Upgrade of sales forecast for full year after strong H1 performance
First half year report of 2018
for ROCKWOOL International A/S
Release no. 10 – 2018
to Nasdaq Copenhagen
24 August 2018
Upgrade of sales forecast for full year after strong H1 performance
Highlights
- H1 2018 sales reached EUR 1,270 million, a growth of 16.9 percent in local currencies including acquisitions, which contributed three percentage points. The negative currency impact was three percentage points.
- In Q2 2018, sales increased 17.3 percent in local currencies and reached EUR 667 million.
- EBIT in H1 2018 ended at EUR 161 million, an increase of 47 percent, with a 12.7 percent EBIT margin, up 2.9 percentage points from H1 last year.
- EBIT in Q2 2018 reached EUR 91 million, an increase of 43 percent and an EBIT margin of 13.6 percent, up 2.7 percentage points from Q2 last year.
- Investments in the first half of 2018 reached EUR 89 million, up EUR 26 million compared to last year, primarily due to ongoing capacity expansions in Poland and the United States.
- Annualised return on invested capital reached 20.6 percent compared to 16.3 percent last year, driven by higher operational earnings.
Outlook 2018
- Growth in net sales is expected to reach 13-15 percent in local currencies, including around 2-3 percent from the acquisition of Flumroc (as announced on 13 August 2018).
- EBIT margin is expected to reach around 13 percent.
- Investment level excluding acquisitions is expected to be around EUR 260 million.
CEO comment
Commenting on the Group’s performance, CEO Jens Birgersson says:
“Our half-year results show solid improvement on both sales and profitability, underlining strengthened performance towards customers and growing market demand for our non-combustible insulation and other stone wool products. With sales up in all regions, ROCKWOOL’s 11,000 highly dedicated and committed employees are the driving force behind these positive results”.
Further information:
Kim Junge Andersen, Chief Financial Officer
ROCKWOOL International A/S
+45 46 56 03 00
Conference call:
The ROCKWOOL Group will host an earning call on 24 August 2018 at 11.00 CET. To attend the conference call dial +4570223500, +44(0)2075721187 or +1 6467224972. Passcode 55414742#. The conference call will be transmitted live on www.rockwoolgroup.com
