DJ Bauer maintains profitable growth
=------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ots.CorporateNews transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement. =------------------------------------------------------------------------------- April 22, 2008 - The global construction and equipment manufacturing group BAUER Aktiengesellschaft maintained its strong growth in 2007, surpassing targets even as they were repeatedly raised in the course of the year. It substantially increased its revenues, profits and orders in hand. The company benefited from the healthy economic climate, the international spread of its operations and its strategy of moving into future-oriented fields of business. Significant increase in revenues and profits, outstanding levels of orders in hand, more than 1,400 jobs created In the year under review, Bauer increased its total Group revenues by 23.3 percent to EUR 1,208 million. In response to the long recession in the German construction industry and as a result of Bauer's concerted strategy of globalization, around 73 percent of those total revenues are generated outside of Germany. Bauer succeeded in achieving a particularly impressive improvement in profitability. Its earnings after interest and taxes were up 111.4 percent at EUR 74.4 million, well above the forecast, which itself had been raised as recently as December 2007. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased by 80.6 percent to EUR 131.8 million. Orders in hand were up 46.3 percent at the end of 2007, totalling EUR 618 million. Bauer has maintained those high levels into the current financial year: "Our order books are looking healthy, and in some cases extremely healthy, throughout the Group. Our capacities are fully taken up well into the second half of the year," reports Chairman of the Management Board Professor Thomas Bauer. The Bauer workforce through 2007 averaged 6,983 people - over a quarter up on the previous year's figure. Construction: Domestic business picking up, bright prospects on international markets The Bauer Group operates three separate segments: Construction, Equipment and Resources. The Resources segment was newly added in the past financial year. The Construction segment generated revenues of EUR 531.8 million, EUR 7 million down on the previous year. It nevertheless improved its EBIT by a substantial 139.4 percent to EUR 24.8 million. Professor Thomas Bauer is very pleased with this growth: "Our domestic business in small and medium-sized projects is picking up noticeably, though prices on large-scale projects in particular remain under pressure." The main drivers of growth are the company's international subsidiaries, with interesting project opportunities being exploited in regions including the Middle East, Vietnam, Australia and Malaysia, as well as in the USA, where the Group's focus has been on infrastructure projects. According to Professor Bauer, international operations have benefited from the Group's regional network strategy, enabling it to respond rapidly to market fluctuations and reassign its capacities in a flexible manner. Equipment: High demand for product range, capacities expanded, new innovations announced The Equipment segment once again set new standards in 2007, building further on its share of a growing market. The segment exceeded its previous-year revenues by 42.1 percent. At EUR 643.1 million, they now account for roughly half of total Group revenues. The segment's operating profit rose by a disproportionately high 71.1 percent to EUR 105.9 million. In view of the surging demand for its high-tech specialist foundation engineering equipment and for oil, gas and well drilling rigs, Bauer is expanding its production capacities by more than two thirds overall, at its home base in Schrobenhausen, in Nordhausen in the Thuringia region of Germany, as well as in the USA, Italy, Russia, China (Shanghai and Tianjin) and Malaysia. "In order to match our capacities to the high levels of demand, in 2007 and 2008 we are implementing the largest new building investment programme in the company's history, involving a total commitment of some EUR 80 million," Professor Bauer states. "We are also working intensively on the design of new equipment and will soon be launching an innovative deep-level drilling rig capable of drilling down to depths of several thousand metres, which will open up another growth market to us." Resources: Potential for global future markets The new Resources segment established in 2007 bundles services in the mining, geothermal energy, environmental technology and well drilling and engineering fields. The segment incorporates existing mining and environmental companies as well as the German Water and Energy (GWE) Group, which was acquired in the second quarter of 2007. Based on revenues of EUR 112 million, the segment made an operating profit of EUR 0.3 million. Professor Bauer believes there is even greater potential still to be realized: "The world faces major challenges in terms of the environment, energy and raw materials. Our new Resources segment will be targeting those emerging future markets." Doubling of dividend to EUR 1.00 per share planned The Management Board and Supervisory Board will propose to the Annual General Meeting that the dividend payment be doubled to EUR 1.00 per share. As a result, EUR 17.1 million will be paid out to shareholders. Excluding minority interests, this represents just under one quarter of total consolidated profit. Outlook The BAUER Group has seamlessly maintained its outstanding previous-year performance into 2008. Orders in hand are at healthy levels - and in some cases extremely healthy levels - in all segments, and the Group sees strong opportunities for further sales growth and rising profitability. The Group expects full-year sales to be at least EUR 1.375 billion (previous year: EUR 1.2 billion) and after-tax profit to be around EUR 90 million (previous year: EUR 74.4 million). "With its Construction, Equipment and Resources segments, its global operations and its highly-qualified workforce, Bauer is in an outstanding strategic position. The state of the global economy and the growing market for our products and services offer a wide range of opportunities which we intend to exploit. There is no reason why we cannot sustain our growth unabated," asserts Professor Bauer. He also indicates the prospect of further minor acquisitions. About Bauer Bauer is an international provider of services, machinery and ancillary products in the earth-working and groundwater fields. The Group markets its products and services all over the world. Its global spread allows it to remain largely unaffected by fluctuating business cycles. The operations of the Group are divided into three segments: Construction, Equipment and Resources. The Construction segment carries out specialist foundation engineering work all over the world, developing foundation and excavation projects as well as providing related construction services. In its Equipment segment, in which it is a world market leader, Bauer offers an extensive range of machinery, equipment and tools for specialist foundation engineering. The Resources segment encompasses the Group's operations in the exploitation of raw materials, in environmental technology, in geothermal drilling operations and also in equipment for wells (including pumps and drills, screens and casings). Bauer profits greatly from the collaboration between its three separate segments, enabling the Group to position itself as an innovative, highly specialized provider of complete solutions and services for demanding projects on the specialist foundation engineering and related markets. Founded in 1790, Bauer today generates more than two thirds of its total revenues outside of Germany. Employing nearly 7,000 people, the Group's total revenues in 2007 were EUR 1.2 billion (previous year: EUR 980 million). BAUER Aktiengesellschaft has been listed on the official market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since July 4, 2006 (Prime Standard, ISIN DE0005168108). GROUP KEY FIGURES 2007 (IFRS) | |2006 |2007 |Change | | |in EUR |in EUR million | | | |million | | | |Total Group revenues*, |979.9 |1,208.1 |23.3 % | |of which | | | | |- Germany |282.2 |331.6 |17.5 % | |- International |697.7 |876.5 |25.6 % | |of which | | | | |- Construction |538.8 |531.8 |- 1.3 % | |- Equipment |452.4 |643.1 |42.1 % | |- Resources |63.9 |112.0 |75.3 % | |- Consolidation / Other |- 75.2 |- 78.8 |n/a | |Sales revenues |835.4 |1,033.0 |23.7 % | |Orders in hand |422.4 |618.0 |46.3 % | |EBITDA |123.2 |185.4 |50.5 % | |EBITDA margin in % (of sales |14.7 % |17.9 % |n/a | |revenues) | | | | |EBIT |73.0 |131.8 |80.6 % | |EBIT margin in % (of sales |8.7 % |12.8 % |n/a | |revenues) | | | | |Profit** |35.2 |74.4 |111.4 % | |Shareholders' equity |222.6 |279.1 |25.4 % | |Equity ratio in % |34.6 % |34.1 % |n/a |
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April 22, 2008 01:00 ET (05:00 GMT)
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