, in order to determine the recoverable value of the participation. This assessment is based on the value-in-use method, which relies on forecasts of cash flows generated by the asset. Forecasts of operating cash flows derive from the 2023 budget and from the 2024-2026 strategic plan of the company, approved by the Board of Directors of the Issuer on March 15, 2023.

Regarding the criteria used to determine the value in use of participations and the discount rate, this is equal to 10.03%.

As of December 31, 2022, the value-in-use of the participation in Gruppo Lercari S.r.l., determined as described above, is higher than the book value of the participation itself.

Considering also the present situation of market volatility and uncertainty about future economic perspectives, we developed sensitivity analysis on the recoverable value of the participation, in particular assuming an increase of the discount rate and a decrease of the perpetual growth rate.

Sensitivity analysis, pursuant to paragraph 134 of IAS 36, of the results of impairment test for the participation shows the following margins of tolerance:

Based on these assessments, the management of the Issuer considers the book value of the participation in the annual report as of December 31, 2021, as recoverable.

With regard to this participation, the sensitivity analysis showed that its value in use remains higher than its book value, assuming an increase in the discount rate up to 14.37% or, keeping the WACC unchanged, assuming a reduction in the implicit growth rate up to -3.53%. In the light of this, the Issuer's Directors have considered the book value of the investment recorded in the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2022 recoverable, but, since in the event of an insignificant change in the parameters used or in the economic conditions underlying the analysis carried out, the conditions for confirming this valuation would no longer be met, they will keep this investment constantly monitored during the financial year 2023, carrying out further assessments and possibly writing down the investment if its value in use is lower than its book value.

Innofin SIM S.p.A.

Picture 108

Klikkapromo S.r.l.

Picture 109

Luna Service S.r.l.

Picture 110

Referring to Luna Service S.r.l., the book value of the participation is higher than the value of its shareholders' equity.

Therefore, the Board of Directors decided to perform an impairment test, in order to determine the recoverable value of the participation. This assessment is based on the value-in-use method, which relies on forecasts of cash flows generated by the asset. Forecasts of operating cash flows derive from the 2023 budget and from the 2024-2026 strategic plan of the company, approved by the Board of Directors of the Issuer on March 15, 2023.

Regarding the criteria used to determine the value in use of participations and the discount rate, this is equal to 10.03%.

As of December 31, 2022, the value-in-use of the participation in Luna Service S.r.l., determined as described above, is higher than the book value of the participation itself.

Considering also the present situation of market volatility and uncertainty about future economic perspectives, we developed sensitivity analysis on the recoverable value of the participation, in particular assuming an increase of the discount rate and a decrease of the perpetual growth rate.

Sensitivity analysis, pursuant to paragraph 134 of IAS 36, of the results of impairment test for the participation shows the following margins of tolerance:

Based on these assessments, the management of the Issuer considers the book value of the participation in the annual report as of December 31, 2022, as recoverable

MOL BPO S.r.l.

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MOL BPO S.r.l. holds the 84.5% stake of Agenzia Italia S.p.A..

In the financial statement of MOL BPO S.r.l. as of December 31, 2022, the participation in Agenzia Italia S.p.A., is accounted at a book value equal to Euro 49,300 thousand, higher than the pro quota shareholders' equity of the subsidiary, equal to Euro 33,376 thousand. The statutory profit of Agenzia Italia S.p.A. was positive for Euro 6,192 thousand.

Therefore, the Board of Directors decided to perform an impairment test, in order to determine the recoverable value of the participation. This assessment is based on the value-in-use method, which relies on forecasts of cash flows generated by the asset. Forecasts of operating cash flows derive from the 2023 budget and from the 2024-2026 strategic plan of the subsidiary, approved by the Board of Directors of the Issuer on March 15, 2023.

Regarding the criteria used to determine the value in use of participations and the discount rate, this is equal to 10.03%.

As of December 31, 2022, the value-in-use of the participation in Agenzia Italia S.p.A., determined as described above, is higher than the book value of the participation itself.

Considering also the present situation of market volatility and uncertainty about future economic perspectives, we developed sensitivity analysis on the recoverable value of the participation, in particular assuming an increase of the discount rate, a decrease of the perpetual growth rate and of the growth rate of revenues.

Sensitivity analysis, pursuant to paragraph 134 of IAS 36, of the results of impairment test for the participation shows the following margins of tolerance:

Money360.it S.p.A.

Picture 112 

Referring to Money360.it S.p.A., the book value of the participation is higher than the value of its shareholders' equity.

Therefore, the Board of Directors decided to perform an impairment test, in order to determine the recoverable value of the participation. This assessment is based on the value-in-use method, which relies on forecasts of cash flows generated by the asset. Forecasts of operating cash flows derive from the 2023 budget and from the 2024-2026 strategic plan of the company, approved by the Board of Directors of the Issuer on March 15, 2023.

Regarding the criteria used to determine the value in use of participations and the discount rate, this is equal to 10.82%. 

As of December 31, 2022, the value-in-use of the participation in Money360.it S.p.A., determined as described above, is higher than the book value of the participation itself.

Considering also the present situation of market volatility and uncertainty about future economic perspectives, we developed sensitivity analysis on the recoverable value of the participation, in particular assuming an increase of the discount rate and a decrease of the perpetual growth rate.

Sensitivity analysis, pursuant to paragraph 134 of IAS 36, of the results of impairment test for the participation shows the following margins of tolerance:

Based on these assessments, the management of the Issuer considers the book value of the participation in the annual report as of December 31, 2022, as recoverable

MutuiOnline S.p.A.

Picture 113

PP&E S.r.l.

Picture 114 

With reference to this shareholding, it is specified that the loss realized by the subsidiary is not considered an impairment loss, in consideration of the positive prospective economic results, and the positive EBITDA of Euro 397 thousand realized by the company in 2022.

Quinservizi S.p.A.

Picture 115

Segugio.it S.r.l.

Picture 116 

Referring to Segugio.it S.r.l., the book value of the participation is higher than the value of its shareholders' equity. 

Therefore, the Board of Directors decided to perform an impairment test, in order to determine the recoverable value of the participation. This assessment is based on the value-in-use method, which relies on forecasts of cash flows generated by the asset. Forecasts of operating cash flows derive from the 2023 budget and from the 2024-2026 strategic plan of the subsidiary, approved by the Board of Directors of the Issuer on March 15, 2023.

Regarding the criteria used to determine the value in use of participations and the discount rate, this is equal to 10.82%.

As of December 31, 2022, the value-in-use of the participation in Segugio.it S.r.l., determined as described above, is higher than the book value of the participation itself.

Considering also the present situation of market volatility and uncertainty about future economic perspectives, we developed sensitivity analysis on the recoverable value of the participation, in particular assuming an increase of the discount rate, a decrease of the perpetual growth rate and of the growth rate of revenues.

Sensitivity analysis, pursuant to paragraph 134 of IAS 36, of the results of impairment test for the participation shows the following margins of tolerance:

Based on these assessments, the management of the Issuer considers the book value of the participation in the annual report as of December 31, 2022, recoverable.

SOS Tariffe S.r.l.

Picture 117 

Referring to SOS Tariffe S.r.l., the book value of the participation is higher than the value of its shareholders' equity. 

Therefore, the Board of Directors decided to perform an impairment test, in order to determine the recoverable value of the participation. This assessment is based on the value-in-use method, which relies on forecasts of cash flows generated by the asset. Forecasts of operating cash flows derive from the 2023 budget and from the 2024-2026 strategic plan of the subsidiary, approved by the Board of Directors of the Issuer on March 15, 2023.

Regarding the criteria used to determine the value in use of participations and the discount rate, this is equal to 10.82%.

As of December 31, 2022, the value-in-use of the participation in SOS Tariffe S.r.l., determined as described above, is higher than the book value of the participation itself.

Considering also the present situation of market volatility and uncertainty about future economic perspectives, we developed sensitivity analysis on the recoverable value of the participation, in particular assuming an increase of the discount rate, a decrease of the perpetual growth rate and of the growth rate of revenues.

Sensitivity analysis, pursuant to paragraph 134 of IAS 36, of the results of impairment test for the participation shows the following margins of tolerance:

Based on these assessments, the management of the Issuer considers the book value of the participation in the annual report as of December 31, 2022, recoverable.

  1. Participations in associated companies and joint ventures

This item refers to the participation in Generale Servizi Amministrativi S.r.l., a company of which the Issuer holds 35% of the share capital, to the participation in the associated company CFN Generale Fiduciaria S.p.A., a company of which the Issuer holds 35% stake of the share capital.

The following table presents the details of the item as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:

 Picture 17

The change from the previous year is mainly attributable to the economic result achieved by the associated companies.

  1. Financial assets at fair value

The following table presents the variations of the item during the financial year ended December 31, 2022:

Picture 18 

Financial assets at fair value show a balance equal to Euro 103,887 thousand as of December 31, 2022 (Euro 38,900 thousand as of December 31, 2021), and include n. 44,000,000 Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC ordinary shares (equal to 8.21% of the share capital) for an amount equal to Euro 95,448 thousand.  The "Revaluations/(Depreciations)" item refers to the lower market value of the shares compared to the purchase price, for Euro 6,479 thousand. We point out that at the approval date of this report, the value of such shares is equal to Euro 116,401 thousand.  Such financial assets are evaluated at fair value through OCI.

The item "Mark to market interest rate hedging instruments" refers to the positive value, equal to Euro 3,702 thousand, of interest rate hedging derivatives on loans with Unicredit S.p.A., Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A. and Banco BPM S.p.A..

The item also includes notes of the "Igloo" notes promoted by the subsidiary Centro Finanziamenti S.p.A. for Euro 4,737 thousand.

  1. Deferred tax assets and liabilities

The following table presents the variations of the item:

Picture 10

As of December 31, 2022, deferred tax assets are booked for Euro 119 thousand, related to costs with different tax deductibility. Finally, deferred tax liabilities are booked for Euro 1,369 thousand, related to dividends resolved but not yet paid, for Euro 480 thousand, and to the mark to market value related to interest rate hedging instruments for Euro 888 thousand.

  1. Other non-current assets

Other non-current assets are as follows:

Picture 11

This item refers to the loans granted to subsidiary MOL BPO S.r.l. for Euro 22,000 thousand, to subsidiary Eagle & Wise Service S.r.l. for Euro 1,000 thousand, to the associated company CFN Generale Trustee S.r.l. for Euro 263 thousand, and to subsidiary Above Comparison S.r.l. for Euro 12 thousand.

The decrease compared to the previous year is attributable to the partial reimbursement of the loan granted to the subsidiary Eagle & Wise Service S.r.l. and to the total reimbursement of the loan to the joint venture PrestiPro S.r.l..

Regarding the loan granted to MOL BPO S.r.l., there are no critical issues regarding the recoverability of this loan, since the economic outlook of Agenzia Italia S.p.A. (owned by MOL BPO S.r.l.) for the next years (as well as the results achieved during the year in question) are positive, as indicated in the business plan prepared for the company.

CURRENT ASSETS

  1. Cash and cash equivalent

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand and bank deposits.

The following table presents the net financial position as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, prepared according to ESMA orientation 32-382-1138 of March 4, 2021 and to the guidance Consob n. 5/21 of April 29, 2021:

Picture 12 

Gruppo MutuiOnline S.p.A. manages a cash pooling service. Most of the Italian subsidiaries as of December 31, 2022 have joined this system. The cash pooling service aims to provide a more efficient management of available liquidity and investments at a group level. Therefore, the short-term financial liabilities of the Issuer as of December 31, 2022 include "Other current borrowings" equal to Euro 152,583 thousand, consisting mainly of liabilities towards subsidiaries within the cash pooling service.

For more detail on the cash balance of cash and cash equivalents and of current financial debts from companies of the Group please refer to note 28.

  1. Other current assets

The following table presents the detail of the item as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:

Picture 13

Receivables from subsidiaries are as follows:

Picture 19   

Receivables for national tax consolidation regime include receivables deriving from the transfer of liabilities for IRES of the subsidiaries within the national tax consolidation regime of the Group.

Receivables for dividends from subsidiaries, reported in the table above, refer to the dividends resolved by the subsidiaries during the financial year ended December 31, 2022 and not yet paid. 

The receivable from Gruppo Lercari S.r.l. for Euro 2,000 thousand, refers to the consideration to be collected for the sale of the participation in Finprom Insurance S.r.l..

The item "Accruals and prepayments" mainly includes the portion of third-party software rentals already paid but relating to future years. The decrease with respect to the previous year is due to the different timing of invoicing.

SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

  1. Share capital and reserves

For the statement of changes in shareholders' equity please refer to the relevant table.

  1. On April 28, 2022 the shareholders' meeting resolved the distribution of a dividend of Euro 0.40 per share, for a total amount of Euro 15,239 thousand. Such dividend has been paid out with ex-dividend date May 16, 2022, record date May 17, 2022 and payable date May 18, 2022.

  2. The Company, as of December 31, 2022, has a share capital of Euro 1,012,354.01, formed by 40,000,000 ordinary shares without nominal value, unchanged if compared to December 31, 2021.

The Company has an ongoing buy-back program. The shareholders' meeting of April 28, 2022 has approved the current buy-back program, specifying limits and purposes, for up to the 20% of share capital.

During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Issuer purchased 833,413 own shares equal to 2.084% of ordinary share capital. During the same period following the exercise of the stock options vested held by some employees of the Group, the Issuer sold 6,500 own shares equal to 0.016% of ordinary share capital.

As of December 31, 2022, the Issuer holds 2,488,954 own shares, equal to 6.222% of ordinary share capital, for a total cost of Euro 50,232 thousand. Being the shares without nominal value, the purchase cost is deducted from the share capital for an amount implicitly corresponding to the nominal value, equal to Euro 63 thousand as of December 31, 2022, and from available reserves for an amount equal to the remaining part of the purchase cost.

Picture 15

It is worth mentioning that as of December 31, 2022, there are no shares of the Issuer held by other companies of the Group. 

The following table presents the origin and the availability of the items included in shareholders' equity: 

Picture 16

NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES

  1. Long-term borrowings

The following table presents the details of the item, including mainly bank borrowings:

Picture 17 

Non-current bank borrowings refer to the outstanding loan agreements with Crédit Agricole Italia S.p.A., for an amount equal to Euro 73,166 thousand, with Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A. for Euro 154,742 thousand, Banco BPM S.p.A., for an amount equal to Euro 43,687 thousand, with Credito Emiliano S.p.A. for an amount equal to Euro 20,683 thousand and Unicredit S.p.A. for an amount equal to Euro 51,097 thousand as of December 31, 2022.

For the residual part, the item includes the non-current portion of the liability deriving from the adoption of IFRS 16, for Euro 69 thousand.

The book value of the financial liabilities represents their fair value.

Loans from Crédit Agricole Italia S.p.A.

  1. On June 28, 2018 the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Crédit Agricole Italia S.p.A., for an amount equal to Euro 20,000 thousand, paid in two tranches on June 28, 2018 and July 4, 2018. The schedule of the loan provides for six-monthly reimbursements starting from December 31, 2018 to June 30, 2025, at a yearly interest rate equal to 3-month Euribor increased by 0.90%, subject to variation at each payment date based on the ratio between the Net Financial Indebtedness and EBITDA. 

  2. On March 30, 2020 the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Crédit Agricole Italia S.p.A., for an amount equal to Euro 15,000 thousand, expiring on June 30, 2026, at a yearly fixed rate equal to 1.05%

  3. On August 9, 2022 the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Credit Agricole Italia S.p.A., disbursed in the fourth quarter for Euro 60,000 thousand, with expiration date at June 30, 2028, with a variable interest rate equal to Euribor 3-months, increased by a spread of 1.65%.

With regard to such loans, the Issuer is obliged to comply with the following consolidated financial covenant: ratio between Net Financial Position and EBITDA not over 3.25 in 2022, and not over 3.00 starting from 2023.

Loan from Banco BPM S.p.A.

On September 5, 2022,  the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Banco BPM S.p.A., for a total amount equal to Euro 50,000 thousand, with a variable interest rate equal to 6-months Euribor, increased by a spread of 1.80% on a credit line equal to Euro 35,000 thousand ("Line A"), with expiration date at June 30, 2028, and a spread of 2.00% on a bullet credit line equal to Euro 15,000 thousand ("Line B"), with expiration date at December 31, 2028. In addition, on 50% of the financed amount, and until the expiration date of each credit line, a derivative contract was signed into to hedge the interest rate, which is converted to a fixed rate at 2.39% for the Line A, and 2.485% for the Line B, increased by the margins described above.

With regard to the loan obtained from Banco BPM S.p.A., the Issuer is obliged to comply with the following consolidated financial covenant, as resulting from the consolidated financial statement for each full and half year, clarifying that the economic data are to be considered on an yearly basis: ratio between Net Financial Position and EBITDA not over 3.0.

Loans from Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A.

On March 30, 2021 the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A., for an amount equal to Euro 80,000 thousand, expiring March 30, 2028, with a fixed interest rate equal to 1.45%. We point out that such loan was partially used for the early reimbursement of the previous loans of the same bank, which had a residual debt equal to Euro 37,009 thousand.

On July 29, 2022 the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A, composed of two tranches, respectively of Euro 40,000 thousand and 60,000 thousand, both disbursed in 2022. The contract provides, for both tranches of the loan, an expiration date of December 31, 2028, with an interest rate equal to the 6-month Euribor rate, increased by a margin of 2.00%. In addition, on 60% of the disbursed amount, and until December 31, 2026, a derivative contract was signed to hedge the interest rate, which is converted to a fixed rate at 1.396%, increased by the margin of 2.00%.

As regard the loan obtained from Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A., the Group is obliged to comply with the following consolidated financial covenants: i) ratio between Net Financial Position and EBITDA not over 3.5 in 2022, not over 3.0 in 2023 and not over 2.5 starting from 2024; ii) ratio between Net Financial Position and Equity not over 2.0. In addition, in the event that the ratio between Net Financial Position and EBITDA should result higher than 2.0 but lower that 2.5, the Issuer is obliged not to distribute profits and/or reserves made up of undistributed profits from previous years in excess of 50%, while in the event that such ratio should result higher than 2.5, the Issuer is obliged not to distribute profits and/or reserves made up of undistributed profits from previous years in excess of 25%.

Loans from Unicredit S.p.A.

On February 26, 2021 the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Unicredit S.p.A., for an amount equal to Euro 10,000 thousand, expiring February 28, 2026, with a variable interest rate equal to 3-months Euribor increased by 1.60%. On such loan we took a derivative contract to hedge the variable rate, which converts the 3-months Euribor interest rate into a yearly fixed rate of minus 0.15% and whose fair value as of December 31, 2021 shows a negative value equal to Euro 16 thousand.

On August 9, 2022 the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Unicredit S.p.A., for an amount equal to Euro 50,000 thousand, with expiration date at August 31, 2028, with a variable interest rate equal to 3-months Euribor, increased by a spread of 1.80%. In addition, on 60% of the financed amount, equal to Euro 30,000 thousand, and until August 29, 2025, a derivative contract was signed into to hedge the interest rate, which is converted to a fixed rate at 1.435%, increased by the margin of 1.80%. 

As regard the loans obtained from Unicredit S.p.A., the Group is obliged to comply with the following consolidated financial covenant, as resulting from the consolidated financial statements for each full and half year, clarifying that the economic data are to be considered on a yearly basis: ratio between Net Financial Position and EBITDA not over 3.0. In addition, in the event that such ratio should be higher than 2.25, the Issuer is obliged not to distribute or resolve the distribution of profits of the year in amounts exceeding 50% of the consolidated annual net income.

Loans from Credito Emiliano S.p.A.

On September 9, 2021 the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Credito Emiliano S.p.A., for an amount equal to Euro 20,000 thousand, expiring September 9, 2026, with a fixed interest rate equal to 0.58%. We point out that such loan was mainly used for the early reimbursement of the previous loans of the same bank, which had a residual debt equal to Euro 16,798 thousand.

On November 2, 2022 the Issuer signed a loan agreement with Credito Emiliano S.p.A., for an amount equal to Euro 10,000 thousand, with expiration date at November 2, 2026, with a variable interest rate equal to 1-month Euribor, increased by a spread of 0.90%

As regard the loans obtained from Credito Emiliano S.p.A., the Group is obliged to comply with the following consolidated financial covenant, as resulting from the consolidated financial statements for each full and half year: ratio between Net Financial Position and EBITDA not over 3.0.

It is specified that for the calculation of the above ratios, based on the current contractual agreements with the banks, with the exception of the loans with Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A., the calculation of the Net Financial Position also includes the value of the Moneysupermarket.com shares, the amount of which as of December 31, 2022 is equal to Euro 95,448 thousand.

The Issuer has complied with all these covenants as of December 31, 2022.

Repayment schedule

The repayment schedule as of December 31, 2022 is as follows:

Picture 18 

Changes in liabilities

We provide below the table required by IAS 7 about the changes of the liabilities related to financing activities:

Picture 20 

The column "Cash flows" includes the non-current portion of the new obtained loans.

The "Others" column refers to the reclassification among current liabilities of the portions of the loans that will expire during the next twelve months.

  1. Defined benefit program liabilities 

The following table presents the situation of the item:

Picture 20 

The economic and demographic assumptions used for the actuarial determination of the defined benefit program liabilities are provided below:

 Picture 21

Picture 15

The actuarial gains, deriving from the liability as of December 31, 2022, is recorded in equity, with the recognition in the comprehensive income statement. The following table presents the variation of the employee termination benefit liability for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:

Picture 22

The following table presents the variation of the employee termination benefit liability for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:

Picture 23

As regards the discount rate the reference rate used for the valorization of this parameter was the Iboxx Eur Corporate AA 10+ index as of the valuation date. This term (over 10 years) is in fact linked to the average residual permanence of the employees of the Group, weighed with the expected payments.

With reference to directors' termination benefits, they are provided only for the executive directors and they are calculated, referring to their annual compensations, according with the provisions of article 2120 of the civil code.

  1. Other non current liabilities

The other non current liabilities include the non current portion of the considerations still to be paid for the purchase of Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l., for Euro 1,831 thousand, and Luna Service S.r.l., for Euro 188 thousand.

CURRENT LIABILITIES

  1. Short-term borrowings

  1. The following table presents the details of the item, as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:

  2. Picture 24

  3. The "Short-term debts and other financial liabilities" item includes, besides the financial payables with subsidiaries deriving from the Group's cash pooling services managed by the Issuer, for which please refer to note 28, the current portion of liability for outstanding bank loans for an amount equal to Euro 50,495 thousand, and the current portion of the liability deriving from the adoption of IFRS 16, for Euro 47 thousand.

  4. We provide below the table required by IAS 7 about the changes of the liabilities related to financing activities:

  5. Picture 21 

  6. The column "Cash flows" includes the current portion of the new obtained loans, net of the reimbursements of the period.

  7. The "Others" column refers to the reclassification among current liabilities of the portions of the loans that will expire during the next twelve months. 

  1. Trade and other payables

The amount of the item is equal to Euro 2,528 thousand (Euro 3,278 thousand as of December 31, 2021) and consists of payables to suppliers, including payables to subsidiaries for Euro 902 thousand.

  1. Other current liabilities

The following table presents the situation of the item:

Picture 26 

The "Liabilities to subsidiaries" item refers to the liabilities as of December 2022 accrued towards subsidiaries within the national tax consolidation regime. For further details please refer to note 25

The "Other current liabilities" item mainly includes the current portion of the consideration still to be paid for the purchase of Gruppo Lercari S.r.l., SOS Tariffe S.r.l., Luna Service S.r.l. and Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l., for a total amount equal to Euro 3,100 thousand, and it decreases compared to the previous year, as a result of the payment of a part of the considerations booked in the financial year ended December 31, 2021.

  1. Stock option plan

  1. The following table presents the outstanding stock options for the benefit of the executive directors and certain employees of the Issuer as of December 31, 2022:

  2. Picture 27

  3. The weighted average market price of the shares for the year ended December 31, 2022 is equal to Euro 30.622.

  4. Personnel costs in the year ended December 31, 2022 include Euro 405 thousand (Euro 220 thousand in 2021) related to the Group's stock option plan for the benefit of the executive directors and certain employees of the Issuer. It is worth pointing out that among the other personnel costs we recorded the costs for stock options assigned to employees of subsidiaries and associated companies for an amount equal to Euro 392 thousand. Such costs were recharged to the respective companies.

NOTES TO THE MAIN ITEMS OF THE INCOME STATEMENT

  1. Revenues

  1. The revenues of the year are mainly accrued from subsidiaries and associated companies and are represented by the dividends resolved by the subsidiaries and associated companies for Euro 53,474 thousand, the fees for coordination and professional services by the Company in favor of its subsidiaries, for Euro 4,667 thousand, and to the personnel costs recharged to subsidiaries, associated companies and joint ventures for Euro 392 thousand.

  2. The following table presents the revenues for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:

  3. Picture 6

  4. The item "Dividend from Gruppo Lercari S.r.l." refers to the positive difference (between the book value and the consideration for the disposal) realized by the Company with the disposal of the participation in Centro Processi Assicurativi S.r.l. and in Finprom Insurance S.r.l. to the subsidiary Gruppo Lercari S.r.l..  

  1. Services costs

  1. The following table presents the details of the item for the financial years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:

  2. Picture 22 

The increase of the item "Technical, legal and administrative advice" is the consequence of higher costs of strategic, financial, fiscal and compliance advice paid by the Company, mainly in relation to acquisitions in the period. In particular, the item includes one-off costs for legal and financial advice for an amount equal to Euro 1,286 thousand.

The increase of rental and lease expenses refers to higher costs paid by the Company for the use of third-party software licenses.

The item "Other general expenses" includes insurance, maintenance and telecommunications costs and bank costs. The increase compared to the previous year is mainly attributable to the higher banking and insurance costs.

  1. Personnel costs

  1. The following table presents the details of the item for the financial years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021: 

  2. Picture 30

  3. The increase of wages and salaries, and of the social security contributions is due to the growth of personnel employed, as shown in the table below, and to the increase of its average cost.

  4. We point out that other personnel costs recharged to subsidiaries, associated companies and joint venture refer to stock option costs for Euro 392 thousand.

  5. The average headcount as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 is as follows:

  6. Picture 31 

  7. The Company applies the collective labor agreement of the commerce sector.

  1. Financial income and expenses

  1. The following table presents the details of the item for the financial years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:

  2. Picture 32 

  3. Interest expenses include interest accrued in financial year on the ongoing bank loans for an amount equal to 3,663 thousand, increasing compared to the previous year as a result of the higher outstanding loans, and the higher interest rate on variable-rate loans.

  1. Income tax expense

  1. With respect to corporate income tax, in the financial year ended December 31, 2022 the Company recorded a taxable loss, due to the not taxability of 95% of the dividends received during the year, which, because of the adhesion to the tax consolidation regime, generates a tax benefit equal to Euro 2,232 thousand (Euro 1,430 thousand as of December 31, 2021), whose financial counterbalance offsets current taxes.

  2. Because of the deferred tax deductibility of some costs compared to their accrual, during the year ended December 31, 2022, the Issuer recorded utilizations of deferred tax assets of Euro 87 thousand and a provision of deferred tax liabilities, net of the utilizations, for Euro 1,253 thousand, of which Euro 888 thousand related to the tax effect of the mark to market value related to interest rate hedging instruments.

  3. No regional income taxes ("IRAP") are due.

  1. Tax consolidation

  1. As mentioned above, the coordination activity is reflected in the participation of the Issuer, in its capacity of holding company, to the Italian tax consolidation regime, as provided by article 117 and following of presidential decree 917/1986. Most of the Italian subsidiaries as of December 31, 2022 participate, also indirectly, in the tax consolidation regime.

  2. The net consolidated tax asset amounts to Euro 5,788 thousand and is recorded among "Current tax assets" as reported in table:

  3. Picture 33 

  1. Benefits to the managers with strategic responsibilities and compensation to members of the governing and controlling bodies and auditors 

  1. The total cost for the Company of compensations paid to executive directors is equal to Euro 2,179 thousand, of which Euro 238 thousand for stock option expenses.

  2. The compensation to the board of statutory auditors amounts to Euro 70 thousand.

  3. The fees paid to the independent auditors by the Company and its subsidiaries for their audit activities for the financial year ended December 31, 2022 are equal to Euro 139 thousand, of which Euro 107 thousand related to the audit activity, and Euro 32 thousand related to the audit of non-financial disclosure pursuant to Legislative Decree 254/2016.

  4. The compensation to the general manager with strategic responsibilities amounts to Euro 577 thousand, of which Euro 111 thousand for stock option expenses.

  1. Classes of financial instruments

In the balance sheet as of December 31, 2022 financial assets are classified as follows:

All the financial liabilities recorded in the balance sheet as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 are stated at the amortized cost, except the earn outs, measured at fair value (category 3). The method for the assessment at fair value of these liabilities is based on the income approach. 

Among financial assets as of December 31, 2022 there are the shares of Moneysupermarket, measured at fair value (category 1) through OCI, and the Igloo notes, measured at fair value (category 2) through profit and loss.

  1. Related party transactions

  1. Related party transactions, including intra-group transactions, are part of the ordinary business operations of the Group, and do not include any unusual or atypical transactions.

  2. The following tables details the transactions and balances with related parties:

  3. Picture 34 

  4. Picture 35

  5. Picture 36

  6. Picture 37

  7. Picture 13

  8. Picture 23 

  9. The non-current assets refer to the loans granted to the subsidiaries MOL BPO S.r.l., Eagle & Wise Service S.r.l., Above Comparison S.r.l. and to the associated company CFN Generale Trustee S.r.l..

  10. The other current assets as of December 31, 2022, refer to receivables versus subsidiaries for the participation to the tax consolidation regime for Euro 6,065 thousand, to the receivables for dividends resolved during financial year ended December 31, 2022 and still to be paid, for a total amount equal to Euro 40,000 thousand, and to the receivable to Gruppo Lercari S.r.l. for Euro 2,000 thousand, related to the consideration to be collected for the disposal of the participation in Finprom Insurance S.r.l..

  11. The other current liabilities as of December 31, 2022, refer to liabilities versus subsidiaries for the participation to the tax consolidation regime.

  12. The treasury of the Italian companies of the Group is centrally managed by the Issuer. The financial operations displayed refer to debit and credit balances of the cash pooling accounts of the subsidiaries with the Issuer as of December 31, 2022.

  13. Picture 40

  14. Picture 41

  15. The revenues for the year ended December 31, 2022 mainly refer to the dividends resolved by subsidiaries, and for the residual part, to fees for direction, coordination and professional services invoiced by the Issuer to its subsidiaries. 

  16. Picture 42

Services costs are mainly related to rental and office residence services provided by PP&E S.r.l.. 

  1. Disclosure on public grants pursuant to article 1, comma 125, of Law 124/2017

In relation to the provisions of Article 1, comma 125, of Law 124/2017, subsequently reworded by Article 35 of Law Decree 34/2019, regarding the obligation to provide evidence in the notes of the financial statements of any public disbursements received during the financial year by way of grants, subsidies, advantages, contributions or aids, in cash or in kind, not of a general nature (therefore excluding tax benefits and contributions that may be granted to subjects which meet certain conditions), but attributable to bilateral relations with the subjects referred to in paragraph 125 of that article, the Issuer has not received public funds during 2022. For a complete disclosure, please refer to the National Register of State Aid.

  1. Subsequent events 

Purchase of own shares

Pursuant to the share buyback program within the limits and with the purposes of the authorization granted by the shareholders' meeting of April 28, 2022, after December 31, 2022, the Issuer purchased 65,477 own shares, equal to 0.164% of the share capital.

In addition, after December 31, 2022, following the exercise of stock options by employees of the Group, the Issuer sold a total of 100 own shares in portfolio.

As of the date of approval of this consolidated financial report the Issuer owns in total 2,554,331 own shares, equal to 6.386% of share capital, for a total cost equal to Euro 50,232 thousand.

Closing of Rastreator and LeLynx acquisition

In January 2023, the Issuer granted to subsidiary Above Comparison S.r.l. a loan for the whole amount to be paid for the closing of the pre-announced acquisition of Rastreator.com, LeLynx.fr as well as other minor entities, equal to Euro 159,194 thousand.



Milan, March 15, 2023



For the Board of Directors

The Chairman

(Ing. Marco Pescarmona)


____________________________













Picture 128





REPORT ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE

pursuant to art. 123-bis of the Consolidated Law on Finance

(traditional model of administration and control)





Issuer: Gruppo MutuiOnline S.p.A.

Website: www.gruppomol.it


Financial year of reference: 2022

Date of approval of the report: March 15, 2023

Date of publication of the report: March 31, 2023




 

  1. REPORT ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND COMPANY STRUCTURE 


GLOSSARy

Articles of Association: articles of association and bylaws of the Issuer, published also on the website of the Issuer, in section "Governance", "Articles of association and company bylaws".

Board or Board of Directors: the Board of Directors of the Issuer.

Board of Statutory Auditors: statutory auditors of the Issuer.

Code of Corporate Governance: the Code of Corporate Governance for listed companies approved in January 2020 by the Corporate Governance Committee.

CONSOB: National Commission for Companies and Stock Exchange.

CONSOB Issuer Regulations: the regulations adopted by CONSOB with resolution no. 11971 in 1999 (and subsequent amendments) pertaining the discipline of issuers. 

CONSOB Market Regulations: the regulations adopted by CONSOB with resolution no. 20249 in 2017(and subsequent amendments) pertaining the discipline of markets.

CONSOB Regulations on Related Parties: the regulations adopted by CONSOB with resolution no. 17221 on March 12, 2010 (and subsequent amendments) pertaining the discipline of related parties.

Consolidated Law on Finance or TUF (Testo Unico della Finanza): legislative decree no. 58 of February 24, 1998 (and subsequent amendments). 

Financial year: the relevant financial year of the Report. 

Group: the companies belonging to the group of the Issuer.

Instructions accompanying Markets Rule: Instructions accompanying the Rules of the Markets organized and managed by the Italian Stock Exchange.

Issuer or Company: Gruppo MutuiOnline S.p.A., with registered office at via F. Casati 1/A, Milan.

Italian Stock Exchange: Borsa Italiana S.p.A.

Market Regulations: the regulations of the markets organized and managed by the Italian Stock Exchange.

Report: the report on corporate governance and company structure that companies are required to prepare pursuant to article 123-bis of TUF. 


  1. PROFILE OF THE ISSUER

  1. Gruppo MutuiOnline S.p.A. (the "Company" or the "Issuer") is the holding company of a group of firms  (the "Group") with an important position in the Italian market for the online comparison, promotion and intermediation of products provided by financial institutions, e-commerce operators and utilities providers (main websites www.mutuionline.it, www.prestitionline.it, www.segugio.it www.trovaprezzi.it and www.sostariffe.it) and in the Italian market for the provision of complex business process outsourcing services for the financial sector. Since February 2023, the Group also has a significant position in the Spanish, French and Mexican market for online comparison and intermediation mainly of  insurance products.

The structure of the Group as of December 31, 2022 is as follows:

Group structure

Broking Division:

Picture 5


BPO Division:

Picture 7


The companies indicated above are all based in Italy, except Finprom S.r.l. and Finprom Insurance S.r.l., a company incorporated under Romanian law, Lercari International Ltd., a company incorporated under English law, and Incomparable S.a.r.l., a company incorporated under Luxembourg law.

Generale Servizi Amministrativi S.r.l., a company of which the Issuer holds a 35% stake, controls Generale Servizi Amministrativi S.a.g.l., a Swiss company with registered office in Lugano.

The Issuer is organized according to the traditional model of administration and control as per articles 2380-bis and following of the civil code, which provides for the shareholders' meeting, the board of directors, and the board of statuary auditors. The Company adheres to the Code of Corporate Governance. 

The Issuer, in compliance with article 5 comma 3, letter b, of the Legislative Decree n. 254/2016, prepared the non-financial consolidated report which represents a separate report. The non-financial consolidated report 2022, prepared according to the option "In accordance" of the "GRI Standards", is available on the Internet site of the Group.

Furthermore, we point out that, with reference to the financial year 2022, the Issuer meets the definition of "SME" (i.e. Small and Medium Enterprises) listed entities as per article 1, comma 1, letter w-quarter, of TUF (on the basis of the turnover criterion pursuant to and for the purposes of the transitional regime pursuant to paragraph 2 of art. 44-bis of Law Decree n. 76 of July 16, 2020, coordinated with conversion law n. 120 of September 11, 2020) and article 2-ter of CONSOB Issuer Regulations. We also point out that, starting from January 1, 2023, the Issuer will cease to be SME as a result of the expiration of the transitional regime described above.


Finally, the Issuer, with reference to the financial year 2022, does not meet the definition of "large company" provided for by the Code of Corporate Governance, according to which an entity is defined as such if its capitalization was higher than Euro one billion on the last trading day of each of the three previous calendar years, and it does not meet the definition of "concentrated ownership company".



  1. INFORMATION ON OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2022

    1. Structure of share capital

The company has a fully paid up share capital of Euro 1,012,354.01 composed of 40,000,000 ordinary shares without nominal value.

The shares are listed on the STAR Segment of the Mercato Telematico Azionario ("MTA"), the Italian screen-based trading system organized and managed by the Italian Stock Exchange. Please refer to Table 1 in the appendix for the structure of share capital.

  1. Except what follows, the Company has not issued other financial instruments that give the right to subscribe for new shares.

  2. On April 29, 2021, the shareholders' meeting approved a stock option plan for the benefit of certain directors, employees and other personnel of the Group, which is added to the stock option plan resolved on April 27, 2017. For more information on stock option plans outstanding as of December 31, 2022 please refer to the disclosure documents prepared pursuant to article 84-bis of the Issuer Regulations deposited at the Company's registered office and published on the website of the Company www.gruppomol.it in the section "Governance", "Other documents". Please refer also to the explanatory notes attached to the financial statements for the financial year ended December 31, 2022 and to the remuneration report prepared pursuant to article 123-ter of TUF and article 84-quater of the Issuers' Regulations.

There are no restrictions to the transfer of shares.

As of December 31, 2022, according to the communications received pursuant to article 120 of TUF, the list of shareholders who hold directly or indirectly at least five percent of the ordinary share capital, is presented in appendix in Table 1 concerning relevant shareholdings. 

It is worth pointing out that there are no controlling shareholders.

Furthermore, it is worth pointing out that Marco Pescarmona, Chairman of the Board of Directors, holds a 50% indirect shareholding in Alma Ventures S.A. (through Guderian S.p.A.) and Alessandro Fracassi, Chief Executive Officer, holds a 50% indirect shareholding in Alma Ventures S.A. (through Casper S.r.l.). Alma Ventures S.A., as of December 31, 2022, holds 12,847.842 shares of the issuer, equal to 32.12% of ordinary share capital, of which 6,772 purchased during the financial year ended December 31, 2022.

As of December 31, 2022, the Company holds in total 2.488.954 own shares, equal to 6.222% of ordinary share capital. These shares, as provided by law, do not give voting rights at the shareholders' meeting. 

Pursuant to Article 127-quinquies(1) of the TUF, the company bylaws of listed companies may provide that increased voting rights, up to a maximum of two votes, are attributed to each share that has belonged to the same person for a continuous period of no less than twenty-four months commencing from the date of entry in a dedicated list. 

The Shareholders meeting of the Issuer held on April 24, 2018 resolved the introduction in the Company Bylaws of article 11-bis, pursuant to which two votes are attributed to each share held by the same person for a continuous 24-months period starting from the entry date in the Special List. 

On June 20, 2018 the board of directors of the Issuer, in force of the delegation received by the extraordinary shareholders meeting held on April 24, 2018, (i) adopted specific regulations, subsequently updated and approved by the Board of Directors on May 14, 2021, to regulate the entry, maintenance and update of the Special List, pursuant to applicable regulations, the Articles of Association and market practice, in order to ensure the timely exchange of information among shareholders, the Company and the Intermediaries; and (ii) appointed Francesco Masciandaro as the person in charge for the keeping of the Special List.

The regulations of increased voting rights are available on the Website, in the section "Investor Relations", "Increased Voting Rights". 

Except what described, the Company has not issued other shares that confer special controlling rights or special powers assigned to the securities.

There is no procedure for the exercise of voting rights for employees.

There are no restrictions to voting rights.

As of the date of approval of the present Report, the issuer is not aware of any shareholders' agreements.

The Issuer has signed some loan agreements that provide for the loss of the benefit of the term if a third party, other than the current relative majority shareholders, acquires direct or indirect control of the Company. 

The Articles of Association of the Issuer do not contain exceptions to the passivity rule as provided for by article 104, paragraphs 1 and 2, of TUF and do not require the application of the breakthrough rule as per article 104-bis, paragraphs 2 and 3, of TUF.

On April 29, 2021, the shareholders' meeting delegated the Board to increase share capital excluding option rights, pursuant to articles 2443 and 2441, comma 4, second period, of civil code, with payment in cash or in kind. The delegation to increase against payment, once or several times, the share capital was attributed for a maximum of five years starting from the date of the shareholders' meeting that gave the authorization. The increase of the share capital so defined allows the issue, also in several tranches, of ordinary shares without nominal value, within the limit of 10% of the total amount of outstanding shares of the Issuer as of the date of the resolution, as well as of 10% of share capital as of the same date. The above-described authorization to increase the share capital has not yet been exercised by the Board.

In the same date, the shareholders' meeting delegated the Board to increase the share capital, pursuant to articles 2443 and 2441, comma 8 of the civil code. The delegation to increase the share capital against payment, once or several times, was attributed for a maximum of five years starting from the date of the shareholders' meeting that gave the authorization. The increase of the share capital so defined allows the issue, also in several tranches, of ordinary shares without nominal value, within the maximum limit of 4,000,000 shares of the Issuer and the maximum nominal value of 120,000.00 euro, to offer in subscription to employees of the Issuer or its subsidiaries. These are no bonus shares and should be paid in money. 

On April 28, 2022, the shareholders' meeting revoked, for the unused portion, the previous authorization for the purchase and sale of own shares dated April 29, 2021 and authorized the Board of Directors to purchase and dispose own shares, also by means of subsidiaries of the Issuer, with the following purposes:

  1. for activities in support of market liquidity;

  2. for the possible use of shares as compensation in extraordinary transactions, including exchange of participations with other subjects, as part of transactions in the Company's interest;

  3. to allot own shares purchased to distribution programs, against payment or free of charge, of stock options or shares to employees, directors and other personnel of the Company or its subsidiaries, as well as for the service of programs for the free allocation of shares to shareholders;

  4. for the execution of the contract signed between the Issuer and "Equita SIM S.p.A.", for its role as specialist on the stock market, compliant with the requirements for the presence in the STAR segment of MTA;

  5. for an efficient investment of the liquidity of the Group.

The authorization for the purchase of own shares approved on April 28, 2022 was granted for the maximum limit permitted by the currently applicable law, pursuant to articles 2357 and 2357-ter of the civil code, taking into account own shares already held by the Company and the shares of the Issuer held by its subsidiaries.

The authorization for the purchase of own shares was granted for a period of 18 (eighteen) months from the date of the shareholder's meeting, whereas the authorization for the disposal has an unlimited duration.

As of December 31, 2021, the Company holds a total of 2,488,954 own shares, while as of the date of approval of this Report it holds a total of 2,554,331 own shares, as indicated in the following table:

Picture 43

The Company is not subject to management and coordination activities by any other company or entity pursuant to articles 2497 and the following of the civil code. 

With reference to the further information pursuant to article 123-bis of the TUF we specify that:

  1. for information on eventual agreements between the Company and the directors which provide for indemnities in case of resignation or dismissal without just cause or if their office is terminated due to a takeover bid (paragraph 1, letter i), please refer to the remuneration report published pursuant to article 123-ter of TUF and to article 84-quater of the Issuers' Regulations;

  2. for information on the rules applicable for the appointment and replacement of directors as well as statutory changes (paragraph 1, letter 1), please refer to the following paragraph 4.1.

  1. COMPLIANCE

The Company has adopted the Code of Corporate Governance, publicly available on the website of the Committee of Corporate Governance at the following page: https://www.borsaitaliana.it/comitato-corporate-governance/codice/2020.pdf.

Neither the Issuer nor any of its subsidiaries of a certain strategic relevance are subject to non- Italian laws that affect the corporate governance structure of the Issuer.  

  1. BOARD OF DIRECTORS

    1. Role of the Board of Directors

Pursuant to article 17 of the Articles of Association, the Board of Directors is invested with all powers for the management of the Company and to this purpose it may act or take any actions that will consider necessary or useful for the implementation of the business purpose, with the exception of the matters exclusively reserved to the shareholders' meeting by the law and by the Articles of Association.

Under the same statutory provisions, the Board is also empowered to take, pursuant to article 2436 of the civil code, decisions regarding:

  1. merger and demerger resolutions in the cases pursuant to articles 2505, 2505-bis and 2506-ter, last paragraph of the civil code;

  2. the constitution or suppression of secondary offices in Italy or abroad; 

  3. the reduction of capital upon termination of shareholders;

  4. adaptation of the Articles of Association to regulatory provisions;

  5. the transfer of the registered office in the national territory;

  6. the indication of the delegated directors; the appointment of one or more general managers and the assignment of powers;

  7. the other powers reserved to it by the law or by the Articles of Association.


The Board of Directors has the general power of direction and control over the Company's activities and on the management of the business, with the aim of creating value for shareholders and other stakeholders, pursuing its sustainable success. In particular, the Board:

  1. examines and approves the business plan of the Group, also on the basis of the analysis of the issues relevant to the generation of long-term value;

  2. assesses and approves the annual budget of the Group;

  3. periodically monitors the implementation of the business plan and assesses the general performance of operations, periodically comparing the results achieved with those planned;

  4. it defines the nature and level of risk compatible with the company's strategic objectives, including in its assessments all the elements that may be relevant for the sustainable success of the Group;

  5. defines the corporate governance system of the company and the structure of the Group it heads, entrusting the control and risk committee with the assessment of the adequacy of the organizational, administrative and accounting structure of the Company and its subsidiaries, with particular reference to the internal control and risk management system;

  6. it resolves on the transactions carried out by the Company and its subsidiaries having a significant impact on the Company's strategy, income statement, balance sheet or financial position; for this purpose, the Board decided to consider relevant, pursuant to recommendation n. 1, letter e) of the Code of Corporate Governance, the extraordinary transactions exceeding Euro 15 million, which is the maximum expenditure limit set out in the proxies, jointly signed by the executive directors Marco Pescarmona and Alessandro Fracassi;

  7. in order to ensure the correct management of corporate information, it adopts, on the proposal of the chairman in agreement with the chief executive officer, a procedure for the internal management and external communication of documents and information concerning the Company, with particular reference to inside information;

  8. assigns and revokes the powers of the directors and to the executive committee, if constituted, setting the limits, the exercise and the time interval, normally not exceeding three months, by which the delegated bodies must report to the Board about the activity done during the exercise of the powers delegated to them;

  9. determines the duties and the powers of the general managers, if appointed;

  10. determines, after examining the proposals of the relative committee and consulting the Board of Statutory Auditors, the remuneration of the CEO and of the directors who hold particular offices and, if the shareholders' meeting has not defined it, the breakdown of the total remuneration due to any members of the Board and committees;

  11. supervises the general business management, with particular attention to conflicts of interest, taking into account, in particular, the information received from the CEO, from the executive committee, if established, and from the Control and Risk Committee, and comparing periodically the results achieved with those planned;

  12. exercises all the other powers assigned to it by law and by the Articles of Association.

At each Board meeting, the executive directors shall inform the Board in detail on the main management events of strategic importance, on the business performance and on the evolution of the management for all companies of the Group, comparing the results achieved with the budgeted ones. 

Furthermore, the executive directors, holding positions of operational nature within the Group, have full visibility of accounting, administrative and organizational issues of the Issuer and its subsidiaries, updating the Board promptly at the first useful meeting about any critical situation emerged or any substantial changes occurred. In this way the Board can adequately assess the organizational, administrative and accounting structure of subsidiaries, which are all deemed significant from a strategic point of view, considering the variety and complementarity of the services offered. The Board deemed that the relatively low complexity of the organizational structure of the Group is coherent with the operational efficiency of the Group.

Periodically, the Control and Risk Committee shall inform, as provided by the Code of Corporate Governance, the Board on its activities and on the adequacy of internal control system, providing directors with documents that illustrate the work of the committee.

In addition, it is worth pointing out that the Articles of Association of the Issuer grant to the Board the responsibility for ordinary and extraordinary administration of the Company, except only the acts for which the law or the Articles of Association exclusively reserve to the shareholders' meeting. In this respect, we point out that during financial year 2021, the Board was convened to resolve on three transactions of significant economic and financial relevance for the Issuer.

The Remuneration and Share Incentive Committee is composed of three non-executive directors, the majority of which are independent (including the chairman of the committee). The committee operates regularly with respect to its responsibilities, appears to be properly sized, and the professional skills and background of its members in financial matters are such to enable the committee to provide effective and valuable support to the Board. 

With regards to the Control and Risk Committee, it is composed of two independent directors (one of which is the Chairman) and a non-independent director. The committee operates regularly with respect to its responsibilities, appears to be properly sized, and the professional skills and background of its members are such to enable the committee to provide effective and valuable support to the Board; we highlight that at least one of the members has a strong background and significant experience in accounting, finance and in risk. The committee shall report to the Board of Directors at least once every six months during the meetings for approval of the draft financial statements and half-year Report.

Within the Board is also present the Committee for Transactions with Related Parties formed by three independent directors. The committee was formed in accordance with the "Regulations concerning related party transactions" approved by CONSOB with Resolution n. 17221 of 12 March 2010. Within the procedures that assure transparency and procedural fairness of the transactions with related parties it requires that related party transactions be approved with the involvement of a committee formed by three independent directors. The committee results well-sized in its composition and the professional experience of its members is appropriate to give a valuable and efficient support to the Board.

Also in the light of the positive outcome of the board evaluation of the first months of 2022, the Board continues to deem it unnecessary to give indications to shareholders about managerial and professional figures to be appointed on the occasion of the reappointment of the directors scheduled during 2023. The current board members have a variety of skills which allow the analysis of the different topics under discussion from different perspectives and, therefore, helps to develop the dialectic that is the distinctive assumption for a collegial, thoughtful and conscious resolution.

In addition, it is worth pointing out that the shareholders' meeting did not authorize, in a generic and precautionary way, any derogation to the competition ban pursuant to article 2390 of the civil code.

Finally, reference should be made to the following paragraphs concerning the composition, functioning, appointment and self-assessment of the Board of Directors.

The Company is led by a Board of Directors composed of a minimum of seven members to a maximum of twelve members. The ordinary shareholders' meeting decides, at the moment of appointment, the duration of the office, which cannot exceed three financial years; the mandate of the directors expires on the date of the shareholders' meeting called for the approval of the financial statement of the last financial year of their office. Directors are eligible for re-election. 

Acceptance of office as director is subject to the fulfillment of the requirements provided by the law, the Articles of Association and any other applicable provisions. 

Article 16, paragraph 14 of the Articles of Association provides that, if not otherwise authorized by the Board, an individual cannot be appointed director of the Company and, if appointed, will lose the office, if he/she: 

  1. is, when appointed, more than seventy years old; 

  2. has not obtained a total of at least three years' experience in the performance of accounting or controlling activities in corporations, professional activities or permanent university teaching in economic, financial, legal or technical/scientific subjects pertinent to the Company's business activities;

  3. exercises a competing activity on his/her own or for others, or is a director, general manager or executive in competitor companies or clients of the Company, or has been such in the previous biennium; or

  4. is director, general manager or executive in companies recorded in the Register of Banks, pursuant to article 13 of Law Decree 385/1993. 

It is also worth highlighting that, since the Issuer is admitted to trading on the MTA, STAR Segment, in order to maintain the status it must have in its Board of Directors an adequate number of independent directors and, therefore, comply with the criteria of Article IA.2.10.6 of the Instructions of the Stock Exchange Regulations which provide for: at least 2 independent directors for boards up to 8 members; at least 3 independent directors for boards with between 9 and 14 members; at least 4 independent directors for boards with more than 14 members. In addition, in the Code of Corporate Governance, the recommendation n. 5 provides that, in the non-large companies, the Board of Directors includes at least two independent directors, different from the chairman. 

In accordance with article 16, paragraph 5 of the Articles of Association, each slate must contain and expressly indicate independent director candidates, with reference both to the number of candidates to be elected and to the independence requirements established for the statutory auditors by article 148, paragraph 3 of Law Decree 58/1998, in addition to the independence requirements established by the Code of Corporate Governance. Furthermore, in accordance with the equilibrium among genders, provided by article 147-ter, comma 1-ter of TUF and recommendation n. 8 of the Code of Corporate Governance, each slate - if the slates does not present a number of candidates less than three - must assure the presence of both genders, so that the candidates of the gender less represented are at least 40% of the total; everything with a rounding, in case of fractional number, to the upper unit. The Issuer has considered it unnecessary to adopt a diversity policy to be applied in relation to the composition of the Board of Directors in term of age and background, as annually the Board performs a board evaluation regarding also the composition of the Board itself and its committees. We believe that the Board members, in compliance with diversity criteria of the Code of Corporate Governance , hold a variety of skills which allows analyzing different topics during the discussions from different perspectives and, therefore, helps to develop the dialectic that is the distinctive assumption for a collegial, thoughtful and conscious resolution. Finally, since the Articles of Association does not envisage the presentation of a list of candidates by the Board, the Company did not deem it necessary to define the diversity criteria, since the shareholders propose their lists in full autonomy.

Article 16, paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Articles of Associations also provides a voting system for the appointment of the governing body based on slates submitted by shareholders who, alone or together with others, hold a stake at least equal to that established by CONSOB Issuers' Regulation. It is worth pointing out that on January 30, 2023, CONSOB, with resolution n. 76, resolved the maximum shareholding thresholds required for the submission of the slates of candidates for the elections of the governing and controlling bodies of the Companies whose financial year ended on December 31, 2022; as the market capitalization is more than Euro 375 million and less than Euro 1 billion, the Issuer has identified a shareholding threshold of 2.50% of the shares with voting rights in the shareholders' meeting.


Any shareholder, as well as the shareholders adhering a shareholders' agreement pursuant to article 122 of TUF, and also the controlling entity, the subsidiary companies and those which are subject to common control pursuant to article 93 of TUF, may not submit or take part in the submission of, even though a third party or trust company, more than one slate, nor they can vote for different slates. Adherence to slates or votes expressed in violation of these prohibitions shall not be assigned to any slate. 


The slates submitted by the shareholders must be filed at the registered office at least twenty five days before the date set for the shareholders' meeting in first call, together with the documents required by the Articles of Association, among which a resume of the candidates included in the slate.


The election of the directors proceeds as follows:


  1. from the slate that has obtained the highest number of votes at the shareholders' meeting, all candidates except one, among which three independents or, if the directors to be elected are less than nine, two independents; within such numerical limit, the candidates are elected according to their progressive order in the slate; 


  1. from the slate that has obtained the second highest number of votes at the shareholders' meeting and is not connected to the first, the first candidate of such slate. 

If the composition of the board using the above procedure does not guarantee the equilibrium among genders, taking into account their order in the slate, the last elected of the majority slate belonging to the most represented gender delay in sufficient number to assure the respect of the requirement and they are substituted by the first candidates not elected in the same slate of the less represented gender. In the absence of candidates of the less represented gender inside the majority slate in sufficient number for the substitution, the general meeting integrates the board with the legal majority, assuring the satisfaction of the requirements.

If the two first slates obtain the same number of votes, the shareholder's meeting proceeds with a new election, by voting only for the first two slates meeting the requirements set out in article 147-ter, comma 1-ter of the TUF.

In the event of submission of a single slate, all the candidates in that slate will be elected.  In the case no slate is submitted, the shareholders' meeting will appoint the Board of Directors as provided by the law, in accordance, however, with the criterion of distribution provided by article 147-ter, comma 1-ter of the TUF. 

If during the financial year one or more directors cease to hold the office, for any reason, the Board of Directors will act pursuant to article 2386 of the civil code and pursuant to article 16 of the Articles of Association.

In particular, if the director or the directors that ceased to hold office were taken from a slate that contained also non-elected candidates, the Board of Directors will make the replacement appointing from the same slate of the directors who ceased to hold office, based on the progressive order, persons who are still eligible and willing to accept the office. The shareholders' meeting deliberates, with the majority required by law, in accordance, however, with the criterion of distribution provided by article 147-ter, comma 1-ter of the TUF.

If the person who ceases to hold office is an independent director, the replacement will occur, as far as possible, by appointing the first of the non-elected independent directors from the same slate in which the director that ceases to hold office was elected. The shareholders' meeting deliberates, with the majority required by law, in accordance with such principles.

If there is a lack of previously non-elected candidates from that slate, the Board of Directors shall replace the directors no longer in office, without compliance to such provisions, pursuant to article 2386 of the civil code, and will guarantee, when it is an independent director that ceases to hold office, the minimum number of independent directors required under the applicable law, in accordance, however, with the criterion of distribution provided by article 147-ter, comma 1-ter of the TUF. The shareholders' meeting decides, with the majority required by law, in accordance with such principles.

Article 16, paragraph 13 of the Articles of Association provides that if the majority of directors cease to hold office, the whole Board of Directors will be considered revoked and a shareholders' meeting should be called immediately for the appointment of new directors. 

The current Board of Directors was appointed by the shareholders' meeting of May 28, 2020, in which only one slate of candidates was submitted, proposed by shareholder Alma Ventures S.A., and will remain in charge until the approval of the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022. The candidates belonging to that slate received a favorable vote by 99.98% of the attending shareholders, representing 64.75% of the share capital. 


Currently, the Board of Directors consists of 10 members. The members in office as of December 31, 2022 are shown in Table 2, in appendix, concerning the structure of the Board and committees, as well as the attendance rate to the meetings.

As regards the personal and professional characteristics of each director, please refer to their curricula published on the Issuer's website www.gruppomol.it, in the "Governance" section, "Shareholders' meeting and Company governance", "2020".

The professional characteristics of the non-executive directors, the majority of whom are independent, are such as to ensure that they have a significant influence on the adoption of board resolutions.

As of the end of the financial year, the composition of the Board of Directors has not changed.

Maximum number of offices held in other companies

The Board did not define any general criteria about the maximum number of offices held as director or auditor in other companies, that could be considered compatible with an efficient performance as director of the Issuer; taking into account the duty of each director to assess the compatibility of any office held as director or statutory auditor in other companies listed in regulated markets, in financial, banking, insurance or other large companies, with a diligent performance of their tasks as director of the Issuer, the Board, yearly, makes an assessment based on the declarations of each director, keeping particular attention to assess the diligence of each director to follow with constancy and attention the different management tasks of the Issuer and of their participation to the meetings of the Board and the committees. 

As regards the offices held, during the financial year, by the directors of the Issuer in other listed companies, in financial, banking and insurance companies or in large companies, please refer to Table 2A in the appendix. The Board considered these offices compliant with the office held in the Issuer based on the criteria above mentioned.

Induction Program

During all the meetings of the Board of Directors, the Chairman and the CEO duly report about the performance of the economic sector of the Issuer, the operations, the dynamics of the company, the standards of proper risk management and the regulatory framework. In addition to formal meetings, all directors are constantly informed about the operations of the Issuer during informal meetings and/or conference calls. Furthermore, we point out that some directors participate to professional updating and training courses on regulatory, technical and professional issues related to the business activities of the Group. 


During the financial year, the current Board of Directors met 12 times for an average of about two hours for each meeting. All meetings were attended by at least two members of the Board of Statutory Auditors and by Francesco Masciandaro, Chief Financial Officer of the Issuer and manager in charge of preparing the accounting statements.


For financial year 2023 there are 4 scheduled meetings for the approval of the periodic financial reports. The first scheduled meeting of 2023 has been held, during which the Board approved the draft statutory financial statements for the financial year ended on December 31, 2022 together with this Report.

The members of the Board of Directors are provided, in proper and timely manner, with the documentation and information necessary for decision-making. The documentation is usually sent by e-mail, with a 24/48 hours' notice, considered adequate and usually respected, to allow to act with full knowledge of the facts and take an active part to the Board decisions. Sometimes, remarkable issues are reported in advance by the executive directors during the above-mentioned informal meetings and/or conference calls. Besides, it is worth pointing out that during the meeting the Board examines in depth all the topics on the agenda considered more significant and strategic; the president and the CEO explain in detail the discussed topics and are at full disposal of the other members of the Board to reply to any clarification required.

The Board of Directors meets according to the notice letter also outside Italy, anywhere in the EU, or in Switzerland. The Board may be called into session at any time by the President on his own initiative. The President shall call the Board at any time upon the written request of at least two Directors and/or at least one Statutory Auditor. 

The notice should be given at least three days prior to the meeting by registered mail or by hand, fax or e-mail and should be sent to every Director and Statutory Auditor. Except in special circumstances when notice of a meeting shall be given as soon as possible, the members shall be notified at least one day in advance.

In absence of formal call, a meeting of the Board of Directors can be considered valid, whenever every member and every Statutory Auditor is attending it.

The majority of board members must be present for meetings to be duly convened; board meetings can be held via tele-conferencing or video-conferencing on the condition that all participants can be identified and can simultaneously follow and participate in the discussion of the topics on the agenda and view , receive and transmit documents. The board shall be considered to have met in the place where the chairman of the meeting is located and where the Secretary must also be located in order to permit writing and signing of the minutes of the meeting.

During the meeting of the Board, after ascertaining that all the documents concerning the agenda have already been circulated to every member of the board of directors and of the board of the statutory auditors, the executive directors expose and explain all the points of the agenda, answering exhaustively to the questions and information required.  Every issue will be discussed for the amount of time needed to allow constructive analysis and comparisons, which will bring to the Board decisions. Usually, for issues regarding the internal committees, the Chairman of the committee exposes the proposal and the committee activities. 

Resolutions shall be passed by majority vote among those attending the meeting; if the vote is split, the Chairman shall cast the deciding vote. Directors are not allowed to vote on behalf of another member.

The Board of Directors plays a central role within the corporate organization and has the task and responsibility of determining strategy and organization, as well as verifying the existence of the controls required for the monitoring of the operations of the Company and the of Group.

Each member of the Board of Directors is required to act with full knowledge of the facts and autonomously, with the purpose of creating value for shareholders, and is committed to devoting to the office covered in the Company the necessary time in order to ensure the diligent performance of his or her functions, regardless of the positions held outside of the Issuer, being aware of the responsibilities of the office held. 

Finally, it should be noted that, pursuant to recommendation n. 11 of the Code of Corporate Governance, a regulation defining the rules for the functioning of the body and its committees is currently being finalized.

According to the Article of Association, the chairman has: the power of presiding the Shareholders' meeting (article 13), the power to call Board meetings (article 18), the power of legal representation for the Company, and the power of signature (article 24). In addition, the Chairman care: 

Finally, the Chairman informs the Board about the development and the significant contents of the dialogue with the shareholders.

Secretary of the Board of Directors

On November 12, 2021, the Board of Directors, pursuant to recommendation no. 18 of the Code of Corporate Governance, resolved to appoint as Secretary of the Board, Francesco Masciandaro, who meets the professional requirements necessary to perform this function.

The Secretary assists the Board in preparing the Board's meetings, drafting the related resolutions and ensuring that information flows towards the Board are adequate, timely, complete and clear. The Secretary provides impartial and independent assistance to the Board with regard to any relevant aspect for the proper functioning of the corporate governance system concerning the functioning, powers and responsibilities of the Board and its Committees.

Chief Executive Officer

Pursuant to article 21 of the Articles of Association, the Board of Directors may delegate, pursuant to and within the limits of law and regulations, its own powers to one or more directors of the Board by defining the limit on the powers.

As of the date of approval of this report, the office of Chief Executive Officer is covered by Alessandro Fracassi.

The Board of Directors of the Company, during the meeting held on May 29, 2020 has delegated to director Alessandro Fracassi, with separate signature and for the entire duration of his office, full powers for the execution of any kind of transaction of ordinary and extraordinary administration up to a maximum of Euro 5,000,000 for each transaction (net of VAT). Within such limit is included the power to buy and sell participations, and to sign loans.  

It is worth pointing out that the CEO is one the main responsible figures of the general management of the Company, in particular with responsibility for the coordination of the companies of the BPO Division. 

The CEO is not part of the Board of Directors of any other issuer where a Director of the Issuer is CEO.

Chairman

The shareholders' meeting of May 28, 2020 has appointed director Marco Pescarmona (who already covered the same office in the previous Board) as chairman of the Board of Directors. 

According to the Article of Association, the chairman has: the power of presiding the Shareholders' meeting (article 13), the power to call Board meetings (article 18), the power of legal representation for the Company, and the power of signature (article 24).

The Board of Directors of the Company, during the meeting held on May 29, 2020 has delegated to director Marco Pescarmona, with separate signature and for the entire duration of his office, the full powers for the execution of any kind of transaction of ordinary and extraordinary administration up to a maximum of Euro 2,000,000 for each transaction (net of VAT). Within such limit is included the power to buy and sell participations, and to sign loans.

The chairman is, together with the CEO, one of the main managers of the Issuer, in particular with responsibility for the coordination of the companies of the Broking Division. 

The chairman is not part of the Board of Directors of any other issuer where a Director of the Issuer is CEO, as well.

According to the provisions of the format for the preparation of the Report on corporate governance and company structure set up by the Italian Stock Exchange, it is worth pointing out that the Chairman is not the controlling shareholder of the Issuer. 

Executive committee and joint powers as Chairman and CEO

Pursuant to Article 21 of the Articles of Association, the Board of Directors may establish an executive committee, composed of some of its members, determining the powers and the operating regulations pursuant and within the limits of law and regulations in force. Currently it is not formed.

The Board of Directors, during the meeting held on May 29,2020 has delegated to directors Marco Pescarmona and Alessandro Fracassi, with joint signature, full powers for the execution of any kind of transaction of ordinary and extra-ordinary administration, up to a maximum of Euro 15,000,000 for each transaction (net of VAT). Within such limit is included, with joint signature, also the power to buy and sell participations and to sign loans. Finally, it is delegated to them, with joint signature, full powers for the stock option assignment to the employees of the Issuer and its subsidiaries, in compliance with the provisions of the current stock option plan and any guidelines established by the remuneration committee, it being understood that the assignment of stock options to directors Pescarmona and Fracassi will remain the exclusive competence of the Board of Directors.

Information to the Board

Pursuant to article 21 of the Articles of Association, the delegated bodies are required to report to the Board of Directors and to the Board of Statutory Auditors, at intervals of at least 180 days, on general management performance, on the business outlook, as well as on the most significant transactions, for their size or characteristics, performed by the Company and its subsidiaries, and on transactions with potential conflicts of interest.

The executive directors shall attend the meetings of the Board of Directors and, during the financial year ended December 31, 2022, both executive directors attended all such meetings. On such occasions, the executive directors duly report to the rest of the Board and to the Board of statutory auditors about the management performance and about the main executive decisions taken, always within the limits of the delegated powers, for all the companies of the Group, at the first available meeting and, in any case, at least quarterly.

Other Executive Directors

The Board of Directors has not appointed any other executive directors besides the directors Alessandro Fracassi and Marco Pescarmona. 

As of December 31, 2022, the executive directors Marco Pescarmona and Alessandro Fracassi held the roles in the subsidiaries and associated companies as detailed in Table 2B.

With the presence of at least one of the Issuer's executive directors on almost all the boards of directors of the Italian subsidiaries and associated companies, the Issuer's Board is constantly updated and informed of the Group's situation and business dynamics.

Independent directors  

The independent directors are in number and authority such as to guarantee that their judgment has a significant weight in board decisions of the Company. The independent directors bring their specific experiences in the board discussions, contributing to the taking of decisions consistent with the interest of the company. 

The shareholders' meeting of May 28, 2020 appointed as independent directors Anna Maria Artoni, Chiara Burberi, Giulia Bianchi Frangipane, Klaus Gummerer and Valeria Lattuada, who declared to possess all the necessary independence requirements on April 20, 2020, when their candidacy was accepted. 

At the earliest opportunity, on May 29, 2020 the Board of Directors verified the presence of independence requirements for every independent director, pursuant to article 148, comma 3, of TUF. The aforementioned assessments used all the criteria provided by Code of Corporate Governance. On May 29, 2020 the Issuer announced the results of these assessments in a press release, disclosed to the Market pursuant to article 144-novies, comma 1-bis of CONSOB Issuer Regulation and application guideline 3.C.4 of the Code of Corporate Governance.

Pursuant to recommendation no. 7 of the Code of Corporate Governance, the Board of Directors established that, with reference to the quantitative and qualitative criteria for the assessment of independence of directors and auditors, the significance of the annual remuneration that an independent director or auditor can receive from the Issuer's subsidiaries shall not be higher than three times the amount received by the Issuer for the same type of office and not higher than the amount received by the Issuer for activities other than the office.

On May 12, 2022, the Board of Directors verified the presence of independence requirements for every independent director, pursuant to the recommendation n. 7 of the Code of Corporate Governance and the article 148, comma 3, of TUF. The aforementioned assessments used all the criteria provided by Code of Corporate Governance. On May 12, 2022 the Issuer announced the results of these assessments in a press release, disclosed to the Market pursuant to article 144-novies, comma 1-bis of CONSOB Issuer Regulation and recommendation n. 10 of the Code of Corporate Governance.

On May 12, 2022, the Board of Directors successfully conducted the review of the existence of the independence requirements in relation to the directors Anna Maria Artoni, Giulia Bianchi Frangipane, Chiara Burberi, Valeria Lattuada, and Klaus Gummerer, adopting the parameters provided by the Code of Corporate Governance. With respect to the provisions of the Code of Corporate Governance, the Board of Directors has performed its assessment based on the principle of prevalence of substance over form and using additional parameters for the assessment on top of those provided by the Code. As a result of such evaluations, the persistence of the requirements of independence was confirmed.

In the meeting of May 12, 2022, the Board of Statutory Auditors verified the correct application of the criteria and control procedures adopted by the Board to evaluate the independence of its own members. The result of these verifications has been positive.

The independent directors participate actively and assiduously in the Board meetings and are constantly informed on relevant aspects concerning their assignment. Before the Board meetings, the independent directors meet without the other directors to discuss the agenda of the meeting, to analyze the activity of the Board of Directors and to assess the effectiveness, clarity, completeness and timeliness of the flow of information between the executive directors and the other directors.

In 2022, the independent directors held a meeting on November 14, 2022, during which the functioning of the Board of Directors and the capacity of the independent directors to give an autonomous and not-conditioned judgments on the resolutions were assessed. At the end of the meeting they agreed that the executive directors give full information to the other directors about the management of the Company and the environment in which the Issuer and its subsidiaries operate, that dialectic and diffusion of information within the Board are complete and exhaustive, that discussion are open and that resolutions are taken with full knowledge, uniformity and autonomous judgment, without conflicts of interests. 

Lead independent director

There being the conditions, provided by application guideline 2.C.3 of the Code of Conduct (now provided by recommendation n. 13 of Code of Corporate Governance), the Board of Directors, in the meeting of May 29, 2020, designated, among the independent directors, Klaus Gummerer as the Lead Independent Director pursuant to the Code of Corporate Governance, so that he could be the point of reference and coordination for the requests and contributions of the non-executive directors, and in particular of the independent ones. 

The Lead Independent Director may, among other things, call - on his/her own initiative or upon request of other directors - special meetings of only independent directors (i.e. independent directors' executive sessions) to discuss issues from time to time judged of interest related to the functioning of the Board of Directors and to the management of the Company, with also the possibility to invite members of the management for an exchange of information with the organization. 

The Lead Independent Director has collaborated with the Chairman of the Board to ensure that the directors receive complete and timely information flows. 

  1. MANAGEMENT OF CORPORATE INFORMATION

Management of confidential information and code of conduct for insider dealing 

The Company has adopted an internal regulation, which contains the provisions relating to the management of confidential information and to the management and external disclosure of privileged information as per article 181 TUF, regarding the Company and its subsidiaries. This regulation, besides providing a definition of privileged information, establishes the procedure for the public disclosure of such information which, by law, should occur without delay. 

The regulation should be respected by all the components of the governing bodies, employees and other personnel of the company and subsidiaries, who for any reason have access to the privileged or confidential information. 

In compliance with the regulation, the management of confidential information is followed by the Investor Relations function, under the responsibility of Marco Pescarmona.

In compliance with the regulation, the Issuer has also created a register of the persons that have access to the privileged information, governed by a special regulation. The responsibility for the correct keeping of this register has been entrusted to the administrative office, in person of the CFO Francesco Masciandaro. 

The regulations for the management and the disclosure of confidential and privileged information are available on the Issuer's website, in the section "Governance", "Other documents".

Furthermore, the Company adopts a code of conduct which regulates the obligations of information disclosure and of behavior related to the financial transactions carried out by persons who, by virtue of the office held in the Company, have access to relevant information (with relevant information we mean the information related to facts able to determine significant changes in the capital, financial and economic perspectives of the Company or of the Group and able, if made public, to influence the price of the listed financial instruments). 

The financial manager is, in compliance with this regulation and with the delegation granted by the Board of Directors, the subject responsible for receiving, managing and circulating to CONSOB and to the market the communications sent to the Company by persons that have access to relevant information. 

The 6 communications received by the Company during the financial year have been regularly published and are available on the Internet site of the Company, in the section "Governance", "Internal dealing", "2022".

  1. INTERNAL COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

In compliance with the Code of Corporate Governance, the Board of Directors, under the authority conferred pursuant to article 22 of the Articles of Association, has set up the following internal committees with consulting, proactive or control tasks, and which are granted the right to access to relevant information. 

In particular, the Remuneration and Share Incentive Committee, the Control and Risk Committee and the Committee for the Transactions with Related Parties were set up within the Board.

For the purposes of determining the composition of the committees, the Board of Directors has given priority to the expertise and experience of their members, avoiding an excessive concentration of tasks among the directors.

Finally, pursuant to Recommendation no. 11 of the Corporate Governance Code, a regulation defining the operating rules of the Board itself and its committees is currently being finalized.

  1. SELF-EVALUATION AND SUCCESSION OF DIRECTORS - NOMINATION COMMITTEE

    1. Self-evaluation and succession of directors

Yearly, the Board evaluates the functioning, organization, size and composition of its internal committees, without the aid of external consultants.  The latest evaluation process, the results of which were presented at the meeting of March 30, 2022, takes into account the recommendations made by the Corporate Governance Committee in order to identify possible developments in governance or to fill any gaps in its application. Specifically, the self-assessment process was carried out with the support of a specialized external company, which presented during the meeting the outcome of the self-assessment activity, focusing on the size, composition and functioning of the board of directors and its committees, as well as the issues that emerged in the process, strengths and points for reflection for the future.

The Issuer has not adopted any explicit succession plan considering the substantial short-term interchangeability of the executive directors Marco Pescarmona and Alessandro Fracassi. In fact, if any of the two were to cease to hold office, the remaining executive director would be able to ensure continuity for the management of both Divisions, relying on a solid first line of management, capable of supervising the ordinary activities during the necessary time for the research and the placement of one or more senior executives capable to contribute at a strategic level to the management of the Group. Of course, in the very unlikely case, in which both executive directors cease to hold office, the Board of Directors has the duty to identify an appropriate solution, without relying on pre-established plans.

At present and for an undefined period, the Board of Directors has decided not to set up an internal committee for the nomination of candidate directors, as the shareholding structure of the Company does not present such characteristics of diffusion to justify the adoption of such committee; however, the Board itself can carry out the related functions, also in compliance with the recommendations of the Code of Corporate Governance as long as at least half of the directors are independent.

  1. REMUNERATION OF DIRECTORS - REMUNERATION AND SHARE INCENTIVE COMMITTEE

    1. Remuneration of directors

For the general policy for the remuneration adopted by the Issuer, the share remuneration plans, the remuneration of executive directors, directors with strategic responsibilities (if any) and  non-executive directors, and for the indemnities of directors in case of resignation, dismissal or termination as a consequence of a takeover bid, please refer to the "Report on Remuneration" prepared pursuant to article 123-ter of TUF and pursuant to article 84-quater of the Issuers' Regulations, that will be deposited at the registered office and be available on the Website in the section "Governance", "Other documents", "2021", at least twenty-one days before the shareholders' meeting called on April 27, 2023.

The Board of Directors, in compliance with article 2.2.3, paragraph 3, letter m) of the Stock Exchange Regulations, applicable to the issuers admitted to trading in the STAR segment and pursuant to the Code of Corporate Governance, in the meeting of May 29, 2020, has designated the independent and non-executive directors Anna Maria Artoni and Valeria Lattuada and the non-executive director Matteo De Brabant, as members of the Remuneration and Share Incentive Committee. Director Anna Maria Artoni has been appointed chairman of this committee.

The committee has advisory functions in particular for the assessment and formulation of proposals to the Board of Directors (i) about the compensation policy proposed by the Company for the management, monitoring the application of the resolutions adopted by the Board itself, (ii) about the stock option plans and similar plans for the incentive and retaining of directors, employees and collaborators of the Group, (iii) about the compensation of the executive directors and the managers with strategic responsibilities, as well as, based on the indication of the chairman or of the CEO, the criteria for the remuneration of the top management of the Company. The committee has free access to the information and the company functions necessary to carry out its own activities. Finally, the committee periodically assesses the adequacy and overall consistency of the policy for the remuneration of directors and the manager with strategic responsibilities.

During the financial year, the Remuneration and Share Incentive Committee met three times for an average of about one hour for each meeting, with the participation of all the members of the committee. Both meetings was attended by the chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors Stefano Gnocchi. 

For the composition and rates of attendance at meetings please refer to Table 3, in appendix, concerning the structure of the Board and committees. 

During the meetings, the committee members deliberated on:

The president of the Remuneration and Share Incentive Committee provided information about the activity of the committee during the Board meeting of March 30, 2022. As already expressed in paragraph 4.3, the Board of Directors reported its satisfaction with the members of the committee, who, thanks to their appropriate professional experience and background for the committee's tasks, provide effective and valuable support to the Board. In addition, during the financial year the committee was never supported by external advisors.

The meetings of the Remuneration and Share Incentive Committee have been properly recorded and the relative minutes were transcribed in the register available at the administrative office of the Company. 

There are no meetings of the Remuneration and Share Incentive Committee already scheduled for 2023. As of the date of approval of this Report, a meeting of the Remuneration and Share Incentive Committee was held on March 8, 2023. During that meeting, the committee resolved on the remuneration of the Issuer's executive directors and the general manager with strategic responsibilities for the year 2022 and on the remuneration model for executive directors and general manager with strategic responsibilities to be applied for the year 2023.

It is worth pointing out that, pursuant to recommendation n. 26 of the Code of Corporate Governance, the executive directors, whose compensations were discussed during the meeting of the committee held on March 10 and March 30, 2022, do not take part to the meetings of the committee in which the proposals about their remuneration are discussed and resolved. 

The Board of Directors in the meeting of May 29, 2020, resolved a total compensation, on an annual basis, for the members of the Remuneration and Share Incentive Committee equal to Euro 17 thousand in total. 

No financial resources have been allocated to the committee, as the committee uses the Issuer's resources and facilities for the performance of its tasks.

For any other information on the Remuneration and Share Incentive Committee, please refer to "Report on Remuneration" prepared pursuant to article 123-ter of TUF and pursuant to article 84-quater of the Issuers' Regulations, that will be deposited at the registered office and be available on the Internet site of the Company in the section "Governance", "Other documents", "2022", at least twenty-one days before the shareholders' meeting called for April 27, 2023.

  1. INTERNAL CONTROL AND RISK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - CONTROL AND RISK COMMITTEE 

The Board of Directors defines the guidelines of the internal control and risk management system, designed as a set of processes aimed at monitoring the efficiency of business and corporate management, the reliability of the financial information, the compliance with laws and regulations, the safeguard of corporate assets, and the prevention of fraud against the Company and financial markets.   

The internal control and risk management system is structured as a set of rules and procedures in order to enable, through a proper process of identification, measurement, management and monitoring of the main risks, sound and correct corporate management, in line with the set objectives. 

According to the Code of Corporate Governance, the Board of Directors, taking also into account that the Company is part of a group, defines the guidelines of the internal control and risk management system and verifies its correct functioning with respect to the management of corporate risks through the activity performed by the Control and Risk Committee. The Board of Directors defines the nature and level of risk, compatible with Issuer's strategic goals, including in its assessments all relevant risks with a perspective of medium-long term sustainability. The director in charge defines the instruments and procedures for the implementation of the internal control and risk management system, following the guidelines established by the Board of Directors, assures the overall adequacy of the system, its practical functionality, its adaption to changes of operating conditions and of legislative or regulatory frameworks. 

The internal control and risk management system defined by the Board of Directors satisfies the following general principles:

  1. the operational powers are assigned taking into account the nature, normal size and risks of individual types of transactions; operational areas are closely related to the delegated tasks;

  2. the organizational structures are articulated so as to reduce the overlapping of functions and the concentration on one person, without the proper authorization process, of activities that have a high degree of criticality or risk;

  3. an appropriate system of parameters and a related periodic flow of information to measure the efficiency and effectiveness is provided for each process; 

  4. a periodical analysis of the professional knowledge and skills available within the organization in terms of congruence with the objectives assigned;

  5. the operating processes are defined in accordance with an appropriate documentary support enabling them to be verified in terms of congruence, consistency and responsibility;

  6. the security mechanisms ensure an adequate safeguard of the corporate assets and access to the information required for the performance of the assigned tasks; 

  7. the risks related to achievement of the objectives are identified by observing an adequate periodic monitoring and updating; negative events that may threaten the corporate business continuity are subject to special assessments and adjustment of safeguards;

  8. the internal control and risk management system is subject to continuous supervision for periodic evaluations and constant adjustments.

For the purpose of verifying the correct functioning of the internal control and risk management system, the Board of Directors relies on the Control and Risk Committee, on the CFO and on an internal audit function, which have an appropriate level of independence and necessary means for the performance of their tasks; they report to the director in charge of internal control, to the Control and Risk Committee,  to the Board of Statutory Auditors and to the Supervisory Body. 

The executive director in charge implements the interventions on the internal control and risk management system deemed necessary as a result of the above control activities and may appoint one or more delegates for such purpose.

During 2022, the Board of Directors assessed the adequacy of the internal control and risk management system referring to the characteristics of the business and the risk profile assumed, as well as its efficiency, during the meetings held on March 15, and September 7, 2022, concurrently with the report presented by the Control and Risk Committee on the activities carried out and the adequacy of the internal control system. During the discussions, which were attended by all the directors, no particular warning or criticality emerged. 

The 2022 audit plan, prepared by the head of internal audit, elaborated and shared with the director in charge for the internal control and risk management system, was approved, following the clean opinion of the Control and Risk Committee, by the Board of Directors on May 12, 2022. It is worth pointing out that the audit plan was approved by the Board of Directors, following the opinion of the whole Board of Statutory Auditors

Introduction 

The risk management system should not be considered separately from the internal control system in relation to the financial reporting process; both are, in fact, elements of the same system. It is worth mentioning that this system is aimed at ensuring the trustworthiness, accuracy, reliability and timeliness of financial reporting.

All the companies of the Group adopt detailed procedures to manage the sales process, the purchasing process, the human resources process and the financial reporting process approved by the Board the Directors.

The basic principle for the management of these processes is that, because of the relatively simple structure of the Group, all the significant authorization processes are handled by executive directors, or other delegated senior management, vested with adequate powers.

Description of the main features of the existing internal control and risk management systems in relation to the financial reporting process

The activities under the responsibility of the administration area of the Group are defined in the organizational structure of the Group and the above-mentioned procedures. Please find below, in an illustrative and not exhaustive way, the main activities carried out by the administration unit:

  1. ensure, through the planning process and management control, the unity of functional goals, the compliance of the actions with the plans and the achievement of economic targets;

  2. define and propose, within the policies and strategies agreed with the top management, the Group's financial policy;

  3. ensure the proper administrative management of the Group, and in particular define and propose the policy for the financial statements, ensure the preparation of the annual financial statements of the Company and of the Group and of its relevant annexes pursuant to the existing civil and fiscal laws as well as to the institutional provisions;

  4. ensure the systematic monitoring of the economic performance of the Group in order to afford a proper process of management control; 

  5. ensure the alignment of the management control system (Sistema di Controllo di Gestione or SCG) with the strategies and the business and market context.

The main risks pertaining to the financial reporting process are:

  1. the risk of recognition of revenues that are not related, not accrued or not due or the incomplete recognition of revenues;

  2. risks linked to the recognition of expenses that are not related, not accrued or not due, or incomplete recognition of them; 

  3. risks linked to the acquisition of companies for which it is necessary an administrative and accounting reorganization to align their financial statements to the standard required by the Issuer;

  4. risks linked to the presence in the consolidation area of companies and/or permanent establishments with registered offices abroad (Albania, United Kingdom, Romania);

  5. risks linked to the presence of an autonomous administrative structure in the subsidiaries 7Pixel S.r.l., Agenzia Italia S.p.A., Trebi Generalconsult, S.r.l. Sovime S.r.l., Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l. and the Lercari Group;

  6. risks of loss or information or data during the automatic data extraction process from the general ledger.

Corrective actions adopted to reduce the impact of these risks, procedures and controls applied for the continuous monitoring of the identified risks are respectively summarized in the following list: 

  1. the billing process follows a detailed procedure on receivables which takes into account the different types of revenues of the companies of the Group: the billing from the administrative office takes place only after verifying the accuracy of the billing reports and their compliance to the contractual conditions. These controls are carried out by selecting random samples of sale invoices, verifying phases and documents required by the procedure for the issuance of the invoice itself and the collection of payment, and by checking that contractual rates are applied and respected properly;

  2. the process on liabilities also follows an internal procedure which takes into account the various types of purchases (mainly marketing, technology and general services expenses). The registration of an accounting document takes place only after the verification of the existence of a purchase order authorized by a representative of the company with appropriate credentials and upon verification of the correspondence with the purchase order itself. Also in this case, the verifications are carried out by selecting a random sample of purchase invoices, verifying that they are authorized by an order and that the amounts to be paid match with the ones specified in the order;

  3. normally the administrative and accounting management of the newly acquired companies is taken over by the administrative office of the Issuer, which at the beginning analyzes the "as is" situation with the aim to activate the reorganization activity required to align the operation of such companies to the guide lines of the Issuer, setting up centrally-defined procedures for the management of receivables, liabilities and personnel and adopting the same accounting principles for the proper consolidation of financial statements. It should be noted that, during 2022, the consolidation area was enlarged with the inclusion of the companies Europa Centro Servizi S.r.l., Luna Service S.r.l., Gema Motor S.r.l., Onda S.r.l. with its subsidiaries, Sovime S.r.l. and Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l.;

  4. definition of guidelines to which the accounting employees of foreign subsidiaries must comply, in accordance with the local regulations. The Issuer receives a monthly financial management report, and on quarterly basis a detailed financial statement of the Company;

  5. in order to verify the correct and complete collection of economic-financial consolidated data through an automated process, we perform cross-checks while balancing the general ledger data with the cost accounting at the EBITDA level, analyzing potential deviations and the accuracy of the automatic formulas. The process of data collection and extraction for the preparation of the periodic financial reports is regulated by a specific internal procedure.

The administrative area of the Group is under the direct responsibility of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Francesco Masciandaro, and is composed of a total of 25 persons, counting the Italian headcount. Within the administrative area there are two distinct functions:


As regards the management of the Accounting and Financial Statements function, four persons located in Romania have full responsibility for all activities related to Rumanian subsidiaries Finprom S.r.l. and Finprom Insurance S.r.l., which they manage with full autonomy. As regards the management of the Accounting and Financial Statements function for the other subsidiaries, it is entirely carried out by the structure and resources located in Italy, who report to the head of the function, which provides the operating guidelines.

The process of financial reporting for the Group is headed by the CFO, who receives, at least once a month, the summary financial reports by all the companies of the Group and, quarterly, more detailed financial reports at the base of the periodic financial reporting.

Within this activity the CFO has the responsibility to manage the process to identify the main operative risks, identify the corrective actions or the instruments aimed to reduce and, if possible, cancel such risks, identify the system for the management of these instruments and, finally, verify its proper application.

At the end of this activity, the outcome is directly submitted for evaluation to the executive director in charge of the internal control and risk management system. The information flow is particularly direct, since there are no intermediate levels between the CFO, the head of internal audit and the executive director in charge of the internal control system. In addition, the CFO and the internal auditor meet periodically the Control and Risk Committee and the Supervisory Body for an appropriate update on the performance of controls.

The Board of Directors in the meetings of March 15, 2022 and of September 7, 2022 has positively assessed the effectiveness and the effective functioning of the internal control and risk management system. During this meeting, the members of the Control and Risk Committee illustrated to the attendees the job performed by the committee and briefed on the adequacy of the internal control and risk management system. The committee sends in advance the most significant elements by a brief memorandum circulated to all the directors and members of the Board of Statutory Auditors.

The Board of Directors, during the meeting of May 29, 2020, appointed the chairman of the Board of Directors Marco Pescarmona, as the executive director in charge of overseeing the internal control and risk management system.

During the financial year, the executive director in charge of supervising the functionality of the internal control and risk management system identified, in collaboration with the Control and Risk Committee, the CFO, the Board of Statutory Auditors and the Supervisory Body, the main risks related to the Issuer and its subsidiaries, by constantly verifying the adequacy of the system. In addition, in collaboration with the internal audit function, a constant monitoring on most relevant compliance issues was carried out, adjusting where necessary the business procedures to the regulations in force.

The director in charge of supervising the internal control system and risk management operations can ask to internal audit to check on specific operating areas and compliance with the rules and the internal procedures during business operations, informing the chairman of the Control and Risk Committee  and the chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors / Supervisory Body.

During the financial year, based on the controls performed, the director in charge of supervising the internal control system and risk management operations did not detect any business risks not managed within the corporate organization. 

The Board of Directors, pursuant to article 2.2.3, comma 3 letter m) of Market Regulations, applicable to the issuers pursuant to requirements for STAR segment and according to Code of Corporate Governance, during the meeting of May 29, 2020, appointed the independent and non-executive directors Chiara Burberi, Giulia Bianchi Frangipane and the non-executive director Marco Zampetti as members of the Control and Risk Committee. Chiara Burberi was appointed chairman of this committee, meanwhile Marco Zampetti is a member of the committee who, by virtue of his professional activity, possesses a considerable experience in accounting, financial, fiscal and compliance matters. 

According to the Code of Corporate Governance, the internal Control and Risk Committee: 

  1. assess, having consulted the manager in charge of preparing the accounting documents, the statutory auditor and the supervisory body, the correct use of accounting standards and, in case of groups, their uniformity with regard to the preparation of the consolidated financial statements;

  2. assess the adequacy of periodic financial and non-financial information to correctly represent the company's business model, strategies, the impact of its activities and the performance achieved; 

  3. examine the content of periodic non-financial information that is relevant for the purposes of the internal control and risk management system; 

  4. express opinions on specific aspects concerning the identification of the main corporate risks and to support the assessments and decisions made by the Board of Directors concerning the management of risks arising from prejudicial facts of which the latter has become aware; 

  5. examine the periodic reports and those of particular relevance prepared by the internal audit function;

  6. monitor the autonomy, adequacy, effectiveness and efficiency of the internal audit function;

  7. the power to entrust the internal audit function with the carrying out of controls on specific operational areas, giving simultaneous notice to the chairman of the supervisory body; 

  8. report to the Board of Directors, at least at the approval of the annual and half-yearly financial reports, on the activity carried out and on the adequacy of the internal control and risk management system.

The Control and Risk Committee:

The Control and Risk Committee, as one of the main interlocutors to the head of internal audit, shall be consulted by the Board of Directors about decisions regarding the appointment, revocation, remuneration of and the provision of resources to the head of internal audit, analyzing and assessing his work.

The members of the Control and Risk Committee, on March 11, 2022, met the representatives of the audit firm EY S.p.A., the members of the Board of Statutory Auditors, the internal audit function and the Issuer's CFO Francesco Masciandaro. During the meeting, the following topics were dealt with: updates about the audit activity related to 2021 financial statements of the Issuer and of its subsidiaries and of the consolidated financial statement by the independent auditing firm; update of the activities carried out with reference to the 2021 audit plan and implementation of the new Corporate Governance Code.

On May 4, 2022, the members of Control and Risk Committee met the internal audit function, the Issuer's CFO Francesco Masciandaro and the Board of Statutory Auditors. During the meeting the 2022 audit plan was presented and discussed, before the submission to the Board of Directors.

On July 28, 2022 the members of Control and Risk Committee met the internal audit function, the Issuer's CFO Francesco Masciandaro, and the Board of Statutory Auditors, to discuss about the update of the activities carried out with reference to the 2022 audit plan.

The members of Control and Risk Committee, on September 5, 2022, met the representatives of the audit firm EY S.p.A., the members of the Board of Statutory Auditors and the Issuer's CFO Francesco Masciandaro. During the meeting, the following topics were discussed: update about the execution of the audit activities related to the consolidated half year financial report as of June 30, 2022. In such meeting the Committee also met the head of the internal audit function, who illustrated the activities performed in the first half of 2022, for the subsequent periodic reporting to the Board of Directors.

On October 19, 2022 the members of Control and Risk Committee met the internal audit function, the Issuer's CFO Francesco Masciandaro, the Board of Statutory Auditors and the Supervisory Body, to discuss the update of the activities carried out with reference to the 2022 Audit Plan, the update of the organizational model 231, and the introduction of the Italian Code of corporate crisis and insolvency.

We point out that the member of the Control and Risk Committee Marco Zampetti, the Board of Statutory Auditors, the executive directors, the CFO and the head of internal audit (through informal meetings and e-mails) keep each other informed in order to be constantly updated on the internal control system of the Issuer. 

Therefore, during the financial year, the Control and Risk Committee met five times for an average of about two hours.

During the meetings on March 15, 2022 and September 7, 2022, the Control and Risk Committee members, as provided for in the Code of Corporate Governance, informed the Board of Directors on the activity of the committee and on the adequacy of the internal control and risk management system. 

There are no meetings of the Control and Risk Committee already scheduled for 2023. The mentioned meeting was attended by the members of the Control and Risk Committee, the representatives of the audit firm EY S.p.A., the members of the Board of Statutory Auditors, the internal audit function and the Issuer's CFO Francesco Masciandaro. During the meeting, the following topics were dealt with: updates about the audit activity related to 2022 financial statements of the Issuer and of its subsidiaries and of the consolidated financial statement by the independent auditing firm; review of the activities carried out by the committee during the second half 2022, also in order to timely update the Board of Directors at the meeting on March 15, 2023.

For the composition and rates of attendance at meetings please refer to Table 3, in appendix, concerning the structure of the Board and committees.

All the meetings of the Control and Risk Committee have been properly recorded and the relative minutes were transcribed in the register held at the administrative office of the Company. 

During the meeting of May 29, 2020, the Board of Directors resolved an annual total compensation for the members Control and Risk Committee equal to Euro 24 thousand.

No financial resources have been allocated to the Control and Risk Committee, as the committee uses the Issuer's resources and facilities for the performance of its tasks.

Since 2010 the Issuer has instituted the internal audit function, with the hiring of a dedicated resource in the organizational structure of the Group. As of the date of approval of this report the function is composed of 7 resources, all internal to the Group. 

Some subsidiaries of the Issuer also have internal staff which carry out specific audit activities for the company in which they operate. The audit activities of these "dedicated" resources are coordinated by the Group's internal audit function.

The head of internal audit was appointed directly by the director responsible for the internal control and risk management system, with the favorable opinion of the Control and Risk Committee and the Board of Statutory Auditors. The head of internal audit is Walter Baraggia, who has held this position since 2010.

The head of internal audit has an appropriate level of independence and suitable means to operate effectively. The head of internal audit has direct access to all the useful information to his office and reports about his own activity to the director in charge, to the Control and Risk Committee, to the Board of Statutory Auditors and to the Supervisory Body. He has no direct operational responsibility or authority and depends hierarchically from the Board of Directors.

The 2022 audit plan, prepared by the head of internal audit, elaborated and shared with the director in charge of the internal control and risk management system, was approved, following the clean opinion of the Control and Risk Committee, by the Board of Directors on May 12, 2022. It is worth pointing out that the audit plan was approved by the Board of Directors, following the opinion of the whole Board of Statutory Auditors. 

The head of internal audit brings directly to the attention of the director in charge of supervising the functionality of the internal control and risk management system and to the CFO, who are committed to periodically update the Board of Directors, all the controls performed and the analyses concerning compliance and regulatory updates, the legislative updates and the significant events (e.g. inspections and requests for information by Supervisory Authorities). The information flow is direct because there are no intermediate layers between the head of internal audit, the CFO and the executive director in charge of the internal control and risk management system. Furthermore, the head of internal audit and the CFO meet periodically the Control and Risk Committee, the Board of Statutory Auditors and the Supervisory Body for adequate updates on the activities performed.

The head of internal audit performs a monthly check of the effectiveness of the audit information systems by analyzing the actual data for all the Group's companies, comparing results with budget forecasts, and verifying the correct recording in the management accounts of revenues and costs as well as the proper accrual in time.

For 2022, a specific budget, equal to Euro 20 thousand, is assigned to the audit function of the Issuer, as resolved by the Board of Directors during the meeting held on May 12, 2022. At least once a year, the Board of Directors is updated, through the report of the Control and Risk Committee on the activities performed by the internal audit function and on the execution of the activity program set by the committee. Every year the executive committee sets remuneration, duties and resources for the head of internal audit, with the opinion of the Control and Risk Committee; the definition of the remuneration is established by the executive directors rather than the Board of Directors, as, taking into account the relative simplicity of the organizational structure of the internal audit function, it was preferred not to involve the whole Board in this decision.

The activities of the head of internal audit, planned and decided with the director in charge for internal control and risk management system, the Control and Risk Committee, the Board of Statutory Auditors, and the Supervisory Body, aim at the satisfaction of international standards, that the Issuer, which operates as a listed company in a highly regulated sector, must follow.

The main activities carried out by the internal audit function during the financial year were:

Internal audit activities, overall as well as for operating segments, were not assigned to external subjects.

On March 20, 2008, the Company adopted the model of organization pursuant to article 6 of Law Decree 231/2001, of which the last update was approved by the Board of Directors on November 14, 2022. The current monocratic Supervisory Body was appointed by the Board of Directors on May 14, 2021. The Board of Directors believes that such appointment would be effective for the Group. Furthermore, the member of the Supervisory Body has all the required professional, independence and integrity qualifications.

Moreover, despite the Supervisory Body is not made up of at least one non-executive director or of a member of the Board of Statutory Auditors, this appointment is compatible with the Code of Corporate Governance, since an adequate coordination with the subjects involved in the internal audit and risk management system is ensured by means of the support of corporate functions and the management of adequate information flows. In fact, at least on a quarterly basis, a meeting is held, which is attended by the Supervisory Body, the Board of Statutory Auditors of the Issuer and its subsidiaries, the CFO, the internal audit function and, in some cases, the Control and Risk Committee.

It was resolved that the duration of this office would continue until the date of approval of the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023. The Company provides an annual remuneration for the office of Supervisory Body, covering also the activities performed for the subsidiaries.

During 2022, the Supervisory Body met four times. On such occasions, it met the Board of Statutory Auditors, the CFO Francesco Masciandaro, the internal audit function and the Control and Risks Committee. During the meetings, the activities carried out by the internal audit function, those related to the updating process of the Model, and the controls carried out during the year were analyzed, always keeping in mind the potential offences worth of special attention within the organizational model pursuant to Legislative Decree 231/2001.

The organizational model adopted by the Group and its principles are applied to the corporate bodies of all the companies of the Group (meaning the Board of Directors and the Board of Statutory Auditors of the companies and their relative members), to the employees, to the other personnel of the Group, to consultants, suppliers and more generally to all those that, for whatever reason, operate with "sensitive" activities on behalf or for the Group. The model is oriented mainly to prevent the following types of offences: 

The organizational model pursuant to the Legislative Decree 231/2001 is available on the Internet site of the Company in the section "Governance", "Other documents".     

The auditing firm in charge of legally-required auditing of accounting activities is EY S.p.A., with registered office in Roma, via Po n. 32, appointed by the shareholders' meeting of April 22, 2016 and with expiration on the date of the shareholders' meeting for approval of the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024. 

During 2022, the Board of Statutory Auditors forwarded to the Board of Directors the Additional Report pursuant to Article 11 of EU Regulation 537/2014 without its own emphases or observations.

Article  23, paragraph 1 of the Articles of Association provides for the appointment by the Board of Directors, subject to the mandatory opinion of the Board of Statutory Auditors, of a manager responsible for preparing the Company's financial reports in compliance with the provisions of article 154-bis of TUF, who must be chosen among individuals with a  degree in economics, finance or disciplines related to business management and must have at least three years of experience (i) in the exercise of administrative or managerial functions or (ii) in the exercise of professional activities within an auditing firm or (iii) as a certified accountant, consultant to limited liability companies. Those who are not in possession of the integrity requirements of article 147-quinquies of TUF cannot be appointed to the office and, if already appointed, shall expire from the same.

The manager responsible for preparing the Company's financial reports exercises the powers and responsibilities attributed to him in accordance with article 154-bis of TUF.

The Board of Directors in the meeting of May 8, 2008, with the approval of the Board of Statutory Auditors, appointed as manager responsible for preparing the Company's financial reports Francesco Masciandaro, who within the Group holds the role of Chief Financial Officer and Head of Administration and Control.

The manager responsible for preparing the Company's financial reports is provided with adequate powers and means to perform the tasks assigned to him or her. In particular, the manager in charge has developed a set of procedures and information flows aimed at identifying all the processes and business events with an economic and financial relevance; in this way all the economic and financial events of relevance are reflected in the accounting data and periodic financial reports.

Finally, it is worth highlighting that the manager responsible for preparing the Company's financial reports was appointed director with delegated powers on administrative matters, including powers to represent the Company in dealings with the financial administration and powers to sign all the declarations required by applicable tax laws, in all the Italian subsidiaries of the Group, except Innovazione Finanziaria SIM S.p.A., Eagle & Wise Service S.r.l., MOL BPO S.r.l., Above Comparison S.r.l., Trebi Generalconsult S.r.l. and the companies of the Lercari Group.

The coordination and the information flow between people involved in the internal control and risk management system appears to be streamlined and effective.

In particular, the executive director in charge of supervising the functionality of the internal control and risk management system, Marco Pescarmona, Chairman of the Board of Directors as well, and the manager responsible for preparing the Company's financial reports, Francesco Masciandaro and the head of internal audit Walter Baraggia, work together to find out and manage risks which endanger and/or could endanger the Group's companies to achieve business objectives.

The executive director in charge of supervising the functionality of the internal control and risk management system, Marco Pescarmona, as Chairman of the Board of Directors, helps to identify the main risks for the Group, considering the business activities of the Issuer and of its subsidiaries, and is responsible for the set up and management of the internal control and risk management system, constantly verifying its adequacy and effectiveness. With the opinion of the Board, he asks the head of internal audit or the CFO to verify some specific operational areas considering the compliance to regulations and internal procedures in the execution of business operations and to analyze the regulations compared to the business activities. The CFO and the head of internal audit report the results to the executive director in charge of supervising the functionality of the internal control and risk system or directly to the Board of Directors.

The Board of Statutory Auditors, the Supervisory Body and the Control and Risk Committee monitor, value and give their opinion on the adequacy and effectiveness of the internal control system by examining the results brought by the CFO and the head of internal audit, with the power to request further examinations on specific operational business areas. 

The above-mentioned bodies inform and update one another either through formal meetings (like meetings of the Board of Directors, of the Control and Risk Committee, of the Board of Statutory Auditors / Supervisory Body, or through constant information flows during informal meetings, conference calls and/or e-mails.

The Ethical Code, originally approved on March 20, 2008, and last updated on November 14, 2022, is an essential element and function of the organizational model that the Group has adopted pursuant to Law Decree n. 231/2001 and expresses the principles of business ethics and rules of conduct designed to prevent, under Italian law, the commission of offences and all those behaviors inconsistent with the values that the Issuer and its subsidiaries pursuant to article 2359 of the civil code seek to promote.

The Group recognizes the importance of business ethics and social responsibility in the management of corporate activities and affairs and is committed to take into account the legitimate interests of its stakeholders and of the community in which it operates. At the same time, the Group expects from all its employees the respect of business rules and principles established in the Ethical Code and to operate with the highest ethical standards and in compliance with all applicable laws.

The Ethical Code is distributed to all employees. In addition, the Group requires from all subsidiaries, associated companies and major suppliers a conduct in line with the general principles of the Ethical Code.

The Ethical Code is available on the Internet site of the Company in the section "Governance", "Other documents".

  1. INTERESTS OF DIRECTORS AND TRANSACTIONS WITH RELATED PARTIES

The Board of Directors of the Company on May 14, 2021, having acknowledged the favorable opinion of the committee established for this purpose (consisting only of independent directors),  approved the new "Procedure for transactions with related parties" ("Related Parties Procedure") pursuant to the Regulation "Transactions with Related Parties", issued by CONSOB with the resolution no. 17221 of March 12, 2010 (subsequently amended by resolution no. 17389 of June 23, 2010), pursuant to article 2391-bis of the civil code and articles 113-ter, 114, 115, and 154-ter of TUF, and in accordance also with the recommendations of the Code of Corporate Governance. 

The Company applies the Related Parties Procedure taking into account also CONSOB Communication DEM/10078683, published on September 24, 2010, containing "Indications and guidelines of the Regulation on transactions with related parties adopted to comply with the resolution no. 17221 of March 12, 2010, and subsequent amendments".

The Related Parties Procedure regulates the identification, approval and the management of transactions with related parties performed by the Company, also through its subsidiaries pursuant to article 2359 of the civil code or in any case subject to direction and coordination.

After having verified, consulting the list of related parties of the Group that the counterparty to a transaction is a related party, the parties involved in the execution of the transaction must notify the internal audit function and the administrative and control direction, the intention to begin negotiations for performing the transaction. The internal audit function and the administrative and control direction promptly evaluate whether the transaction complies with the Regulation issued by CONSOB with resolution no. 17221 or if it is possible to apply one or more of the exemption cases for which it is not necessary to follow the approval process required by the procedure. If it is not an exemption, the committee for transactions with related parties expresses its non-binding opinion on the execution of the transaction. The approval for the execution of the transaction is given, depending on the case, by the Board of Directors or by the shareholders' meeting.

Pursuant to paragraph 5 of the Related Parties Procedure, the directors that have an interest in a transaction must promptly and exhaustively inform the Board of Directors on the existence of interest and on his/her circumstances considering, on a case by case basis, the opportunity to leave the Board meetings at the voting moment or to abstain from voting. If he/she is an executive director, he/she abstains from carrying out the transaction. In these cases, the resolutions of the Board of Directors motivate adequately the reasons and the benefits for the Company of the transaction.

For more information, please refer to the Related Parties Procedure and its annexes, available on the Company's Internet site under "Governance", "Other documents".

The Committee for Transactions with Related Parties

The Board of Directors on November 11, 2010 also resolved to set up an internal "Committee for Transactions with Related Parties", composed of independent directors and invested with all the functions provided by the Related Parties Procedure, and to approve the regulation of this committee.

The Board of Directors on May 29, 2020 appointed as members of the Committee for Transactions with Related Parties the independent directors Valeria Lattuada (chairman), Anna Maria Artoni and Klaus Gummerer, resolving a total remuneration, on a yearly basis, equal to Euro 4 thousand. 

The Committee for Transactions with Related Parties did not meet during the year, because there have been no transactions for which it was necessary to request the opinion of the committee.

  1. APPOINTMENT OF STATUTORY AUDITORS 

The appointment of the Board of Statutory Auditors is made on the basis of slates submitted by shareholders. 

The Board of Statutory Auditors is appointed by the shareholders' meeting, with a composition of three standing Statutory Auditors and two substitutes. The objective is to allow minority shareholders to appoint one standing Statutory Auditor and one substitute and to respect the diversity criteria, also about gender, pursuant to article 148, comma 1-bis, of Consolidated Finance Law and to the Code of Corporate Governance; therefore, at least two fifth of the seats in the Board of Statutory Auditors must be held by the least represented gender. The Issuer has considered unnecessary the adoption of a diversity policy to be applied in relation of the composition of the Board of Statutory Auditors in term of age and background. Nevertheless, the current composition of the Board of Statutory Auditors ensures diversity in term of gender, age and background. 

Each shareholder, or the members of a shareholder agreement pursuant to article 122 of TUF, as well as the controlling entity, the subsidiary companies and those companies subject to common control pursuant to article 93 of TUF, may not submit or take part in the submission of, neither through a third party or a trust company, more than one slate, nor can vote for different slates. 

Shareholders are entitled to submit slates if, by themselves or together with other shareholders, are holders of the minimum stake established by CONSOB Regulations for the submission of slates for the appointment of the board of directors. The slates submitted by the shareholders must be filed at the registered office at least twenty-five days before the date set for the shareholders' meeting in first call, along with the required documents prescribed by the Articles of Association together with a resume of the candidates included in the slate. 

It is worth highlighting, that as already mentioned in paragraph 4.1, on January 30, 2023, CONSOB with resolution n. 76, identified a shareholding threshold of 2.5% of the shares with voting rights in the shareholders' meeting.

If upon the deadline for the submission of the slates only one slate has been filed, or only slates submitted by members linked together pursuant to applicable provisions, other slates may be submitted within three days of the deadline. In this case, the previous threshold is reduced by half.

The election system required by the Articles of Association provides that: 

  1. the first two candidates (effective section) from the slate with the highest number of votes and the first candidate from the slate that ranks second for number of votes, who will be the chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors, will be elected as active statutory auditors;

  2. the first candidate (alternates section) from the slate with the highest number of votes and the first candidate from the slate that will result second for number of votes will be elected substitute statutory auditors. 

Moreover, if the candidates elected with the manner above described do not comply with the laws currently in force on gender balance, the candidate of the gender more represented elected as the latest in consecutive order from the slate that received the highest number of votes shall be replaced by the first candidate of the gender less represented in consecutive order not elected taken by the same slate. This replacing procedure will be applied until the composition of the Board of Directors complies with the laws currently in force on gender balance. If this replacing procedure does not assure the gender balance, the replacing will be carried out by shareholders' meeting resolving with majority required pursuant to law, upon submission of candidates belonging to the gender less represented.

If the two first slates obtain the same number of votes, the shareholder's meeting proceeds with a new election, by voting only for the first two slates, complying with the equal right of appointment in managing and supervisory boards of listed companies.

If only a single slate has been submitted, the candidates of this slate will be elected active statutory auditors and substitute statutory auditors complying with the equal right of appointment in managing and supervisory boards of listed companies. If no slate is submitted, the shareholders' meeting will elect the Board of Statutory Auditors according to the law, always complying with gender equilibrium requirements.

In case of replacement of an active statutory auditor, the substitute auditor belonging to the same slate of the ceased statutory auditor will take over always complying with the abovementioned laws on gender equilibrium. If the Board of Statutory Auditors is not complete with the entry of the substitute auditors, a shareholders' meeting must be called to provide for the integration of the Board of Auditors pursuant to the law.

  1. COMPOSITION AND OPERATION OF THE BOARD OF STATUTORY AUDITORS

The Board of Statutory Auditors of the Company in office was appointed by the shareholders' meeting of April 29, 2021 and will remain in office until the approval of the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023. 

For the appointment of the Board of Statutory Auditors two slates of candidates were presented: a slate by the shareholder Alma Ventures S.A. (so called Slate 1), which obtained the consent of present shareholders representing 25,769,053 shares, which correspond to 78.89% of share capital with voting right at the date of April 29, 2021, and a slate by minority shareholders (so called Slate 2), which obtained the consent of present shareholders representing 6,818,998 shares, which correspond to 20.88% of share capital with voting right at the date of April 29, 2021. 

Pursuant to article 26 of the Articles of Association, have been appointed:

For the composition of the Board of Statutory Auditors and other information please refer to Table 3, in the appendix, concerning the structure of the Board of Statutory Auditors. As regards the personal and professional characteristics of each member of the Board of Statutory Auditors, please refer to their curricula published on the Issuer's Internet site under "Governance", "Shareholders' meetings and Company governance" "2021".

The statutory auditors, in accepting their office, have declared that they possess the necessary requirements of professionalism, integrity and independence. On May 14, 2021, the Board of Directors then checked the existence of these requirements, by correctly applying the assessment procedures and criteria. The result of this control was positive.

During the financial year, the Board of Statutory Auditors met 6 times with an average meeting duration of two hours. The Board of Statutory Auditors also participated in all the meetings of the Board of Directors and has been regularly updated on business performance and the main events of the year.  


The persistence, after appointment, of the independence requirements of the members of the Board of Statutory Auditors, pursuant to article 148, comma 3, of TUF and recommendation n. 7 and 9 of the Code of Corporate Governance was assessed by the Board of Directors on May 14, 2021. The assessment was conducted acquiring the declaration for the satisfaction of the requirements of professionalism and independence as of the date of their application signed by each member of the Board of Statutory Auditors. Besides, the lists of the direction and control offices of each statutory auditor, as well as the lists of the companies, partnership or corporation, held by them, were obtained. As the outcome of this assessment, the Board of Directors verified, with positive results, the persistence of the independence requirements of each member of the Board of Statutory Auditors. With reference to what provided by the Code of Corporate Governance, the Board of Directors performed its assessment based on the principle of prevalence of substance over form and using additional parameters for the assessment on top of those provided by the Code. At the end of these assessments, although the circumstance set out in recommendation n. 7, letter E (presence on the Board for more than 9 years) occurred with regard to statutory auditors Burlando and Masotti, the persistence of the independence requirements was confirmed considering the demonstrated high and consolidated ethical and professional qualities that enable them to express full independence of judgment.


The above-mentioned assessment was conducted by the Board of Directors during a meeting attended by the whole Board of Statutory Auditors. Therefore, it was decided not to proceed with a specific assessment by the Board of Statutory Auditors itself, as this assessment was made the Board of Directors.


On May 12, 2022, the Board of Statutory Auditors verified the correct application of all the criteria pursuant to recommendation n. 7 and 9 of the Code of Corporate Governance and to the Instructions accompanying Markets Regulations and the adequacy of the assessment adopted by the Board of Directors with regard to the directors' independence. The results were positive.


Pursuant to recommendation no. 7 of the Code of Corporate Governance, the Board of Directors established that, with reference to the quantitative and qualitative criteria for the assessment of independence of directors and auditors, the significance of the annual remuneration that an independent director or auditor can receive from the Issuer's subsidiaries shall not be higher than three times the amount received by the Issuer for the same type of office and not higher than the amount received by the Issuer for activities other than the office.


The remuneration of the statutory auditors for the year has been determined by the shareholders' meeting at the time of their appointment. The remuneration amounts to Euro 30 thousand per annum for the chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors and to Euro 20 thousand per annum for each active statutory auditor. The compensation is coherent with the commitment required, with the importance of the role and with the dimensional and sectoral characteristics and of the Company.

The Procedure for Transactions with Related Parties approved by the Board of Directors on May 14, 2021 (see paragraph 6) provides that a Statutory Auditor who has, for himself/herself or on behalf of third parties, an interest on a transaction of the Issuer, must promptly inform the other statutory auditors on the nature, terms and extent of his/her interest.

Over the year 2022 the Board of Statutory Auditors has met the independent auditing firm two times in order to obtain an update on the results of accounting and legally required auditing and on the schedule of the activities for the audit. These meetings were always attended by the CFO of the Issuer, Francesco Masciandaro, who informed the Board of Statutory Auditors on the ordinary control activities, paying particular attention to certain companies of the Group. 

During the financial year, the Board of Statutory Auditors was regularly updated by the Control and Risk Committee, by the CFO and by the head of internal audit on their activity during the financial year, through various formal meetings with the relevant parties as well as with informal meetings between individual members of the Board of Statutory Auditors and the other subjects involved in the internal control and risk management system.

During the meetings of the Board of Directors and the meetings of the Board of Statutory Auditors as well, the Chairman, the CEO and the CFO duly report to the Board of Statutory Auditors about the business performance of the Issuer, the general management performance, the company trends and the regulatory framework. In addition to formal meetings, all directors are constantly informed of the business performance of the Issuer, usually during informal meetings and/or conference calls. 

We also highlight that two of the active Statutory Auditors are substantially the same also for the other companies of the Group that have a board of statutory auditors in their structure, except Agenzia Italia S.p.A., and Gruppo Lercari S.r.l., which have two different active members if compared to the Board of Statutory Auditors of the Issuer.

On March 6, 2023 Stefano Gnocchi resigned as standing Statutory Auditor and Chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors, effective as of the date of the shareholders' meeting called to approve the Issuer's financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022. The resignation follows the decision to accept the proposed appointment as director of a primary credit institution, a position that in light of the current regulations on the accumulation of positions held by bank officers is incompatible with maintaining the position of statutory auditor of the Issuer.

For information regarding any management or control offices covered by the members of the Board of Statutory Auditors, please refer to the data published by CONSOB pursuant to article 144-quinquiesdecies of Issuers Regulations, on the website under "Corporate boards", "Disclosure".

Please note that Legislative Decree no. 39/2010 ("Implementation of Directive 2006/43/EC relating to audits of annual financial statements, which amends directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC, and which repeals directive 84/253/EEC") has endowed the Board of Statutory Auditors with the committee functions for internal control and auditing and, specifically, the functions of supervising: (i) the financial information process; (ii) the efficiency of the internal control, internal audit, if applicable, and risk systems; (iii) legally-required auditing of the annual and consolidated financial statements; (iv) independence of the independent auditor or the independent auditing firm, especially with respect to the provision of non-auditing services to the company that is subject to audit.

For more information on the activities carried out by the Board of the Statutory Auditors during the financial year, please refer to the "Report of the Board of Statutory Auditors" prepared pursuant to article 153 of TUF and article 2429, paragraph 2 of the civil code, and published together with the annual financial Report.

  1. RELATIONS WITH SHAREHOLDERS

The Company considers it coherent with its own specific interest - as well as an obligation towards the market - to establish a constant dialogue, based on mutual understanding of roles, with its shareholders in general and with institutional investors in particular; a relation intended to be conducted anyway in accordance with the "Internal regulation for the management and disclosure of confidential and privileged information".

In this respect, it was deemed that the creation of a dedicated structure within the Company, with its own staff and appropriate organizational means, could facilitate the relations with the shareholders in general, as well as with the institutional investors.

In accordance with article 2.2.3, paragraph 3, letter i) of Market Regulations, the Board of Directors of the Company, on February 9, 2007, resolved to institute, effective from June 6, 2007, the Investor Relations functions responsible for the relations with the shareholders in general and with institutional investors in particular and possibly perform specific tasks as the management of price sensitive information and relations with CONSOB and the Italian Stock Exchange.

The Board of Directors has appointed ad interim the executive director Marco Pescarmona, to the function of Investor Relator of the Issuer.

Although it has not adopted a specific policy for managing relations with shareholders, the Company provides adequate information for investor relations also by publishing in a timely and continuous manner the most relevant corporate documents on its Internet site (www.gruppomol.it), in two special sections: "Governance" and "Investor Relations".

  1. SHAREHOLDERS' MEETINGS

Pursuant to article 9 of the Articles of Association, the shareholders' meeting, regularly constituted, represents the whole body of shareholders and its resolutions are binding for all the shareholders, with or without the right to vote, as well as for those that do not participate or dissent. The shareholders' meeting, both ordinary and extraordinary, is validly constituted and resolves with the majorities prescribed by law.

Pursuant to article 10 of the Article of Association, shareholders' meetings are called with the publication of a notice as prescribed by the law on the website of the Company and also according to the mandatory procedure prescribed by the law and regulations including the publication on one of the following newspapers: Il Sole 24 Ore, Corriere della Sera, La Repubblica, La Stampa, Il Messaggero, MF/Milano Finanza, Finanza e Mercati or Italia Oggi. The shareholders' meeting should be called by the Board of Directors for the approval of annual financial statements at least once a year within 120 days after the end of the financial year, or within 180 days, since the Company is required to prepare the consolidated financial statements. There are no other limits of constitution or resolution quorum than those provided by law.

The main powers of the shareholders' meeting shall be those provided by the legislative provisions and alternative applicable regulations; in particular, the Articles of Association do not require the authorization of the shareholders' meeting for specific acts of the directors.

As allowed by Article 127-quinquies(1) of the TUF, the Shareholders meeting of the Issuer held on April 24, 2018 resolved the introduction in the Company Bylaws of article 11-bis, pursuant to which two votes are attributed to each share held by the same person for a continuous 24-months period starting from the entry date in the Special List. In order to obtain the above-mentioned increased voting rights, after such period has elapsed, pursuant to the regulations in force, the intermediary, upon request of the holder, must issue a second communication, which confirms the holding of the qualifying property right.

On June 20, 2018 the board of directors of the Issuer, in force of the delegation received by the extraordinary shareholders meeting held on April 24, 2018, (i) adopted specific regulations, to regulate the entry, maintenance and update of the Special List, pursuant to applicable regulations, the Articles of Association and market practice, in order to ensure the timely exchange of information among Shareholders, the Company and the intermediaries; and (ii) appointed Francesco Masciandaro as the person in charge for the keeping of the Special List.

The regulation for the increased voting right is available on the Website, in the section "Investor Relations", "Increased Voting Right".

Pursuant to article 11 of the Articles of Association, the right to participate in the shareholders' meeting and the exercise of voting rights is certified by a statement to the Company made by the intermediary in charge of holding the accounting pursuant to the law, based on the evidence at the end of the seventh accounting and trading day before the date fixed for the shareholders' meeting on first call, and received by the Company in accordance with the law. The right to participate in the shareholders' meeting is certified by a statement to the Company made by the intermediary in charge of keeping the counting pursuant to the law, based on the evidence at the end of the seventh accounting and trading day before the date fixed for the shareholders' meeting on first call, and received by the Company in accordance with the law. There are no limitations to the availability of the shares prior to the meeting. 

The shareholders' meeting is ordinary or extraordinary according to the law and takes place at the registered office or in other places indicated in the notice, within the national territory, or any other country of the European Community or Switzerland. To facilitate the participation of the shareholders at the meeting, article 11.2 of the Articles of Association provides also that the shareholders' meeting could take place with participants located in several places, near or far, in video conference or conference call, provided that they comply with the collegial method, good faith principles and equal treatment of members. The vote may also be expressed by mail, as expressly provided in the notice, in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements.

Pursuant to article 12 of the Articles of the Association, shareholders who have the right to vote may be represented by law, by written proxy, or by e-mail, in accordance with the provisions of article 2372 of the civil code and other applicable regulatory requirements. The electronic notification of the proxy may be done, following the procedures indicated in the notice, through a message to the certified e-mail address given in the same notice or through the use of the special section on the Company's Internet site. The Company may designate, for each shareholders' meeting, an intermediary to which the shareholders may confer, according to modalities provided by law and regulations, within the end of the second trading day prior to the date scheduled for the shareholders' meeting on single or first call, a delegation with voting instructions on all or only on some of the proposals on the agenda. The delegation has no effect with regards to proposals for which no voting instructions have been given.

With exception of the provisions of the Articles of the Association, all the other operating rules, regulations and discipline of the shareholders' meetings have been determined, upon the proposal of the Board of Directors, by the shareholders' meeting of December 18, 2007 with the approval of a Shareholders' Meeting Regulation, available on the Company's Internet site in the section "Governance", "Shareholders' meeting and Governance", "2007".

As indicated in the Shareholders' Meeting Regulation, the shareholders and the other holders of voting rights pursuant to the law and the Articles of Association can intervene in the Shareholders' Meeting. They are entitled to discuss on the items on the agenda, making observations and asking for information and may also set forth voting proposals and statements. The order of the interventions is decided by the chairman. The maximum length of each intervention should not usually exceed five minutes and each shareholder may intervene only once on each item on the agenda. 

For the meeting held in 2022, the directors released a specific proposal for all the point at issue, with suitable advance.

The Board of Directors, represented in the meeting by Chairman Marco Pescarmona, CEO Alessandro Fracassi, and non-executive director Marco Zampetti, reported in the shareholders' meeting on its past and future activities and has done its best to provide the shareholders with adequate information with all the elements needed, by publishing on the web site the necessary documentation within the time limits provided by law, so that they could take their decisions during the shareholders' meeting with full knowledge.

Neither the chairman nor any other member of the remuneration committee have not directly reported to the shareholders regarding the exercise of the committee duties. Nevertheless, on April 28, 2022, the report on remuneration pursuant to Legislative Decree 123-ter of the TUF was discussed. Such report describes the remuneration policy implemented by Gruppo MutuiOnline S.p.A., describing, among other things, the duties, activities and procedures for the implementation of such policy by the Remuneration and Share Incentive Committee. The majority of the shareholders present at the meeting of April 28, 2022, representing 95.63% of the share capital, expresses a favorable vote on the approval of this report. 

With regards to other shareholders' rights not illustrated in this Report, please refer to the applicable laws and regulations.

During 2022, the market capitalization of the Company's shares ranged from Euro 375 million to Euro 1 billion. Therefore, in accordance with Determination n. 76, for the purpose of submitting lists of candidates for the election of management and control bodies, 2.5% of the shares with voting rights in the ordinary shareholders' meeting was set as the shareholding percentage.

  1. OTHER PROCEDURES OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 

The Issuer does not adopt corporate governance procedures other than those already mentioned in the preceding paragraphs.

  1. CHANGES SINCE THE END OF THE REFERENCE YEAR 

As of the end of the financial year, there have been no changes in the corporate governance structure other than those reported in the relevant sections.

  1. CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT THE LETTER OF JANUARY 25, 2023 OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE 

The recommendations expressed in the letter of January 25, 2023, addressed by the Corporate Governance Committee, to the Chairmen of the Boards of Directors of Italian listed entities, concerning the tenth report about the application of the Code of Corporate Governance, will be brought to the attention of Board of Directors and its Committees during 2023. 





For the Board of Directors

The Chairman

Ing. Marco Pescarmona


_______________________________

APPENDIX

TABLE 1 -INFORMAtion on OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE 

Picture 14


Picture 45


TABLE 2 - structure of the Board of Directors AT THE END OF THE FINANCIAL YEAR

Picture 46


● This symbol indicates the Executive Director in charge of overseeing the Internal Control System.

◊ This symbol indicates the main managers of the Issuer.

○ This symbol indicates the Lead Indipendent Director.

(*) The date of first appointment of each director means the date on which the director was appointed for the first time (ever) to the Issuer's Board. 

(**) This column indicates whether the list from which each director was drawn was submitted by shareholders (specifying "Shareholders") or by the BoD (specifying "BoD").

(***) This column shows whether the list from which each director was drawn is a "majority list" (indicating "M"), or a "minority list" (indicating "m").

(****) This column shows the number of offices as director or auditor held by the person concerned in other listed companies or companies of significant size. In the Corporate Governance Report the offices are indicated in full. 

(*****) This column shows the attendance of Directors at meetings of the Board of Directors.




TABLE 2A - OTHER OFFICES AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2022


Picture 47


 

tabLE 2B - OFFICES OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS IN THE OTHER COMPANIES OF THE GROUP AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2022


Picture 48 


TABLE 3 - structure of the Board COMMITTEES AT THE END OF THE FINANCIAL YEAR


Picture 49

(*) This column shows the attendance of Directors at committee meetings.

(**) This column indicates the qualification of the director within the committee: "P": chairman; "M": member.E.C.: executive committee

R.C.: Remuneration and Share Incentive Committee 

C.R.C.: Control and Risk Committee

C.T.R.P.: committee for transactions with related parties



TABLE 4 - Structure of the Board of Statutory Auditors 

Picture 50


(*) The date of first appointment of each auditor means the date on which the auditor was appointed for the first time (ever) to the Issuer's Board of Statutory Auditors.

(**) This column indicates whether the list from which each auditor was taken is "majority" (by specifying "M"), or "minority" (by specifying "m").

(***) This column shows the attendance of Auditors at the meetings of the Board of Statutory Auditors.

(****) This column shows the number of offices of director or auditor held by the person concerned pursuant to art. 148-bis of the Consolidated Law on Finance and the related implementing provisions contained in the Consob Issuers' Regulations. The complete list of offices is published by Consob on its website pursuant to art. 144-quinquiesdecies of the Consob Issuers' Regulation. 


  1. REPORT OF THE BOARD OF STATUTORY AUDITORS 


Gruppo MutuiOnline S.p.A.

Registered office: Via F. Casati 1/A - 20124 Milan

Administrative office: Via Desenzano 2 - 20146 Milan

Share capital: Euro 1.012.354,01 fully paid-up

Company registry - Milan office, N. 05072190969

*   *   *

REPORT OF THE BOARD OF STATUTORY AUDITORS

ON FINANCIAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022

TO THE ANNUAL SHAREHOLDERS' MEETING

(Art. 153 of Law Decree 24/2/1998 n. 58 and Art. 2429, par. 2, civil code)


Kind shareholders,

this report refers to the execution of the functions and activities attributed to this Board of Statutory Auditors in compliance with art. 149 and following of Law Decree 24/02/1998 n. 58; it follows the base scheme suggested by CONSOB with communication n. 1025564 of April 6, 2001, and subsequent amendments.

The supervision pursuant to Article 2403 of the Civil Code has been regularly performed, observing both the principles of conduct of the board of statutory auditors in listed companies issued by the National Council of Accounting Experts, and the recommendations and communications of CONSOB.

The Board of Statutory Auditors in charge was appointed for the first time by the shareholders' meeting of April 24, 2018 and finishes its first office with the approval of the Annual Report as of December 31, 2020, and it was newly appointed by the shareholders' meeting of April 29, 2021.

The appointed independent auditor is EY S.p.A., as resolved by the shareholders' meeting of April 22, 2016, which has also been appointed to perform the limited review of the Non-Financial Report. 

*  *  *

  1. Reflections on the most significant economic and financial operations and facts carried out by the Company and their compliance with the law and the articles of association

Gruppo MutuiOnline S.p.A. is the holding company of a group of financial services firms, active in the national markets for the online comparison, promotion and intermediation of products provided financial institutions, as well as, since 2015, in the price comparison of e-commerce operators.

The Company, during the financial year ended December 31, 2022, has correctly carried out its activity of direction and coordination of the operating subsidiaries.

In the initial part of the Director's Report on Operations for 2022, the directors, pursuant to Article 150, comma 1, TUF, provide detailed and complete information on the transactions having a significant economic and financial impact for the company and its subsidiaries, as well as the type of activities carried out by the controlled companies, organized by business specialization, and on the corporate structure of the Group, as well as on the organizational changes that have taken place in 2022.

The Board of Statutory Auditors, with the sole purpose of recapitulating and making its Report self-standing, reminds that the business of the Group is structured in two divisions, (a) the Broking Division, which operates in the distribution of mortgages and consumer credit and insurance products, as well as, starting from 2015, in e-commerce price comparison and (b) the BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) Division that operates as an outsourcer of commercial and processing activities for retail mortgages and employee loans, of mass not-motor insurance claims management services and of services linked to the asset management industry, as well as administrative outsourcing services for leasing and long-term rental operators. In addition to the two divisions indicated above, PP&E S.r.l. provides real estate leasing and operational support services to the other Italian operating companies of the Group. 

Besides those described by the Directors in their "Report on Operations", in the financial year ended December 31, 2022 there are no other operations of specific relevance that require to be mentioned or commented here, nor we have to highlight manifestly imprudent or risky operations, in potential conflict of interest, against with the resolutions of the shareholders' meeting or such to endanger the integrity of the shareholders' equity. 

Just for recollection, as the directors have already commented in this respect in their report, we remind that: 

With respect to all the points mentioned and, more generally, to the overall operations, the board of statutory auditors recognizes that during the financial year it has always received in a timely manner the information needed to be aware of and understand the development of the Company's operations which are illustrated in the Reports prepared by the board of directors.

The Board of Statutory Auditors considers that the above-mentioned corporate transactions are pursuant to the Law and to the Articles of Association, are compliant to the corporate interest, are not imprudent and risky, are not in contrast with the resolutions of the shareholders' meeting nor such to compromise the financial integrity of the company.

Overall, the Board of Statutory Auditors believe that at the date of approval of the financial report, there are no elements that could put into question the going concern assumption according to which the financial statements have been prepared.

  1. Unusual or atypical operations

Not occurred. 

Not occurred. 

The Company, in accordance with the "Code of Corporate Governance", approved the adoption of the principles of conduct concerning the transactions with related parties. The board of directors, on May 14, 2021, considering the favorable opinion of the Committee specifically set up for this purpose (which is exclusively composed of Independent Directors), approved the new "Related Party Procedure" (the "Related Party Procedure") adopted pursuant to the Regulation on "Transactions with Related Parties", issued by CONSOB with Resolution no. 17221 of March 12, 2010 (amended by subsequent Resolution no. 17389 of June 23, 2010), in implementation of Article 2391-bis of the Italian Civil Code and Articles 113-ter, 114, 115 and 154 of the TUF, as well as in compliance with the recommendations of the Corporate Governance Code. The Company applies the Related Parties Procedure also taking into account CONSOB Communication no. DEM/10078683, published on September 24, 2010, containing "Indications and guidelines for the application of the Regulation on transactions with Related Parties" adopted with Resolution no. 17221 of March 12, 2010 as subsequently amended.

In the financial report, in the separated and consolidated financial reports the Directors have provided timely disclosure regarding ordinary intra-group or related party operations. 

Such transactions are part of the ordinary course of business of Group companies.

In particular, the main items are related to:

The board of statutory auditors has periodically verified during the financial year that intra-group transactions or related party transactions are executed in compliance with the above-mentioned procedure, and, in any case, based on regular contracts prepared according to normal market standards and at arm's length conditions. The intra-group operations examined by the board of statutory auditors have been found satisfactory, in the best interest of the Company and the group controlled by the Company, as well as correctly justified and documented.

The board of statutory auditors has nothing to add to such disclosures which appear adequate.

  1.  Evaluation of the adequacy of the information provided by the Directors on atypical or unusual operations

No atypical or unusual operations have occurred.

  1. Remarks on Auditors' qualifications

The independent auditing firm issued on March 31, 2023 its opinions related to the audit of the Issuer's financial statement and of the consolidated financial statement; according to the independent auditing firm, both financial statements, separated and consolidated, provide "a truthful and correct representation of the financial situation of the Group (and of the Issuer) as of December 31, 2022, of the economic result and of cash flows for the financial year ended in such date, according to International Financial Reporting Standards adopted by European Union, and to regulations issued in execution to art. 9 of the Legislative Decree n. 38/2005".

The independent auditing firm also issued, on March 31, 2022, the opinion on Non-Financial Report, compliant with article 5 comma 3, letter b, of the Legislative Decree n. 254/2016 and with art. 5 of Consob resolution n. 20267/2018, where it certifies that no items reached to the attention of the firm, that make it believe the Non-Financial Report of the Group as of December 31, 2022, has not been prepared in according to articles 3 and 4 of the Decree mentioned above, and to the GRI Standards.

  1. Denunciations pursuant to article 2408 of the civil code

Not occurred. 

  1. Complaints presented

Not occurred. 

  1. Assignments granted to other parties related to the Auditors

Not occurred. 

  1. Opinions issued in compliance with law requirements

During financial year 2022 the board of statutory auditors issued the following opinions:

  1. Frequency of the meetings of the board of directors and of the board of statutory auditors

The statutory auditors, during 2022, held 6 meetings and, in addition, participated to 12 meetings of the Board of Directors, to 2 meetings of the Remuneration and Share Incentive Committee, to 3 meetings of the Control and Risk Committee, and to 1 ordinary shareholders' meeting.

  1. Remarks on compliance with the principles of fair administration

The Board of Statutory auditors has informed itself and supervised on the respect of the principles of fair administration. This has occurred through the participation to the meetings of the Board of Directors and to the meetings, also informal, of the Control and Risk Committee, one-on-one meetings with the Directors, direct observation and inquiries, collection of information from the managers in charge of business functions, meetings with the Auditing Firm also aimed at reciprocal exchange of relevant data and information according to article 150, paragraph 3, of the Consolidated Law on Finance.

The activity of the Board of Statutory Auditors has been aimed at controlling the legitimacy of the management choices of the Directors and their compliance, in the formation process, with criteria of economic and financial logic, according to the best practice advices. Furthermore, this activity was performed without any control on the appropriateness and profitability of the same choices. 

The Board of Statutory Auditors has verified that typical and usual operations, as well as the most significant ones, were not extraneous to the company's objectives, in contrast with the Articles of Association or in conflict of interest, even if only potential, and also that they could not compromise the integrity of the Company's capital or, anyway, be patently imprudent or risky. The Board of Statutory Auditors has also verified that they were not executed in contrast with the resolutions of the governing bodies or harmful to the rights of individual shareholders or minorities.

We have also made sure that the decisions of the Board of Directors on the most significant operations were assisted by the usual inquiries, in-depth analyses, control, possible acquisition of opinion and valuation of independent advisors, suggested by the best practice regarding the economic and financial correctness and their coherence with the interest of the Company.

No remarks have occurred regarding the respect of the principles of fair administration.

  1. Remarks on the adequacy of the organizational structure 

The Board of Statutory auditors has acquired information and supervised on the adequacy of the organizational structure of the Company through direct observations, interviews, collection of information from the business functions of the company, and meetings with the subjects in charge of internal and external auditing.

During the financial year, the Board of Statutory auditors has supervised, together with the independent auditor and the Control and Risk Committee, on the possibility of organizational/managerial problems that could derive from defects of organization; no instances worth mentioning in this report have arisen. 

The organizational structure is periodically updated for the requirements from time to time expressed; the statutory auditors are periodically informed about the changes in the most important positions. 

The assessment of the organizational structure has confirmed, overall, its reliability.

The system of powers in force is based on a split by nature of the different kinds of acts and operations as well as by means of maximum amounts for the implementation of the various types of acts of management. 

Overall, it is based on rational criteria and is adequate to the operating situation of the company.

  1. Remarks on the adequacy of the internal control system

The Board of Statutory auditors has supervised on the adequacy of the internal control system, directly by means of meetings with the Group's CFO as well as the manager in charge of the internal control system, and with the head of the Internal Audit function, of the participation to the meetings, also informal, of the Control and Risk Committee and of periodic meetings with the independent auditing firm, concluding that the system has not displayed any significant problems or other facts worth highlighting in this report. 

Regular meetings of the Board of Statutory Auditors with the CFO and with the Control and Risk Committee have allowed the Board to effectively follow the evolution of this business function and the results of the activities performed. These meetings also allowed the statutory auditors to coordinate with the Control and Risk Committee itself the execution of their own functions of "Committee for Internal Control and Audit" also according to article 19 of the legislative decree n. 39/2010 and, specifically, (i) monitor the financial information process and (ii) control the effectiveness of the internal control, risk management and internal audit systems. 

From the analyses and the controls performed, relative to the areas and the business functions interested by the activity, we derive a judgment of overall fairness and reliability of the internal control system.

In practice, we have not identified any relevant weaknesses of the system, therefore, even in its process of continuous evolution and improvement, the system has proven to be reliable.

A specific paragraph of the report on operations shows the main risk factors that affect the Company. In addition, the report on corporate governance gives full disclosure on the activities performed to manage the risks related to the financial reports, particularly referring to the provisions of the Law 262/05. 

  1. Remarks on the adequacy of the accounting management system

The Issuer, during the financial year 2022, performed for the other Italian companies of the Group accounting and administrative services. The assessment of the system is positive. In particular, we believe that the accounting system is able to correctly represent business activity.

The accounting management system, as a whole, has proven reliable: in particular, we consider the accounting management system capable to correctly represent the results of operations. 

The Board of Statutory Auditors is regularly kept up to date on the functioning of the existing system by the manager in charge of the accounting department.

  1. Remarks on the adequacy of instructions to controlled companies (art. 114 and 151 TUF)

The board of statutory auditors has been informed of the instructions given to controlled companies pursuant to article 114, paragraph 2, Unified Code of Finance and has found them satisfactory for the purpose of the fulfillment of legal obligations.

Pursuant to art. 151, first and second paragraphs, of TUF, the Board of Statutory Auditors exchanged information with the corporate bodies of the subsidiaries regarding the administration and control systems and the general performance of the company's business and considered them to be reliable and adequate.

The deliberate continuity in the names of the components of the boards of directors and of the boards of statutory auditors of the Group companies facilitates, in fact, those control functions by providing timely information and coordination of the instructions given by the controlling company. 

  1. Relevant facts emerged during the meetings with the independent auditing firm (art. 150 TUF and art. 19 D. Lgs. 39/2010)

During the financial year under review, we have had regular interactions with the independent auditing firm, with whom a fruitful relationship of data and information exchange has taken place also, and above all, considering the function of the statutory auditors, according to article 19 of legislative decree n. 39/2010, as "Committee for Internal Control and Audit". 

The relationship with the independent auditing firm has taken place through formal meetings also with the participation of the Company, during which we dwelled particularly upon the legal audit activities on the annual and consolidated accounts. With respect to the preparatory activities for the separate annual report and the consolidated financial statements, no facts have been found worth mentioning in this report; in particular, the auditing firm has not informed the Board of Statutory Auditors of any critical issues or weaknesses relevant enough to affect the reliability of the process leading to the preparation of the financial statements. 

Finally, the statutory auditors acknowledge that the independent auditing firm presented to the Control and Risk Committee the opinion pursuant to article 11 of EU regulation 537/2014 on March 30, 2023 and, the Board of Statutory Auditors forwarded it to the Board of Directors without any own observations on March 31, 2023.

During the independent auditing activities, no events or circumstances have occurred, such to raise significant doubts about the ability of the Issuer to continue to operate as a functioning entity (so called going concern), or significant deficiencies of the internal control system, regarding the disclosure process.  

  1. Adhesion to the Code of Corporate Governance

The information of this paragraph is provided also pursuant to art. 149 comma 1 letter c-bis) of the Consolidated Law on Finance.

The Company has adhered to the principles established by Code of Corporate Governance sponsored by Borsa Italiana S.p.A. and the Board of Directors on March 15, 2023 has approved the annual report on corporate governance and on ownership structure.

Just as a reminder, we point out that (i) within the Board of Directors operate, with advisory responsibilities, the Control and Risk Committee, the Remuneration and Share Incentive Committee and the Committee for Transactions with Related Parties; regarding role, tasks and functioning we refer to the specific paragraph of the Report of the Board of Directors on Corporate Governance; (ii) the Board of Directors has identified in the Chairman of the Board the director in charge of overseeing the functionality of the internal control system; (iii) the Board of Directors identified, with resolution of May 11, 2017, Valeria Lattuada as lead independent director; (iv) on November 12, 2021, the Board of Directors, pursuant to recommendation no. 18 of the Corporate Governance Code, resolved to appoint Francesco Masciandaro as Secretary of the Board, since he complies with the professional requirements necessary to carry out this function; (v) the Company has set up specific procedures relating to:

  1. Final remarks on supervisory activity

The Board of Statutory Auditors has verified the existence, in general, of an appropriate an adequate organizational structure of the Company, such as to ensure the respect of regulations and the exact and timely execution of any related duties.

Such verification has been conducted through:

In this way, we have been able to verify the presence of the organizational and technical pre-requisites for the respect, in practice, of the articles of association, laws and regulations that control the functioning of the bodies and business activities of the Company.

  1. Possible proposals to be presented to the Shareholders' meeting (art. 153 TUF)

The Board of Statutory auditors confirms that it has overseen the application of the laws and regulations regarding the preparation of the 2022 annual report of the Company as well as of the consolidated annual report and regarding their filing and on the respect of the duties of the Directors and the independent auditing firm on this subject.

The annual report submitted to your examination and the consolidated financial report reflect the operations of the Company in 2022 and contain an exhaustive analysis of the situation and of the operating result, as well as a description of the main risks and uncertainties to which the Company and the Group are exposed, with a unified description of the financial and economic situation, illustrated in detail by the Board of Directors in the "Report on Operations" and in the "Illustrative Notes"; the "Report on Operations" is consistent with the consolidated annual report.

*   *   *

Based on the controls directly performed and the information exchanged with the independent auditing firm, also taking into account its Report which provides an unqualified opinion, taking into account that the Directors have not taken advantage of the exemption from article 2423, paragraph 4, of the civil code, we have neither remarks nor proposals concerning the Financial Statements, the Report on Operations and the proposed allocation of the income of the year which, as a consequence and for what concerns us, are subject to your approval.


Milan, March 31, 2023

FOR THE BOARD OF STATUTORY AUDITORS

Stefano Gnocchi     Chairman


  1. REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS ON THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS










  1. REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITORS ON THE SEPARATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 















  1. DECLARATION PURSUANT TO ART. 154-BIS PAR. 5 OF LEGISLATIVE DECREE 58/1998

The undersigned Marco Pescarmona and Francesco Masciandaro, respectively chairman of the Board of Directors and manager in charge of preparing the accounting documents of Gruppo MutuiOnline S.p.A., hereby certify, taking into account the provision of art. 154-bis, paragraph 3 and 4, of Law Decree n. 58 dated February 24, 1998:

In this respect no relevant issues have arisen, such as anomalies or problems that could alter the information presented in this document or such modify the judgment of its readers.

Besides, we certify that:

  1. the annual report and the consolidated annual report:

    1. correspond to the results of the accounting books and book entries;

    2. are prepared in accordance with IFRS, understood as the International Financial Reporting Standards, the International Accounting Standards ("IAS"), the interpretations of the International Financial Reporting Interpretation Committee ("IFRIC"), previously denominated Standing Interpretations Committee ("SIC"), as adopted by the European Commission as of December 31, 2022 and published in the EU regulations as of this date;

    3. are appropriate to give a true and fair representation of the financial and economic situation of the Issuer and of all the companies included in the scope of consolidation.

  2. The directors' report on operations contains a reliable analysis about the state and the results of the operations, as well as a situation of the Issuer and of the group of companies included in the scope of consolidation, together with a description of the main risks and uncertainties to which they are exposed.


Milan, March 15, 2023


For the Board of Directors

The Chairman

(Ing. Marco Pescarmona)




The Manager in charge of preparing the accounting statements

(Dr. Francesco Masciandaro)