- Weak first half of the year; margin improvement in the third quarter
- Stable business activities in the fourth quarter
- GESCO subsidiary Setter acquires US paper sticks market leader Setterstix
Wuppertal, 13 February 2015 ‒ GESCO Group can look back on a nine-month period marked by a relatively weak first half of the financial year and a significant improvement in margins in the third quarter. The full-year forecast is confirmed.
The first nine months of the financial year at GESCO Group encompass the months April to December 2014 for GESCO AG and January to September 2014 for its subsidiaries. Results were mixed in GESCO Group in this period. Some subsidiaries recorded stable or rising sales, while others had to accept declines in sales. Incoming orders rose overall in the nine-month period, while sales remained roughly on par with the previous year’s period. As previously reported at the annual accounts press conference in June, restructuring measures at two subsidiaries had a significantly negative impact on Group earnings. The Ukraine/Russia crisis also slowed business at Frank Walz- und Schmiedetechnik GmbH, which produces wear parts for the agriculture market.
Incoming orders in the nine-month period increased by 4.6 % to € 340.0 million (previous year’s period: € 325.2 million). Sales amounted to € 337.9 million and were roughly on par with the previous year’s period (€ 337.2 million). EBIT came to € 20.4 million (€ 24.3 million) and Group net income after minority interest amounted to € 10.5 million (€ 13.6 million).
Taking the third quarter alone, incoming orders of € 113.4 million were almost exactly on par with the previous year’s figure of € 113.3 million. Group sales amounted to € 117.8 million compared to € 119.5 million in the previous year’s period. While total output increased significantly, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose by 7.1 % to € 9.6 million (€ 9.0 million). Group net income after minority interest came to € 5.0 million (€ 4.9 million).
In the following fourth quarter, the months October to December 2014 in the case of the subsidiaries, incoming orders and sales stood at satisfactory levels. Incoming orders came to roughly € 108 million (€ 110.4 million) while sales stood at approximately € 116 million (€ 116.1 million).
Based on the information available at the current time, the company confirms its full-year forecast that was last revised in November 2014. Group sales are anticipated to come to between € 455 million and € 460 million and Group net income after minority interest is expected to amount to between € 14.5 million and € 15.0 million.
In early January 2015, GESCO Group’s portfolio was expanded: Setter GmbH & Co. Papierverarbeitung acquired the business operations of the leading US paper sticks manufacturer Setterstix Corp., Cattaraugus, New York. Setterstix generates annual sales of roughly € 10 million and has approximately 40 employees. The company is the US market leader for paper sticks for the confectionery industry. As Setter is already the leading supplier in the US of paper sticks to customers from the hygiene industry, the acquisition offers the company an ideal chance to round off its market presence in the US.
Complete interim report available at www.gesco.de/en/investor-relations/financial-reports/
Video commentary by the GESCO Executive Board Member Dr. Hans-Gert Mayrose available at
www.gesco.de/en/investor-relations/audio-and-video-clips/