Racing Force S.P.A. (RFG.MI) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary
September 25, 2025
Earnings Call Speaker Segments
Piero Delprato
ExecutivesGood morning, everyone. I'm Piero Delprato, Racing Force Group Chairman and CEO. And today, with me in this call, there is Roberto Ferroggiaro, our Group Chief Financial Officer; and Alex Haristos, our Group Chief Operating Officer. Today, we are going to introduce you to the first semester 2025 figures. Yesterday, the Board of Directors approved the first semester data. And so today, we are going to give you more details about the numbers. I leave the floor to Roberto Ferroggiaro to enter in more details about the figures.
Roberto Ferroggiaro
ExecutivesThanks, Paolo. Good morning, everybody. Let's start with a quick overview of the key financial highlights, and then I will go into the details. The consolidated turnover of the first [ 6 ] months was equal to EUR 39.3 million with an EBITDA margin on sales of 21.1% and net income margin of 10.8%. Cash flow from operations was equal to EUR 7.6 million with a cash conversion on EBITDA of 92%. Net financial position at year-end is EUR 3.5 million. In May, the group paid a dividend of EUR 0.09 per share for a total of EUR 2.5 million. Moving to the next slide on sales. In the first half of 2025, sales increased by 4.6% compared to prior year, 4.8% at constant foreign exchange rates. The increase in sales was achieved despite the macroeconomic landscape, which continued to be characterized by significant uncertainty driven by geopolitical instability and the introduction of incremental tariffs by the U.S. administration. Looking at the group sales in terms of product categories, drivers equipment grew by EUR 2.1 million, plus 7.5%, driven by OMP racewear and from the second quarter onward by the contribution of Bellevue helmets as well, particularly due to new models homologated under the latest FIA safety standards. Car Parts revenue decreased by EUR 0.8 million in the half year, mainly due to a temporary shift of some months in supplies linked to the production programs of a few important car manufacturers, which have, however, confirmed their plans for the coming months. The other segment show a significant growth of EUR 0.4 million, plus 19.8%, mainly due to higher revenues from Racing Spirit apparel to both teams and corporate customers. In terms of geographical areas, the growth was concentrated in the EMEA region, plus EUR 1.6 million, 6.4% increase; and the Americas, EUR 0.6 million, 6.7% increase, while Asia Pacific recorded a decrease of EUR 0.5 million, mainly due to a different procurement planning by primary dealer as deliveries of stock orders for the new season shipped during the first quarter of previous fiscal year were requested at the end of 2024, generating a variation that is expected to be progressively reabsorbed in the second half of the year. For the same reason, sales to dealer, which continue to represent the primary sales channel for the group decreased by 3.4% compared to prior year. At the same time, total order intake from dealers shows solid increase compared to prior year, supporting a positive outlook for the second half. Teams and car manufacturer marked an increase of EUR 1.2 million, plus 12.7%, driven by key partnership agreements in place, including the one with adidas, [ Mercedes Benz ] in Formula 1. Sales to customers classified as other grew by EUR 1.3 million, plus 26.6%, mainly due to higher revenues from Racing Spirit branded products to corporate customers as well as higher sales of replica mini helmets to customers outside of the Motorsport business. Looking at the chart on the right side of the slide, in 2024, sales of the first half represented more than 57% of total year revenue. Seasonality is one of the characteristic of the Motorsport business, which is common to our competitor as well since most of the main championships start at the beginning of the year. In the first 9 months of 2025, the order intake from customers has grown double digits, supporting expectations of further growth in sales in the second half compared to last year. As a consequence, we expect a slightly different split between first and second half this year with a higher incidence of sales in the second half compared to the 42.8% weighted in 2024. If this sales trend is confirmed, the fixed cost of the structure will be distributed over a higher turnover in the full year, bringing a positive contribution to the group's marginality. Moving to Slide 5. Gross profit in the first half of 2025 amounted to EUR 24.6 million with an increase of EUR 1.5 million compared to last year, plus 6.4% and the weight on the group's total revenues that increased from 61.5% to 62.5%. The improvement in the gross margin percentage compared to 2024 first half is mainly due to a different composition of turnover and in particularly, the growth in sales of driver equipment and helmets with a marginality higher than the average and also to the actions implemented in operations, including the in-sourcing of certain activities following the acquisition, for instance, of Plugin at the end of the previous fiscal year, as well as initiatives to strengthen supply chain control, which led to the in-house production of fabrics using racewear. Finally, cost of sales in the first half of 2024 was affected by a nonrecurring inventory write-down recorded by the subsidiary Racing Force USA, following the reorganization and consolidation of the Pro shop at the [ Muri ] Logistics Hub. The bridge on the right side of the slide breaks down the EUR 1.5 million increase in gross profit in absolute terms, which is mainly due to 2 effects. The first one is related to higher sales volumes for EUR 1.1 million. And the second one is the higher percentage marginality, which brought an additional EUR 0.4 million variance linked to the different sales mix and the higher efficiency from operations. Moving to Slide 6. EBITDA amounted to EUR 8.3 million, up from EUR 8.2 million in 2024 with a CAGR of 18.3% in the last 5 years. EBITDA margin on sales was 21.1%, slightly lower than 21.7% in first half 2024 due to the following factors: gross margin increase of EUR 1.5 million, as described in the previous slide; other income higher by EUR 0.3 million, mainly due to higher sales of raw materials to suppliers; selling and distribution expenses increased by EUR 0.3 million, mainly due to freight out linked to higher sales and royalties on sales of Mini, helmets and Replicas, partially offset by lower expenses for technical partnership agreements related to the period. General and administrative expenses were EUR 1.3 million higher than in 2024, mainly due to salary increases applied during the year across the group's companies, driven by the effect of the mandatory renewal of the collective labor agreement applied to personnel in Italy, plus the hiring of new managerial figures and specialized technicians between the end of 2024 and the first month of 2025 as the group decided to internalize some activities, particularly those related to the R&D and manufacturing of custom printed racewear and apparel. In total, an average of 40 additional resources were employed in first half 2025 compared to H1 2024. Next Slide #7 is on net income. Net income passed from EUR 5.4 million in first half '24 to EUR 4.2 million in first half '25 with a net income margin on sales equal to 10.8%. The decrease compared to prior year is mainly due to EUR 1.1 million variance coming from unrealized foreign exchange differences rising from the evaluation at period end of intragroup balances, mainly loans denominated in euro granted by the parent company in previous periods to its subsidiaries whose local currency are U.S. dollar or by rainy dinner as a consequence of the depreciation of U.S. dollar from December 2024 to June 2025. In detail, in the first half of '25, the group reported EUR 0.8 million loss from unrealized foreign exchange differences against EUR 0.3 million unrealized gain in first half '24. We want to highlight that these are differences coming from the evaluation of balances, intra-group balances at period end punctual rate, and they are not realized. Nevertheless, we will keep monitoring the evolution of the exchange rates in the following period. In the first 6 months, the group invested EUR 6.8 million in CapEx, of which about EUR 4.3 million for the expansion of the group's main headquarters with the goal to increase logistics and production capacity and also create additional office space. Remaining work is expected to be completed by the end of October. The amount of recurring CapEx is therefore EUR 2.5 million, which is equal to 6.4% on total sales, slightly higher than the historical percentage of recurring CapEx for the group, which is around 5%. And this slight increase is mainly due to R&D CapEx related both to Motorsport and the defense industry. Within Motorsport, the group incurred higher costs for the development of products for the new seasons, including helmets in accordance to the new homologation standards and particularly racing suits to be manufactured with innovative sublimation technology, which debut Formula 1 during 2025 and will be included in the group's sales catalog for the 2026 season. As regards the R&D investment for the defense industry, we are close to the end of the R&D phase for the project, which is expected by the end of the first half 2026. Working capital is EUR 1.5 million lower than at December 2024 as a combination of the following effects: Trade receivables increased by EUR 2.1 million due to seasonalities, reflecting higher sales in H1 2025 compared to H2 2024. Trade payables increased by EUR 1.4 million, primarily due to the procurement of raw materials to be used in production activities scheduled for the second half of the year. Inventory decreased by EUR 1.5 million due to a lower value of finished goods in stock at the end of June, in line with the seasonality of the business. Finally, other receivables and payables were EUR 0.6 million better than at the end of 2024. The next slide, #9, is on cash. Cash flow from operations was equal to EUR 7.6 million in the first 6 months with a cash conversion on EBITDA of 92%. Variance compared to last year is mainly due to a better management of net working capital. Maintaining a high level of operating cash flow was one of the main goal for the fiscal year. And after the first 6 months, we are definitely on track, showing once again the group robust ability to generate cash. This achievement reflects the strength and the resilience of our business model as well. And looking ahead, our goal remains to maintain a high level of cash generation even in the coming periods, ensuring long-term financial health and flexibility. The net financial position as of the end of June is EUR 3.5 million against EUR 0.1 million at the end of December 2024. The increase of EUR 3.4 million is mainly due to EUR 6.8 million CapEx, EUR 2.5 million dividend paid to shareholders, EUR 0.4 million lease payments and EUR 2.2 million change in equity due to movements in translation reserves and the purchase of treasury shares. This net of EUR 8.3 million EBITDA generated throughout the half year, assuming as a simplification, EBITDA equal to cash and EUR 0.8 million better net working capital. The current financial resources provide the group with a solid foundation to support not only the expected growth in the Motorsports segment, driven by increasing demand and ongoing investments in innovation, but also the implementation of the diversification program, which is aimed at expanding the business portfolio, creating additional long-term value for stakeholders. Now I give the floor to our Group Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Alexandros Haristos, for an update on the current trading of the Motorsport business.
Alexandros Haristos
ExecutivesThank you, Roberto. Hi, everyone. So let me take you through the next few slides, starting with the outlook on the motorsport industry. And now more than ever, Motorsport is a growing attractive market with definitely the highest visibility being exerted by Formula 1. We can see that both the attendance and the TV viewer of Formula 1, they increased by a lot during the last year. But also it is important to notice how the demographics have been changing in the last 10 to 15 years, bringing in more than 40% of women and a new age group of young people aged between 16 and 24. The result of all this is an increasing sponsorship, but also a lot of movement in the market of Motorsport with the Formula 1 movie being produced by Apple that now bids for $150 million a year to get the Formula 1 media rights for 2026. And it is also important to notice how investors like the sovereign fund of Bahrain Mumtalakat together with Abu Dhabi's CYVN, they strengthened their position in the racing industry with the ownership of McLaren Racing. And also following the success of Formula 1 at the pinnacle of Motorsport, other series like IndyCar, they are taking the stage with the Fox Sports that acquired the media rights at the end of 2024 for the 2025 season, now becoming a shareholder with a 30% stake in IndyCar and so committing to the series for the long time. All of this is very relevant for us, and it has a direct reflection on our results and the trend that we are experiencing this year, starting with orders. And the orders in the first 8 months have been very strong, as Roberto mentioned before, we are talking about a double digit. But let's look a little bit more into that. What are the main growth drivers? And 2025 is a year very important for helmets in which both standards, the FIA, that regulates the standard in Europe and the rest of the world, but not the U.S. is coming into force with the 88 59 2024 and the SNELL standard that is coming into force next month in the U.S. This is generating a bigger order intake throughout 2025, and we expect sales generation between the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026. Also on Ryan helmets, so on our Milipol diversification project, we are expecting deliveries between the end of the year and Q1 2026. This order, in particular, is very representative for us as the product is new to the market and has been successfully tendering and winning the supply for the Netherlands government in Europe. It is also important to notice how this double-digit growth of OMP rates in every quarter of the year so far is being exercising traction to our results as well. And this is the result of important partnership agreements, especially the one with adidas and Mercedes in Formula 1, a strong relationship with our dealers and also all our efforts in the last couple of years in operation to increase the production of custom suits by volume and increasing the level of service. All that I mentioned before regarding Formula 1 in which we hold a very relevant presence, not just with OMP with a very good visibility platform with adidas and Mercedes that, by the way, is going to be increased next year with the addition of a new team, Audi. Our presence with the Bell helmets is definitely a major one, servicing 75% of the grid. All of this translates into a very high demand of mini helmets and Replica helmets. In addition to that, our apparel brand, Racing Spirit, is also on a double-digit growth, thanks to more customers, more demand, both from teams and corporate apparel. Let's have a look at the Communication Technologies outlook now. And 2025, the Drivers' Eye technology entered the IndyCar show together with Fox Sports. It was very successful. However, we had just a limited number of events to showcase all the main ones, including Indy 500. This partnership and the viewership was extremely successful throughout the season, and we are working now to extend and also expand our scope of work with Fox for 2026 onwards. The driver's eye outside the perimeter of Motorsport, the so-called Skier's Eye was an R&D development project that we carried out in partnership with Oakley. And although the partnership with Oakley has been very successful, the ski industry is definitely different compared to Motorsport and much more stagnant. So we are still working on a deal with the broadcaster and the Federation, but all of the development of the Ski is going to be extremely useful for our end application that we have seen in our diversification project and so defense. As you are probably aware, in our diversification projects, we have a number of helmets in the making and in the market. And as I mentioned, the rise of helmet before, the integration with the Driver's Eye technology was successful and is being showcased in exhibitions already. Zero noise communication devices produced in the beginning of 2025, Zeronoise Communication Services, a company, a joint venture with our partner, Al Kamel Systems, a Spanish company, to bring radio communication services to the market. You're probably familiar with the image in motorsport of the people wearing headset and talking through radios in a paddock. Well, in this market, there are mainly 2 players nowadays providing this sort of service. Zeronoise, together with Al Kamel can put in the market a strong sales network, relationship with teams, relationship with circuits and championship, but also a history of innovative technologies. The market has been stagnant with only 2 players. And now the technologies and the service of Zeronoise, they are being offered to series, to circuits and to Teams. The first client has been E1 that we are servicing throughout the year, and we are in conversation with many teams and players of the industry to provide more services starting 2026. The Skier's Eye is also coupled with another technology that we developed internally, a private 5G network. This put the Driver's Eye technology into a different dimension, an end-to-end service and not just a very special camera that operates as an extension of the broadcasting. Permanent installation of 5G networks, they are being looked by many circuits and series throughout the world to have a convergence of services in the network. We are talking about telemetry. We are talking about TV broadcasting. We are talking about audio communication and radio communication. This is a new technology platform that we'll be offering to the market. Let's have a look at Racing Spirit, our corporate apparel brand. And Racing Spirit is being very successful this year, in particular, with the expansion of our presence, not just in motorsport, but also in the yachting industry shares a lot of common values with Motorsport and is sensitive to the technical aspects of our clothing line as well as the performance. Racing Spirit is experiencing an increase of 50% of sales and a very important increase in the number of customers that will translate into further sales in 2026 and onwards. So a very positive outlook so far. I'll leave the floor to Paolo for an update on Milipol projects.
Piero Delprato
ExecutivesThank you, Alex. So a quick look at our Milipol projects. As you probably know, Milipol Projects is a program that we started some years ago to diversify and to move our know-how and experience coming especially from the helmets business, the bracing helmets business to other sectors as the policy and the military business. We have different kind of helmets. We already developed and completed the helmet for the U.S. Air Force. And we did this in partnership with an American company, LIFT Airborne Technologies. Recently, we saw a delay in the definition of the agreement between the U.S. Air Force and LIFT Airborne Technologies. We already produced the first batch of production, but we are waiting for the first important order. So we are confident that 2026 will be the year to start this project. But as I said, we are waiting for the green light from the U.S. Air Force. In October, we are going to have an important meeting during the Austin Grand Prix, Formula 1 Grand Prix in the States with LIFT [indiscernible] to define the time line for the production. But as I said, for the moment, we are still waiting for the first important order from LIFT. But as I said, we are confident that 2026 will be the year for the ramp-up the production as expected. The second project we have is the so-called Police RIOT helmet. In June this year, we won the first public tender with the Netherlands Police, and we are going to ship the first batch of production for this tender in Q4 2025 or Q1 2026. This can a little bit change the final result of this year or next year. It depends when we are going to deliver these helmets. For the moment, the order is confirmed for the end of the year, so December 2025. The tender for the Netherlands Police was won, thanks to the fact that this tender didn't request the gas mask. For the moment, we have the helmet homologated, but not certified for the gas mask. We are working on this. We decided not to go with only one kind of gas mask, but with 2 different kinds of gas mask, one top level super innovative gas mask and the other one as a sort of an entry-level gas mask to have the possibility to be part to all kind of tenders. The certification of the helmet with gas mask with both gas mask is expected in the first semester 2026. We are confident that in Q1 2026, we will have all the tests passed for the certification. And so we decided to be part of 2 very important trade shows in the police and military business. One is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in mid of February. And the other one is in Germany, end of February. So last year, we were at the trade show in Germany. And thanks to this trade show, we had the connection to be part of the tender for the Netherlands Police. So we are confident that 2026 will be the year to start and to be part of more tenders because with the certification of the gas mask, we will part of all the tenders in Europe, but our focus is not only with the European area, but also the GCC area where we had a lot of requests and interest from different countries. The other project we have is the so-called gladiator helmet. This is a project that started some years ago to develop a helmet for SWAT team special forces. But during our R&D activities, we analyzing the data and the tenders, for example, in Europe, we realized that there was a possibility, thanks to develop of this helmet, there was the possibility to have not only one kind of helmet, the so-called gladiator full cut, the one you see in the slide, but we realized there was a possibility to have a complete range of helmets, the so-called full cut, mid-cut and short cut. So the helmets you see in the slide, we are developed with the entire range of helmets, the ones you see in the slide. And this will give us the possibility not only to be part of the Polish business, but also the military business. The difference between the Polish business, the military business is that military business is much, much bigger. There is 1 or 2 orders bigger than the Polish business. So the tenders are number of helmets requested in each tenders is completely different, much, much bigger compared to the police ones. And so the idea is to have a complete range. The strategy is to have a complete range of helmets, both for the police and military business. In the next days, we are going to have a very important test for the Gladiator helmet. We are confident to have the final prototype having the possibility to be homologated. So the idea is to develop the full cut helmet with the homologation following the standard that is the Germany standard that is the most severe standard in the world and following also the NATO and VPAM standards. Having the full cut helmet homologated, we will be easy for us to have also the mid-cut and shortcut helmets homologated because the mid-cut and shortcut derived from the full cut. So the mid-cut and shortcut are helmets derived directly from the full cut. This will help us to have more efficiency in the production. About this, I want to say that we are developing a very special machine with the supplier, a European supplier, very special machine a unique machine in the world that will permit us to produce these kind of helmets with a very -- in a very efficiency way like a shell every 3 minutes. And this will help us to increase our production capacity. So we will be ready to be part with all the tenders, as I said, in Europe and in GCC area and then in the future, obviously, in the rest of the world. So as a conclusion, the first semester 2025 was a very positive semester. We started with some delays, as you know, as you probably know, with some delays in having the helmets with the new FIA obligation. And this is the reason why the first quarter, the sales were flat. And then having fixed everything, we started to sell helmets. We increased our production and sales as well as the sales for all the brands and all the products. And at the end, we closed with a growth in the first semester. And as Roberto and Alex said, we are seeing this growth continuing also in Q3, both for orders and sales. So I can anticipate that Q3 will be another very positive quarter. In terms of margin, as you saw, the gross margin increased. This was due to 2 main factors. The first one was a different mix of products. And the other one was the result of the efficiency that we obtained with the -- our investment plan and the reorganization of some production centers internally in the group. As Roberto said, in the first semester, we had a very, very high cash conversion to confirm that this kind of company, this kind of business and this company especially has, as usual, a very high cash conversion. During 2025, not only 2025, but recently, we developed as usual, as we do every year, new products for the coming season. I can anticipate that at the end of October, we are going to have a very important meeting here in Rock Kibbe in G in Italy with dealers coming from all over the world, from 5 continents, showing them the 2026 novelties. And in this case, we are going to introduce some very innovative products that will help us to continue our growth in motorsport also in 2026 and the following years. So we are positive for 2025, but we are positive also for the next years. In terms of team, our team now has reached more than 600 employees coming from 39 nationalities, confirming that Racing Force Group is a real international group. As you know, we are based in 3 different continents in Europe, Middle East and in the U.S. We sell to more than 85 countries. And we have, as I said, 39 different nationalities inside our group. So we are really an international group that is one of the key factor of this group. And last but not least, 2026 will be the year when we are going to definitely -- I don't want to say end, but we are going to complete the first diversification projects in the military police business. So we are going to see the first results coming from this business that in the coming years will change the -- completely the numbers of this group. So we have completed our presentation. We can leave the floor to some questions to a Q&A session. So if you want to give us some questions, please tell your name and then the question. Thank you.
Piero Delprato
ExecutivesI think Domenico is the first one.
Domenico Ghilotti
AnalystsDomenico Ghilotti from Equita. A few questions. First, well, you touched the point about the tariffs, so U.S. tariffs. So just an update on the current situation. And then you have been talking about some extraordinary investments, so the CapEx that you are facing for the upgrades of your plants, also in terms of timing and so visibility on the total amount that we should expect from these investments in 2025? And then just a follow-up on your comments on the driver equipment, so that has been a driver for the gross margin. Can you give us a sense -- you don't usually speak between helmets and [indiscernible], but just a sense of how was the contribution in the first half from these 2 different segments?
Roberto Ferroggiaro
ExecutivesThanks, Domenico. I will start maybe taking the question on CapEx. This year, in the first half, we continue to invest to support the investment plan, and we will have a few investments to complete the plan even in the second half of the year. On top of this, in the first half, also recurring CapEx were slightly higher than first half 2024 due to the R&D, mainly R&D CapEx. So to answer your question, for the first -- last year, for the full year, we spent roughly EUR 9 million in CapEx in total for the full year. To answer your question, this year, for the full year, we expect to be slightly higher than last year, probably in the range of EUR 10 million for the full year of total CapEx.
Piero Delprato
ExecutivesThe first question was about the U.S. tariffs. So we all know the story. But at the end, we found that with Bahrain, we have 10%. And with Europe, we didn't have any impact because the level of tariffs, the minimum level of tariffs are a little bit much higher or equivalent to the previous tariffs we already have. So at the end, we are not going to have any significant impact in terms of tariffs with the new conditions. About the drivers equipment, we don't disclose the numbers about the differentiation between helmet and race. What can I say is that in the first semester, we saw one side, a lot of orders coming for obviously, the new FIA helmets that, as I said, we started to sell significantly only in Q2. But we saw an incredible success also for the OMP racewear. And this was due for sure to the increased visibility, thanks to the adidas Mercedes Formula 1 deal that, as Alex said, we are going to have also in next year, and we are going to double this effect, thanks to the adidas Audi F1 deal because we are going to supply also Audi in Formula 1. At the same time, for sure, also the visibility of the movie F1 movie helped on this side. In general, this trend is continuing also in Q3. So -- and we expect also in the coming months.
Unknown Analyst
AnalystsJust a quick one, rebounding on Domenico's question about the tariff. Can you give us an updated picture of the U.S. market? I don't know if you -- I mean, if you know if your competitors mainly Simpson is facing difficulties given that they are mainly producing outside of the U.S. and which will mean that you are gaining a really strong market share there with the growth that you are experiencing? And just also a quick one on the Gladiator Helmet. I didn't understand really well the time line regarding the homologation and maybe the start of participating to tenders in that area. Just if you can give us a little bit more details, if you can.
Piero Delprato
ExecutivesSo about the U.S. market, the U.S. market, the motorsport U.S. market for safety equipment is composed of different actors. There are some actors, big actors like Simpson. They produce some products in the U.S. So they are not affected with tariffs, but they produce also some products in Asia, and this will be -- these products will be affected significantly with the new tariffs, for example, from China. Then there are some other small actors. They produce the older products in countries like China, Pakistan, India or these kind of countries. These are small, very small actors, and these actors will be really, really affected with the new tariffs. So we expect to have more space to conquer market shares to these kind of actors. Last but not least, the European manufacturers, they produce like us mainly in Europe. So they are not significantly affected with the new tariffs, but we know that there are some competitors, one in particular, producing some products in North Africa and having, I think, 24%, 26% of tariffs. So obviously, this will affect significantly also this kind of production. So in general, our position towards our competitors is, for sure, much better -- and so we expect to have more room to gain market share. The second question...
Roberto Ferroggiaro
ExecutivesOn Gladiator, the time line.
Piero Delprato
ExecutivesSo the Gladiator time line, when you start this kind of R&D project like Gladiator helmet is a very, very complicated helmet, much more complicated than a Formula 1 helmet. And a Formula 1 helmet is very, very complicated to develop. So when you start this kind of project, you know when you start, but you don't know when you finish everything. We are -- I can say that we are very, very, very near to complete the project. This can happen next month as well as in 3 months. But we are very, very near to have the final prototype being ready to pass all the tests. As soon as we are going to have this prototype, as I said, we are going to have a very important test in the coming days, first week of October. As soon as we are going to have the final prototype, we start with the product -- with the homologation process. We expect some months to obtain the homologation. So we are confident that in Q2 in the best scenario or in Q3 in the worst scenario in 2026, we are going to have the homologation for all the glad. This is our...
Unknown Analyst
AnalystsOkay. And the 2 participation that you are planning in the Q2 next year, is it only for the Police Riot helmet or also for the...
Piero Delprato
ExecutivesNo. We are confident that for the trade shows in Riyadh and in Germany, we will be confident to be ready to present all the helmets because we will know I don't want to say for sure, but 99% the date when we are going to have the homologation. And so we are going to present the helmets saying, okay, the helmets are under homologation because we are confident that all the tests will be passed at the time. Any other questions?
Domenico Ghilotti
AnalystsYes, just a follow-up. So 2 topics. First, you mentioned the new sublimated raw the suits. And so if you can give us some more color on what is, let's say, really the selling point and the success factor here? And then on the tender that you won in the Netherlands for the Polish Riot Helmet, what has been really the success factor there?
Piero Delprato
ExecutivesI start from the last question is -- the key factor for winning this tender was for sure, the cost and so the price of the helmet. We have -- we have the production of this helmet in Bahrain. So we are very, very the cost of the helmet is much, much lower than the production in Europe, for example. So the cost -- so the price of the helmet for sure, it was a key factor. But at the same time, the quality of the helmet. We know for sure that some helmets in the market, they have some issues during these years. So we received some complaints speaking with police departments. And we have 75% of the Formula 1 drivers. We know how to produce helmets, and we know how to produce quality helmets. And we applied the same technology and the same approach with the right helmet. So quality of the product, I can say also performance of the product. So also in terms of performance in and the cost of the product. About the first question, Sublimation, okay. I can't say too much because this is a 2026 product. So I don't want to disclose everything. But what I can say is that in 2016, OMP was the first manufacturer introducing Sublimation technology in motorsports safety equipment. And then finally, we started with cutting suits, and we were able to remove all the embroideries, so all embroider on a cutting suit, transforming all the embroideries with the Sublimation technology and reducing significantly the weight of each suit. We are speaking about 0 kilos at the time. And this was a key factor in having very important deals in the cutting business, like, for example, the one with OTK Group that is the most important car manufacturer in the world. That is a deal we have since that time, and we are going to renew this deal also for the coming years. After 1 year, we decided to move this technology also in the racing business, the racing motorsport racing equipment. The main problem is that the racing suit is mainly made with a fiber that is named -- [ usually nomics ] , but is an aramid fiber. And one of the feature of aramid fiber is that it's very difficult to have the ink to dye the aramid fiber. So we studied a lot. We -- at the time, we did a lot of tests. And at the end, we were able to develop a suit, that's so-called a suit at the time. This suit was a mid-level suit. So the weight was not super light. It was a suit with no breathability. And so it was used as a mid-level range suit. In the last 2 years, starting January 2023, we decided to change our approach in developing the suit. Instead of buying fabrics from suppliers, we decided to hire a consultant with a lot of experience in the textile business, and we decided to develop our own fabrics. After 2 years, we were able to develop a compound of fabrics that permitted us to develop a new suit, the one you see in the picture that is a supplemented suit, but with a top level quality. The demonstration of this is that Mercedes Formula 1 in 2025 already used this suit, even if this is a 2026 project in Miami. So Georgio Russell and Kimi Antonelli, they use this suit, and they were super happy about the suit. At the same time, we decided to offer this suit also to other top-level drivers like Sébastien Ogier in WRC and Conti in IndyCar and other drivers. And all the comments were super, super positive. The production of this suit is made internally completely. And we are going to launch this new suit, as I said, at the end of October. And the timing for making a suit is approximately 30%, 40% less than a traditional suit. And the cost is also less than a traditional suit. So we are very, very confident that this kind of suit will be a real game changer in the market for the coming years. Other questions? No other questions. So I want to say thank you to everyone, and see you next time. Thank you.
Roberto Ferroggiaro
ExecutivesThank you.
Alexandros Haristos
ExecutivesThank you.
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