EANS-News: Strabag SE increases output volume and earnings after six months 2019

Corporate news transmitted by euro adhoc with the aim of a Europe-wide distribution. The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement.

• Output volume up 9 %
• EBITDA (+47 %), EBIT up from € 20.03 million to € 61.00 million
• Order backlog nearly stable (-3 %) at high level of € 18.3 billion
• Outlook for 2019 confirmed

Earnings Forecast/Mid Year Results/Mid Year Financial Report/Strategic Management Decisions

Vienna – Today, Friday, the publicly listed construction company STRABAG SE reported figures for the first half of the 2019 financial year. „We can be satisfied with the development of the STRABAG Group in the first six months of 2019: The earnings grew even more strongly than the output volume, and the order backlog remained – once again thanks to numerous large orders – almost stable at a very high level. We are better positioned today than ever. Just now, when things are going well for our company, we are taking precautions so we can continue to achieve our goals in the long term – for example, our goal of achieving an EBIT margin of 4 % by 2022. To keep our employees but also our processes and structures fit for the future, we are working on our strategic agenda ,FASTER TOGETHER 2022′. This is not a cost reduction programme – we are rather continually developing our people and our processes in terms of Building Information Modelling (BIM 5D®), LEAN.Construction, partnering contract models and strategic procurement, among other things“, says Thomas Birtel, CEO of STRABAG SE.

Output volume and revenue

STRABAG SE generated an output volume of EUR 7,506.99 million in the first half of 2019. This upward movement of 9 % was driven in particular by Germany as a whole, by building construction in Austria, by the execution of the order backlog in Hungary and by a large-scale project in the United Kingdom. The consolidated group revenue grew by 11 %.

Order backlog

The order backlog as at 30 June 2019 weakened slightly by 3 % compared to the same period of the previous year. Declines were recorded in Austria, Germany and, on the whole, in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. This development was partially offset by the substantial expansion of an existing contract in the United Kingdom.

Financial performance

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 47 % to EUR 294.74 million in the first half of 2019. The 30 % year-on-year increase in depreciation and amortisation includes, among other things, an opposing effect on the EBITDA from the first-time adoption of IFRS 16 Leases, so that earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) amounted to EUR 61.00 million after EUR 20.03 million in the same period of the previous year. This increase is attributable to the development of the International + Special Divisions segment.

Net interest income stood at EUR -19.50 million. In the first six months of the previous year, it had amounted to EUR -7.44 million. The decline of net interest income can be attributed to negative exchange rate differences amounting to EUR 1.24 million (in the same period of the previous year, exchange gains of EUR 6.91 million were reported) and to a small extent to the abovementioned impact from IFRS 16. Earnings
before taxes (EBT) amounted to EUR 41.50 million compared to EUR 12.59 million in the first half of the previous year. As a result, income taxes also increased to EUR -27.56 million.

Earnings attributable to minority shareholders was barely changed at EUR 3.28 million. Overall, a net income after minorities of EUR 10.66 million was achieved. In the same period of the previous year, it was still slightly in negative territory. With 102,600,000 outstanding shares, this corresponds to earnings per share of EUR 0.10 (6M/2018: EUR -0.01).

Financial position and cash flows

The balance sheet total – once again due to the first-time application of IFRS 16 – increased to over EUR 11 billion compared to 31 December 2018. The share of property, plant and equipment in the balance sheet total increased from 18 % to 22 %. The cash and cash equivalents decreased as is seasonally usual. At the same time, the equity ratio remained at a high level of around 30 %; at the end of 2018, it had stood at over 31 %. As is usual for the season, the net cash position fell from EUR 1,218.28 million at the end of 2018 to EUR 240.57 million (30 June 2018: EUR 711.71 million). As at 30 June 2019, lease liabilities amounting to EUR 314.46 million were included for the first time.

The cash flow from operating activities was 118 % lower in negative territory, at EUR -320.66 million, due to a higher working capital increase compared to the previous year. The cash flow from investing activities, in part due to generally higher capital expenditures, slipped by 8 % and so was slightly more negative at EUR -298.59 million. The repayment of a bond with a lower volume than the one in the previous year and the fact that the dividend payment will not be made until as of the third quarter of 2019 led to a cash flow from financing activities of EUR -183.27 million after EUR -362.85 million in the first half of the previous year.

Employees

The number of employees increased by 4 % to 76,638. Growth was registered especially in the Americas region as well as in Germany, Poland and Austria.

Outlook

For the current 2019 financial year, STRABAG continues to expect the output volume to exceed the EUR 16.0 billion mark. By segments, a decline is now expected in International + Special Divisions with increases in North + West and in South + East. The forecast for an EBIT margin of at least 3.3 % also remains in place.

end of announcement euro adhoc

Attachments with Announcement:
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http://resources.euroadhoc.com/documents/2246/5/10349666/1/STRABAG_SE_Press_Release_6M2019_Aug2019_e.pdf

issuer: STRABAG SE
Donau-City-Straße 9
A-1220 Wien
phone: +43 1 22422 -0
FAX: +43 1 22422 – 1177
mail: investor.relations@strabag.com
WWW: www.strabag.com
ISIN: AT000000STR1, AT0000A05HY9
indexes: WBI, ATX, SATX
stockmarkets: Wien
language: English

Digital press kit: http://www.ots.at/pressemappe/4106/aom