Ad-hoc | 2 October 2007 07:48
GRENKELEASING AG / Miscellaneous/Miscellaneous Release of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Increase in new business of the GRENKE Group by 12.5 % - Contribution Margin 2 of new business of the GRENKE Group reaches EUR 48.3 million Baden-Baden, October 2, 2007: In the first nine months of 2007, the GRENKE Group (incl. franchise partners) generated a volume of new business – i.e. the sum total of acquisition costs of newly purchased leasing assets and factoring volume – amounting to EUR 374.3 million (9-month period 2006: EUR 332.7 million). The level of 12.5 % growth in new business achieved by the GRENKE Group including franchise partners was the result of a very substantial growth rate of 18.8 % in the third quarter of 2007 (compared with 12.5 % in the second quarter and 7 % in the first) and reflects an ongoing increasing momentum of our new business. For fiscal 2007 as a whole, we therefore anticipate growth of new business to exceed 10%. As in the past, the primary drivers of growth are the foreign markets with a growth rate of 26.9 % and the continual expansion of franchise activities. New business volumes in EUR million9-Months 9-Months 2007 2006 % change GRENKE Group including franchise partners 374.3 332.7 12.5 - of which: Germany 226.1 215.8 4.7 - of which: International 148.3 116.9 26.9 GRENKE Group leasing business* 340.5 319.3 6.6 Franchise partners 69.0 34.6 99.2 - of which Factoring business (Germany) 33.8 13.4 152.6* excl. factoring Continuing from first half, both new business growth recorded by the GRENKE Group abroad, at 26.9 % compared with the previous year and contribution margin 2 (CM2) with an increase of 32 % reflect a highly dynamic trend. The international segment contributed a share of 39.5 % to the new business of the GRENKE Group (previous year: 35.1 %). France remains the primary growth driver abroad, up by 31 % in the third quarter. Bringing the team to full membership in Switzerland had a positive impact on the development of new business in the third quarter, even though the level of new business in the first 9-months is still below the previous year’s results. Contribution margin 2 was successfully raised again in Switzerland and remains at a good, above-average level. In Italy, we performed our first cell division as planned and opened a further branch office in Genoa. Despite the seasonal factor of the summer months, we still recorded a high growth rate in the third quarter. New business from leasing by foreign markets in EUR million9-Months 2007 9-Months 2006 % change France 75.4 61.7 22.2 Switzerland 11.4 13.0 -12.8 Italy 11.4 2.8 314.1 Spain 8.8 8.8 - United Kingdom (franchise 8.7 8.2 6.4 partners)In the first 9 months of 2007, the CM1 margin of leasing operations of the GRENKE Group (contribution margin 1 at acquisition values) reached our target margin of 10 % and a value of EUR 34.0 million (9M-2006: EUR 33.3 million – comparative figure for leasing operations). The corresponding contribution margin CM2 amounts to EUR 47.7 million, up by 7.9 % year-on-year. It is encouraging to note that in the third quarter, contribution margin 2 was also up again in Germany (by +6.4 %), even though it was not possible to quite fully offset the decline recorded in the first half of the year. Development of contribution margin 2 (CM2) in EUR million9-Months 9-Months 2007 2006 % change GRENKE Group including franchise partners 48.3 43.7 10.5 - of which: Germany 26.9 27.9 -3.6 - of which: International 21.1 16.0 32.0 GRENKE Group leasing business* 47.7 44.2 7.9 Franchise business 4.3 1.9 128.6 France 10.7 9.2 15.9 Switzerland 2.4 2.1 14.9 Italy 1.6 0.3 538.8 Spain 1.1 0.8 29.4 United Kingdom (franchise partners) 1.1 1.0 9.4* excl. factoring The profit margin in relations to factoring volume of EUR 33.8 million was 2.3 %. This margin relates to the approximately 40-day mean term of factoring transaction. In the first nine months of 2007, the GRENKE Group recorded 87,202 leasing inquiries (ex Germany 40,340) and of which 44,075 new leasing contracts (ex Germany 19,459) were generated. The average value per contract concluded came to approx. EUR 7,726 and is thus slightly higher than in the previous year (2006: EUR 7,550 – comparative figure adjusted accordingly). The company will publish its detailed nine months report for 2007 on October 25, 2007. The Executive Board Should you have any queries, please contact: Renate Hauss Tel.: 0049 -7221/5007-204 Fax: 0049-7221/5007-112 E-mail: invinvestor@grenkeleasing.de Internet: http://www.grenkeleasing.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information and Explaination of the Issuer to this News: 'Despite the usual seasonal impact of the summer months, the dynamic growth of new business continued in the third quarter. Growth of CM2 in the third quarter also continued to improve in relation to the previous quarter in most markets including Germany.', explained Dr. Uwe Hack, CFO of GRENKELEASING AG in commenting on the results. He added: 'The level of 12.5 % in new business growth in the GRENKE Group makes us feel optimistic enough to assume that growth will exceed 10% for fiscal 2007. The German market is also back to normal following the dampening impact of the discussions concerning the tax reform in the third quarter, with new business up by 8.8 % and the contribution margin 2 up by 6.4 %. According to a study conducted by the European leasing association Leaseurope, the European leasing market is the world's biggest at EUR 298 billion. The top 5 in Europe are the United Kingdom, ranking just before Germany, followed by Italy, France and Spain. GRENKELEASING has a presence in all of these markets and already ranks among the leading providers of small-ticket IT leasing in 2 of these 5 markets. A growth rate of 26.9 % in our international business confirms our strategy of further extending our presence in the foreign markets.' The GRENKE Group (incl. franchise partners) now operates in seventeen European countries. The GRENKELEASING AG Group (excluding franchise partners) is represented in 20 German cities. In addition to seven branches in France, three in Switzerland and two in Italy, the enterprise operates with subsidiaries in Austria, Italy, Czechia, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland and Belgium. In the United Kingdom, Poland, Norway, Hungary, Romania, Spain (Madrid) as well as in Germany in the field of car leasing and factoring, GRENKELEASING has a franchise system in place. GRENKELEASING offers contracts predominantly in the field of small-ticket IT leasing for such products as PCs, notebooks, copiers, printers or software of a relatively low asset value. GRENKELEASING AG shares are listed at Frankfurt Stock Exchange (SDAX) with the code GLJ, ISIN DE0005865901. 02.10.2007 Financial News transmitted by DGAP ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Issuer: GRENKELEASING AG Neuer Markt 2 76532 Baden-Baden Deutschland Phone: +49 (0)7221 50 07-204 Fax: +49 (0)7221 50 07-112 E-mail: investor@grenkeleasing.de Internet: www.grenkeleasing.de ISIN: DE0005865901 WKN: 586590 Indices: SDAX Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, Stuttgart, München, Düsseldorf, Hamburg End of News DGAP News-Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------