Madrid based Nextil has acquired the Portuguese company Keupe, a company specialized in the production of knitted luxury garments. This is a further step in the incorporation of companies that add value in each of the stages of the business and aims at consolidating Nextil's positioning in segments of reference in the textile industry, such as luxury.

The transaction, which amounts to approximately EUR 225,000, will allow Nextil to increase the production capacity of its luxury garments unit by 20%, with a proprietary manufacturing model where the group controls the production of garments under common quality standards. The Portuguese company, located in Ponte de Lima, is Nextil's third acquisition in the country. In 2018 Nextil bought SICI93 and Playvest, based in Braga and with work facilities in VilaVerde, Vizela and Braga..

In the luxury segment, Nextil is developing collections with higher added value and volume. The order backlog as of September 2021 was 250% higher than 2020 at the same dates, reaching €15 million of signed backlog.

Manuel Martos, CEO of Nextil Group, commented: "This is a very important operation for Nextil to continue driving forward the garment business unit with significant business growth in the strategic market of luxury.”

In 2021, the group recorded a positive operating result of EUR 0.048 million in the first nine months of the year, compared to losses of EUR 8 million in the previous year. Despite the increase in the price of raw materials, energy and transport, EBITDA grew by 498% to EUR 3.2 million. Both sales and profitability improved significantly in this period due to the focus on higher value-added segments and the optimization measures implemented by the group.

The Garment Unit achieved EUR 2.4 million EBITDA in the third quarter, compared to EUR 0.6 million in 2020, with a revenue increase of over 57% compared to the previous year. EBITDA margin grew from 20.8% in 2019 to 26.7% in the first 9 months of 2021.

Nextil Group is a leading European textile group founded in 1954 in El Masnou, Barcelona. It has eight factories in Spain, Portugal, Guatemala and the United States. With a commercial presence on five continents, Nextil Group manufactures fabrics and garments for the world's leading fashion companies in the sports, swimwear, luxury, medical and lingerie sectors. In 2021 Nextil Group recorded a turnover of EUR 44.8 million.

www.nextil.com