DGAP-News: GESCO enjoys dynamic start to the new financial year

DGAP-News: Gesco AG / Key word(s): Quarterly / Interim Statement/Quarter Results

14.08.2017 / 07:30
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.


  • Significant increase in incoming orders and sales, earnings doubled
  • High level of incoming orders and sales in second quarter as well
  • Full-year sales outlook confirmed
  • Good prospects of achieving the upper end of the earnings forecast

Wuppertal, Germany, 14 August 2017 - Prime-Standard-listed GESCO Group got off to a dynamic start to the new financial year 2017/2018 (1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018). Business activity in the capital goods industry, in which the Group primarily operates, has picked up significantly in the first quarter, which encompasses the operating months January to March 2017 for the subsidiaries. With respect to the operating development, GESCO made progress with the implementation of Portfolio Strategy 2022, as optimisation projects launched by several subsidiaries began bearing fruit. In addition, the acquisition of Pickhardt & Gerlach Group at the turn of the year from 2016 to 2017 strengthened the GESCO Group portfolio and made it more robust.

Through a combination of internal and external growth, incoming orders and sales rose substantially in the first quarter, and earnings more than doubled. Incoming orders grew by 21.3 % to EUR 148.7 million (previous year's period: EUR 122.5 million), while sales increased by 17.5 % in the same period, from EUR 113.6 million to EUR 133.4 million. In organic terms, i.e. excluding the newly acquired Pickhardt & Gerlach Group, the growth rates stood at 13.0 % for incoming orders and 9.3 % for sales. Key earnings figures climbed by a disproportionately high margin. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased from EUR 5.4 million to EUR 10.9 million, and Group net income after minority interest also more than doubled, reaching EUR 5.6 million (EUR 2.7 million). Earnings per share pursuant to IFRS posted below-average growth from EUR 0.27 to EUR 0.52, due to the capital increase carried out in March 2017.

The upturn in business activity is also reflected in segment performance. Three of the four segments - specifically Production Process Technology, Resource Technology and Healthcare & Infrastructure Technology - generated double-digit growth for incoming orders. The Mobility Technology segment was the only one unable to benefit from this positive development, still recording a decline in key figures in the first quarter.

Despite the expansion of operating business, cash flow also experienced positive year-on-year development. As a result, cash flow for the period increased from EUR 7.7 million to EUR 13.1 million, while cash flow from ongoing business activities rose substantially from EUR 2.3 million to EUR 8.1 million.

At approximately EUR 128 million in the second quarter, which accounts for the operating months April to June 2017 in the case of the subsidiaries, incoming orders were on par with the previous year's figure of EUR 127.8 million, as based on preliminary figures. At approximately EUR 131 million, sales significantly surpassed the previous year's figure of EUR 115.1 million. As a result, business activities are at a high level in the second quarter as well.

At the annual accounts press conference on 29 June 2017, the Executive Board forecast Group sales for financial year 2017/2018 of between EUR 510 million and EUR 530 million and Group net income after minority interest of between EUR 17 million and EUR 18 million. Based on the information currently available, the company confirms the forecast and believes that from today's perspective, the prospects of achieving earnings at the upper end of the forecast range are good.

Dr Eric Bernhard, Chairman of the Executive Board: "GESCO Group got off to a brisk start to the new financial year. Even if it isn't possible to linearly extrapolate the excellent first-quarter result with respect to the year as a whole, and although several subsidiaries expect to see decreasing momentum in the second half of the year, we look forward to the Group's further development with optimism not least with view to the further progress of Portfolio Strategy 2022."

The complete quarterly statement is available at www.gesco.de/reports.

GESCO Group key figures for the first quarter
(1 April to 30 June 2017) of financial year 2017/2018 pursuant to IFRS:

         
    1st quarter
2017/2018
1st quarter
2016/2017
Change
         
Incoming orders (EUR'000) 148,656 122,543 +21.3 %
Sales (EUR'000) 133,416 113,554 +17.5 %
EBITDA (EUR'000) 17,487 10,562 +65.6 %
EBIT (EUR'000) 10,897 5,419 +101.1 %
Earnings before tax (EUR'000) 10,266 4,745 +116.4 %
Group net income after minority interest (EUR'000) 5,618 2,684 +109.3 %
Earnings per share pursuant to IFRS
(EUR)

0.52

0.27

+92.6 %
Cash flow from ongoing business activities (EUR'000) 8,104 2,259 +258.7 %
Employees (No.) 2,588 2,547 +1.6 %
 

About GESCO
GESCO AG is an industrial group with market and technology leaders in the investment goods industry focusing on production process technology, resource technology, health and infrastructure technology as well as mobility technology. As a stock listed company on the Prime Standard, GESCO AG offers private and institutional investors access to a portfolio of leading small and medium-sized industrial German companies, so-called hidden champions of Germany's Mittelstand.

Investor Relations ( Oliver Vollbrecht
Tel. +49 202 24820-18 ( Fax +49 202 24820-49
E-mail: info@gesco.de ( Internet: www.gesco.de



14.08.2017 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.
Archive at www.dgap.de



show this

back