Corporate | 12 April 2016 10:00

INDUS intends to grow again in 2016

DGAP-News: INDUS Holding AG / Key word(s): Final Results

2016-04-12 / 10:00
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

INDUS intends to grow again in 2016

– Sales revenues up 11%, EBIT up 7% in 2015
– A total of 18 companies taken over since launch of COMPASS 2020
– Growth strategy to be continued

Bergisch Gladbach, April 12, 2016 – The latest results of the INDUS Group clearly reflect the success of the COMPASS 2020 growth programme launched in 2013. At EUR 136 million, earnings before interest and taxes reached an all-time high. “In spite of some unplanned extraordinary charges, we were able to exceed our projections,” Jürgen Abromeit, CEO of the INDUS Group, said at today’s annual press conference in Düsseldorf. At the end of 2015, INDUS had projected a result of EUR 123 to 130 million. He emphasised that this result would not have been possible without the growth investments of the past years.

Earnings position: Strong revenue growth, primarily abroad
Sales revenues picked up by 11% to EUR 1,388.9 million in 2015 (previous year: EUR 1,255.7 million), with revenues generated outside Germany growing at a much higher rate of 13% than domestic revenues (+8%). The Group generated earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of EUR 136.3 million (previous year: EUR 127.2 million). These are INDUS’ first consolidated financial statements which show EBIT also in adjusted terms, i.e. net of non-operational charges essentially caused by write-downs resulting from the purchase price allocation and ancillary acquisition costs. Adjusted for these effects, EBIT increased sharply to EUR 145.8 million as a result of the numerous acquisitions and exceeded the previous year’s EUR 135.2 million by approx. 8%. The EBIT margin stood at 9.8% (previous year: 10.1%); in adjusted terms, it amounted to 10.5% (previous year: 10.8%).

Earnings before taxes improved to EUR 109.3 million (previous year: EUR 100.7 million). Earnings after taxes amounted to EUR 68.3 million (previous year: EUR 63.3 million), and earnings per share climbed to EUR 2.78 (previous year: EUR 2.74). The Board of Management and the Supervisory Board will propose a dividend of EUR 1.20 (previous year: EUR 1.20) t the Annual General Meeting on June 9, 2016.

The INDUS Group currently comprises 43 small and medium-sized enterprises, which operate in five business segments. In terms of the EBIT margin, the results in the Construction/Infrastructure, Medical Engineering/Life Science and Engineering segments reached an above-average level; at 14.2%, 14.9% and 13.3%, respectively, the EBIT margins in these segments clearly exceeded the Group-wide target of 10%. The Automotive Engineering segment and the Metals Technology segment posted lower EBIT margins of 5.8% and 7.9%, respectively, than in the previous year (6.9% and 9.2%, respectively). The earnings positions of both segments were adversely affected by start-up problems of new series products as well as by negative effects arising from the strong appreciation of the Swiss franc (the Metals Technology segment comprises two Swiss companies).

Investments reach record level of over EUR 100 million
INDUS acquired a total of five companies in 2015: RAGUSE and automation specialist IEF-Werner joined the Medical Engineering/Life Science segment. The subsidiaries made three strategic complementary acquisitions in the Medical Engineering/Life Science segment and the Construction/Infrastructure segment. Including investments in property, plant and equipment as well as intangible assets, INDUS invested a total of EUR 107.3 million in 2015 (previous year: EUR 97.2 million). In the context of the ongoing optimisation of the portfolio, the business activity of a smaller company (SEMET) was discontinued.

Net worth position: Gearing improves in spite of growth
The balance sheet relations of the INDUS Group remained stable in 2015. Net debt amounted to EUR 356.3 million. At the same time, equity increased by EUR 45.5 million to EUR 595.4 million. At 41.9%, the equity ratio stayed at the prior year level. Net-debt-to-EBITDA improved slightly to 1.9 years (previous year: 2.0), while gearing (net-debt-to-equity) improved to 60%.

Cash flow statement: Cash flow up by roughly EUR 44 million
Cash flow from operating activities increased sharply in 2015, primarily due to greatly improved operating cash flow, and amounted to EUR 130.9 million (previous year: EUR 87.0 million). Cash and cash equivalents of EUR 132.2 million (previous year: EUR 116.5 million) will cover the planned fixed asset investments of roughly EUR 75 million as well as additional acquisitions. INDUS plans to invest up to EUR 50 million in acquisitions in 2016. In the first few months of the year, the INDUS Group already acquired COMPUTEC (which complements the BUDDE investment) and MBH Solutions (for the ANCOTECH investment).

Forecast: Moderate growth planned for 2016
INDUS CEO Jürgen Abromeit is cautiously optimistic about 2016 and sees both opportunities and risks. “I believe that the recovery in the eurozone and the stable economic activity in the USA will make for a good environment. But we are sceptical about the emerging countries, as we are seeing the massive impact of the oil price slump on countries such as Russia and Brazil.” He remains confident about China’s growth prospects. “We will not see growth rates like those of the past, but we never believed in the figures published in the past years anyway. China is and will remain a market of the future for our company. Medium-sized companies are increasingly challenged to gain new customers on a global scale, and China simply is one of the most interesting markets. We have recorded a pick-up in demand for German products in China.”

Various companies of the INDUS Group invested in Asia last year, e.g. in two new subsidiaries in Taicang (China). “Of the 16 new companies consolidated in 2015, 14 are outside Germany,” said Jürgen Abromeit. “This reflects the importance with attach to our internationalisation.”

Many economic experts project only moderate growth for the current year. The projections of the INDUS companies and the results of the first months, also confirm this assessment for the INDUS Group. Sales revenues are expected to grow by approx. 2% organically and exceed EUR 1.4 billion. Earnings before interest and taxes are expected to come in at between EUR 134 and 138 million. As in the previous years, INDUS will continue to look for interesting takeover candidates, both as an addition to its portfolio and to create development possibilities for existing portfolio companies.

The full Annual Report of INDUS Holding AG is available for downloading at www.indus.de . Important information on INDUS can also be found on the new INDUS app (www.indus.de/presse-service/indus-app.html).

Key figures of the INDUS Group

in EUR million	2015		2014
Sales	1,388.9		1,255.7
of which domestic	709.0		655.2
of which abroad	679.9		600.5
EBITDA	186.4		175.2
Adjusted EBIT	145.8		135.2
EBIT	136.3		127.2
EBT	109.3		100.7
Net income for the year	68.3		63.3
(Earnings after taxes)
Total assets	1,419.8		1,308.4
Group equity	595.4		549.9
Net debt	356.3		345.8
Equity ratio in the Group (in %)	41.9		42.0
Operating cash flow	157.3		104.4
Cash flow from operating activities	130.9		87.0
Cash flow from investing activities	-112.8		-95.3
Cash flow from financing activities	-3.1		8.2
Cash and cash equivalents as per Dec. 31	132.2		116.5
Earnings per share (in EUR)	2.78		2.74
Cash flow per share (in EUR)	5.36		3.56
Dividend per share (in EUR)	1.20*		1.20
(*to be proposed to the 2016 AGM)

Segments

in EUR million	sales		EBIT
	2015	2014	2015	2014
Construction/Infrastructure	235.5	225.1	33.5	33.0
Automotive Engineering	367.7	351.7	21.4	24.3
Engineering	293.2	221.2	39.0	26.4
Medical Engineering/Life Science	132.3	114.4	19.7	18.8
Metals Technology	359.9	342.9	28.6	31.4

Contact:
Regina Wolter
Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Phone +49 2204 4000 70
E-Mail wolter@indus.de

2016-04-12 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP – a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de

Language:	English
Company:	INDUS Holding AG
	Kölner Straße 32
	51429 Bergisch Gladbach
	Germany
Phone:	+49 (0)2204 40 00-0
Fax:	+49 (0)2204 40 00-20
E-mail:	indus@indus.de
Internet:	www.indus.de
ISIN:	DE0006200108
WKN:	620010
Listed:	Regulated Market in Dusseldorf, Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart

End of News DGAP News Service