Earnings Release • Aug 29, 2013
Earnings Release
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"In today's economic context – still uncertain and full of contrasts – the Group's companies showed their responsiveness and their ability to adapt in H1 2013, and some, such as Bureau Veritas, Parex and Mecatherm, posted good growth. In general, the Group's companies improved their profitability, with very good performance in particular at Stahl and Materis Paints.
There were important changes in Wendel's portfolio in the first half of 2013. We increased our investment in IHS, Africa's leader in telecom tower infrastructure for mobile phone operators, to \$276 million. And we exited from Legrand after 11 years of support, with an annualized IRR since 2002 of 19%.
These transactions illustrate Wendel's new momentum. We are ready to invest €2 billion over the next four years. This amount might be divided equally between Europe, North America and emerging economies, in particular Africa, and principally in unlisted companies.
Also in the first half, Standard and Poor's upgraded Wendel's credit rating to BB+, prompted by the steps we have taken to strengthen our financial structure over the past four years.
Finally, as of August 20, 2013, Wendel's NAV stood at €136.4 per share, a record high, exceeding the previous high of November 2007."
| (in millions of euros) | H1 2012 | H1 2013 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consolidated subsidiaries | 364.8 | 309.6 | ||
| Financing, operating expenses and taxes | (123.8) | (122.0) | ||
| Net income from business sectors (1) | 241.0 | 187.6 | ||
| Net income from business sectors,(1) Group share | 139.0 | 84.7 | ||
| Non-recurring income | 647.1 | 267.5 | ||
| Impact of goodwill allocation | (87.5) | (54.5) | ||
| Total net income | 800.7 | 400.6 | ||
| Net income, Group share | 724.8 | 323.4 |
| (in millions of euros) | H1 2012 | H1 2013 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Constant scope | |||
| Bureau Veritas | 194.5 | 198.6 | +2.1% |
| Materis | (0.8) | 8.3 | ns |
| Stahl | 13.1 | 13.3 | +1.8% |
| Saint-Gobain (equity accounted) | 111.0 | 71.5 | (35.5%) |
| Oranje-Nassau Développement | 5.2 | 7.0 | +33.7% |
| - Parcours | 6.5 | 5.9 | (10.0%) |
| - Mecatherm | (1.5) | 0.3 | ns |
| - exceet (equity accounted) | 0.2 | 0.8 | ns |
| Sub-total | 323.0 | 298.7 | (7.5%) |
| Changes in scope | |||
| Legrand (equity accounted) | 16.8 | 13.8 | (17.9%) |
| Deutsch | 24.9 | - | - |
| Oranje-Nassau Développement – IHS (equity accounted since May 2013) | - | (3.0) | ns |
| Sub-total | 41.8 | 10.9 | (74.0%) |
| Total business sector contribution | 364.8 | 309.6 | (15.1%) |
| of which Group share | 262.8 | 206.7 | (21.3%) |
| Operating expenses, management fees and taxes | (18.3) | (20.4) | |
| Amortization, provisions and stock-option expenses | (3.7) | (2.7) | |
| Total operating expenses | (22.1) | (23.1) | +4.7% |
| Total financial expense | (101.7) | (98.9) | (2.8%) |
| Net income from business sectors | 241.0 | 187.6 | (22.2%) |
| Net income from business sectors, Group share | 139.0 | 84.7 | (39.1%) |
The Supervisory Board met on August 28, 2013, under the chairmanship of François de Wendel, to review Wendel's consolidated financial statements, as approved by the Executive Board on August 21, 2013. The financial statements were subject to a limited review by the Statutory Auditors prior to publication.
Wendel recorded a 3.0% rise in consolidated sales, to €3,357.1 million. Organic growth also stood at 3.0%.
The overall contribution of the Group's companies to net income from business sectors was €309.6 million, down 15.1% compared with H1 2012. This decrease came about for two reasons. Firstly, the scope of consolidation changed, as Wendel held a lower percentage of the shares of Legrand than in 2012 and sold Deutsch in H1 2012. Secondly, the earnings of Saint-Gobain declined. On the part of the consolidation scope that did not change, the decline was limited to 7.5%.
Expenses related to the financial structure and to operations declined for the ninth consecutive half-year period to €122.0 million, owing to a decline in the cost of debt.
Non-recurring income totaled €267.5 million vs. €647.1 million in H1 2012. In the first half of 2012, non-recurring income had been boosted by the sale of Deutsch, which generated an accounting gain of €689.2 million. In the first half of 2013, non-recurring income was buoyed by €369.0 million resulting from the sale of a block of Legrand shares, but was also impacted by a dilution loss induced by the dividend payment in shares from Saint-Gobain.
As a result, Wendel's net income, Group share, was €323.4 million in H1 2013, compared with €724.8 million in H1 2012.
Bureau Veritas – Sales up 5.1% over the six months and adjusted operating income up 6% (Full consolidation)
Revenue for the first half of 2013 (H1 2013) totaled €1,957.5 million, up 5.1% relative to H1 2012. On a constant currency basis, revenue rose by 7.5%.
First-half organic growth stood at 4.7% and was in line with the Q1 level.
The consolidation of companies acquired accounted for 3.8% of growth and mainly concerned Tecnicontrol (Industry), 7Layers (Consumer Products), TH Hill (Industry) and AcmeLabs (Commodities).
Disposals of activities caused a 1.0% decrease in revenue and concerned infrastructure control in Spain (Construction), Anasol in Brazil (IVS) and laboratories in New Zealand (Industry).
Exchange rate fluctuations had a negative impact of 2.4% and stemmed from the decline in the majority of currencies relative to the euro, especially those in emerging markets (Brazil, India, South Africa) and a number of major countries (Australia, Japan, UK).
During the first half, revenue generated in fast-growing geographies (Latin America, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, Eastern Europe, Middle-East and Africa) increased further to account for 55% of overall revenue. Momentum showed no signs of slowing, since activities in these regions are associated more with the strengthening of regulations and investments in energy infrastructure than with growth in domestic product alone.
H1 2013 adjusted operating profit rose by 6.0% to €313.2 million compared with €295.6 million in H1 2012. Adjusted operating margin expressed as a percentage of revenue stood at 16.0% in H1 2013, up 10 basis points from the 15.9% reported in H1 2012. Adjusted operating profit rose in all businesses with the exception of Marine and Commodities.
H1 2013 attributable net profit adjusted for other operating expenses net of tax totaled €192.5 million, up 1.7% relative to H1 2012. Adjusted earnings per share rose by 2.3% to €0.44 compared with €0.43 in H1 2012 (adjusted for the four-for-one stock split undertaken on June 21, 2013).
Since the beginning of the year, Bureau Veritas has announced four acquisitions with combined annual revenue of more than €70 million, enabling the Group to develop its technical expertise in fast-growing market segments.
In 2013, Bureau Veritas should deliver solid growth in revenue and adjusted operating profit, despite an ongoing challenging economic environment in Europe and a decline in mining exploration. Organic growth in the second half of 2013 should be in line with the first half level. The priority is to continue improving profitability." The Group confirms the 2012-2015 financial targets.
(Full consolidation)
Against a difficult economic backdrop, Materis posted sales of €1,042.2 million in the first half of 2013, down slightly (0.1%). Organic growth was 0.6% (volume/mix effects: -1.3%; price effects: +1.9%). Currency fluctuations had a negative impact of 1.9%. Organic growth in emerging market countries came in at 12.8%, offsetting the contraction of 3.6% in mature markets.
Changes in scope had a positive impact of 1.2%, and corresponded to the consolidation of Elmin in Greece (Aluminates) and Suzuka in China (Mortars).
In H1 2013, Stahl posted a 4.8% decline in sales to €175.7 million. This decline resulted from a business slowdown in some of the regional markets, self-initiated actions to eliminate lower margin business and a negative impact from foreign currency movements.
Sales of the "Leather products" activities were negatively impacted by the slowdown in the European automotive industry and by non-automotive activities in Asia. "High-performance coatings" activities were adversely affected by a slowdown in South America, largely being offset by continuing sales growth in Asia and North America. Despite the lower sales level, Stahl's EBITDA rose a sharp 8.9% to €30.3 million, representing a margin of 17.2%, up
210 basis points. Operating margin widened as a result of a plan to reduce fixed costs in certain regions and of adjustment plans in low-margin activities.
Stahl's net financial debt stood at €154.7 million as of the end of June 2013, down significantly (17.6%) from June 30, 2012.
(Equity accounted)
After a particularly tough first quarter hit by both fewer working days than in the year-earlier period and by very poor weather, the second quarter saw underlying trends stabilize on the Group's main markets in Western Europe and market conditions continue to rally in other regions. However, like-for-like, the second quarter was down a slight 1.2% on the same period in 2012, with volumes off 2.2% and prices up 1.0%. With the exception of Flat Glass – buoyed by a pick-up in growth in Asia and emerging countries – and Interior Solutions – lifted by the gradual improvement in the US construction market – all of the Group's Business Sectors and Divisions continued to suffer from sluggish European economies, albeit far less than in the first quarter.
In this persistently tough economic climate and despite the smaller rise in raw material and energy costs, sales prices remained a key priority for the Group throughout the first half, and gained 1.0%.
Overall, due to the ground lost in the first quarter, like-for-like consolidated sales were down 3.2% in the first six months of the year, with volumes losing 4.2% and prices gaining 1.0%. Despite profitability gains in North America and in Asia and emerging countries, the Group's operating margin narrowed, to 6.1% in first-half 2013 compared to 7.0% for the same period in 2012 and 6.3% for second-half 2012.
To address the deteriorating economic environment observed in Western Europe in first-half 2013, Saint-Gobain:
This action plan will be continued and intensified in the six months to December 31, 2013.
Against this backdrop, Saint-Gobain confirms its targets for full-year 2013:
Through Oranje-Nassau Développement, Wendel brings together opportunities for investment in growth, diversification and innovation, and in particular has invested in Parcours (France), exceet (Germany), Mecatherm (France), Van Gansewinkel Groep (Netherlands) and IHS (Africa).
(Full consolidation)
Parcours reported sales of €149.7 million, up 6.1% compared with H1 2012. Between end-June 2012 and end-June 2013, Parcours' fleet expanded by 4.7% to 48,625 vehicles. This rate of growth was once again faster than the French industry average. Parcours also opened a new 2D office in Montpellier and a new 3D office in Bordeaux. Pre-tax ordinary income before the impact of office upgrades rose 9.2% to €10.6 million. Taking into account these items, pre-tax ordinary income declined 3% to €9.5 million over the period, representing a margin of 6.3%.
exceet – Sales growth of 0.3%
(Equity accounted)
In H1 2013, exceet posted a 0.3% uptick in sales to €90.8 million, and a 7.4% decline organically. Sales rose 7.2% in the second quarter to €47.8 million, and organic growth returned to positive territory (1.9%). EBITDA totaled €8.2 million, up 23.7% from H1 2012 (€6.6 million), reflecting the combined effect of cost adjustment plans and more sales of high-margin products.
exceet expects to see strong growth in the second half and is confident it will return to organic growth and growth in EBITDA compared with 2012.
(Full consolidation)
Mecatherm's sales totaled €32.1 million in the first half of 2013, up 8.5% from the year-earlier period. EBITDA totaled €3.2 million, representing a significant recovery from H1 2012 (€0.8 million).
The recovery in orders observed since Q3 2012 continued, with order intake reaching a record level of €109 million as of end-June 2013 (12-month basis). Mecatherm is reaping the benefits of the reorganization and its intensive sales & marketing efforts. It is continuing to expand on new markets. Prospection efforts are underway in South America, with a focus on Brazil. In addition, Mecatherm has opened its first foreign branch, in Dubai, which will enable it to better cover the Africa/Middle East region.
To support these efforts, Mecatherm has also introduced new, facilitated financing solutions for its customers and will present three production line innovations at the IBIE trade show in Las Vegas.
(Equity accounted since May 2013)
With more than 8,500 towers under management, IHS Holding is the leader in telecom tower infrastructure for mobile phone operators in Africa. At the end of July, Wendel increased its investment in IHS Holding by taking part in a \$242 million capital increase. Wendel invested an additional \$100 million via Oranje-Nassau Développement, bringing its total investment to \$276 million.
Over the last 12 months, IHS has raised more than \$1 billion in equity and debt to finance its very rapid development in Africa. IHS's two-month contribution to Wendel's H1 2013 net income from business sectors was €-3 million, reflecting the rapid deployment and depreciation of its new towers.
Net Asset Value came to €6,765 million or €136.4 per share as of August 20, 2013 (see detail in appendix 2 below), representing a 50.4% rise from €90.7 on August 21, 2012. Since the start of the year, NAV has advanced 17.4%. The discount to NAV was 35.1% as of August 20, 2013.
The calculation methodology was detailed on August 31, 2009 and remains unchanged. It conforms to the recommendations of the European Venture Capital Association.
Wendel has made its first investment in Africa via Oranje-Nassau Développement, taking a stake in IHS Holding, leader in telecom tower infrastructure in Africa. As of July 24, 2013, Wendel had invested \$276 million, i.e. more than the initial \$125 million. This amount will enable IHS to step up its development, in particular through the construction of additional towers in Nigeria. With more than 35% of IHS's capital, Wendel is now IHS's largest shareholder and has three seats on the company's Board of Directors.
In addition, IHS signed a 15-year agreement with Orange on April 2, 2013 to manage more than 2,000 towers in Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon. The terms of this agreement will enable IHS to strengthen its presence in these two countries as well as to lease available space on these towers to other operators. With this agreement, IHS is now the largest manager of telecom towers in Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon.
Wendel successfully sold all of the 14.4 million shares it still held in Legrand, representing 5.4% of the capital, at €35.92 per share. The proceeds of the transaction totaled around €520 million, and Wendel realized a capital gain of around €370 million.
Over an 11-year period, Wendel's investment in Legrand generated an IRR of 19% and increased in value 3.9 times.
On April 24, 2013, Standard & Poor's announced that it had upgraded its credit rating for Wendel from "BB" to "BB+", with a stable outlook. This decision was motivated by the decline in Wendel's loan-to-value ratio and by the overall improvement in Wendel's risk profile. This was the second upgrade in Wendel's rating, following the one in April 2012. Wendel confirms its intention to further strengthen its financial structure so as to return to investment grade status by the beginning of 2017.
Also on April 24, 2013, Wendel announced two successful, simultaneous bond placements, totaling €300 million. Of this amount, €200 million forms a single series with the existing bonds due 2018, and €100 million forms a single series with the existing bonds due 2019. As a result of the transaction, the 2018 series now has a par value of €500 million and the 2019 series also has a par value of €500 million.
These two transactions were very well received by the market. The transaction on the 2018 series was increased from €100 million to €200 million in order to satisfy investor demand. Overall, the two transactions were more than five times oversubscribed.
The bonds were placed with more than 100 international investors, including French (53%), UK (12%), German (12%) and Scandinavian (9%).
Wendel has repaid the €250 million outstanding under the syndicated loan maturing in 2013-14. The Company has thus repaid this loan in its entirety and no longer has any debt maturing before November 2014.
As announced on March 28, 2013, Wendel is continuing to renew and extend the maturity of its various financing lines. An agreement has been reached with eight banks to increase the amount of a syndicated credit line available until 2018 to €600 million, vs. the €400 million announced on March 28, 2013. This financing replaces the existing, undrawn €1.2 billion syndicated credit line maturing in 2013-14.
Wendel has repaid the €100 million in debt related to Saint-Gobain, maturing in 2015, and has sold 1.9 million Saint-Gobain shares for €68 million. These shares, acquired in August 2011, were classified for accounting purposes as "Financial assets".
The initial expiry dates of the 6.1 million puts issued on Saint-Gobain were extended during the first half of 2013. Currently, 2.6 million puts are due to expire in December 2013, 1.3 million in March 2014 and 2.2 million in September 2015.
Wendel has repurchased 904,133 of its own shares this year so as to take advantage of the high discount in the share price compared with NAV. On August 28, 2013, the Board of Directors authorized the Executive Board to cancel 2% of share capital. Accordingly, the Executive Board reduced share capital by canceling 991,860 shares. Wendel had already canceled 2% of its share capital in 2012.
Wendel is one of Europe's leading listed investment firms. The Group invests internationally, in companies that are leaders in their field, such as Bureau Veritas, Saint-Gobain, Materis and Stahl. Wendel plays an active role as industry shareholder in these companies. It implements long-term development strategies, which involve boosting growth and margins of companies so as to enhance their leading market positions. Through Oranje-Nassau Développement, which brings together opportunities for investment in growth, diversification and innovation, Wendel is also a shareholder of Van Gansewinkel Groep in the Netherlands, exceet in Germany, Mecatherm and Parcours in France and IHS in Africa. Wendel is listed on Eurolist by Euronext Paris.
Standard & Poor's ratings: Long term: BB+, stable outlook; short term: B since April 24, 2013.
Wendel is the Founding Sponsor of Centre Pompidou-Metz In recognition of its long-term patronage of the arts, Wendel received the distinction of "Grand Mécène de la Culture" on March 23, 2012.
Media contacts Analyst and investor contacts
Christine Anglade-Pirzadeh: +33 (0)1 42 85 63 24 Olivier Allot: +33 (0)1 42 85 63 73 [email protected] [email protected] Christèle Lion: +33 (0)1 42 85 91 27
Appendix 1: Contribution of Group companies to first half 2013 sales
| (in millions of euros) | H1 2012 | H1 2013 | ΔOrganic | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bureau Veritas | 1,861.6 | 1,957.5 | 4.7% | 5.1% |
| Materis | 1,043.1 | 1,042.2 | 0.6% | (0.1%) |
| Stahl | 184.6 | 175.7 | (4.6%) | (4.8%) |
| Oranje-Nassau Développement (1) |
170.6 | 181.8 | 6.5% | 6.5% |
| Consolidated sales | 3,259.9 | 3,357.1 | 3.0% | 3.0% |
(1) Includes Parcoursand Mecatherm
| (in millions of euros) | H1 2012 | H1 2013 | ΔOrganic | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Gobain | 21,590 | 20,771 | (3.2%) | (3.8%) |
| Legrand | 2,224 | 2,254 | (0.2%) | 1.4% |
| Oranje-Nassau Développement(2) | 90.6 | 116.2 | n s |
n s |
(2) Includes exceet for 6 months and IHS for two months.
| (in millions of euros) | 5/16/2013 | 8/20/2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Listed equity investments | Number of shares (millions) | Share price(1) | 8,464 | 8,237 | ||
| • Bureau Veritas | 225.2 (after 4-for-1 share split in June 2013) | €22.5 | 5,115 | 5,061 | ||
| • Saint-Gobain | 89.8 (August 2013) / 91.7 (May 2013) | €35.4 | 2,832 | 3,176 | ||
| • Legrand | 0.0 (August 2013) / 14.4 (May 2013) | 517 | 0 1,289 |
|||
| Unlisted equity investments (Materis, Stahl) and Oranje-Nassau Développement(2) 1,070 |
||||||
| Other assets and liabilities of Wendel and holding companies(3) | 170 | 202 | ||||
| Cash and marketable securities (4) | 680 | 1,122 | ||||
| Gross assets, revalued | 10,384 | 10,850 | ||||
| Wendel bond debt | (3,415) | (3,396) | ||||
| Bank debt related to Saint-Gobain financing | (528) | |||||
| Value of puts issued on Saint-Gobain(5) | (162) | |||||
| Net asset value | 6,151 | 6,765 | ||||
| Number of shares | 49,551,450 | 49,592,990 | ||||
| Net asset value per share | €124.1 | |||||
| Average of 20 most recent Wendel share prices | €88.5 | |||||
| Premium (discount) on NAV | (33.4%) | (35.1%) | ||||
| (1) Average of 20 most recent closing prices, calculated a sofAugust 20, 2013 (2) Mecatherm, Parcours, VGG, exceet, IHS and indirect investments (3) Includes 2,463,109 shares held in treasury a sofAugust 20, 2013 (before cancellation of 991,860 treasury shareson August 28) (4) Cash and financial investments of Wendel and Saint-Gobain acquisition holding companies include €0.79 billion in short-term cash positions, €0.32 billion in liquid |
(4) Cash and financial investments of Wendel and Saint-Gobain acquisition holding companies include €0.79 billion in short-term cash positions, €0.32 billion in liquid financial investmentsand€0.01 billion in pledged cash. (5) 6.1 million putsissued a sof August 20, 2013
| In millions of euros | Bureau Veritas | Materis | Stahl | Oranje-Nassau Développement |
Equity-method investments | Holding companies |
Total operations |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Gobain | Legrand | |||||||
| Net income from business sectors | ||||||||
| Net sales | 1,957.5 | 1,042.2 | 175.7 | 181.8 | - | 3,357.1 | ||
| EBITDA | N/A | 135.9 | 30.3 | N/A | ||||
| Adjusted operating income (1) | 313.2 | 100.2 | 25.4 | 15.2 | ||||
| Other recurring operating items | - | -1.0 | -0.6 | -0.4 | ||||
| Operating income | 313.2 | 99.2 | 24.8 | 14.8 | -23.5 | 428.5 | ||
| Finance costs, net Other financial income and expense |
-31.6 -2.1 |
-70.8 -0.7 |
-6.0 - |
-4.9 -0.2 |
-98.9 - |
-212.2 -3.0 |
||
| Tax expense | -80.8 | -19.4 | -5.6 | -3.5 | 0.4 | -108.9 | ||
| Share in net income of equity-method investments | -0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | -2.2 | 71.5 | 13.8 | - | 83.2 |
| Net income from discontinued operations and operations held for sale | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Recurring net income from business sectors | 198.6 | 8.3 | 13.3 | 4.0 | 71.5 | 13.8 | -122.0 | 187.6 |
| Recurring net income from business sectors – non-controlling interests | 99.8 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.3 | - | - | - | 102.9 |
| Recurring net income from business sectors - Group share | 98.8 | 6.5 | 12.3 | 3.8 | 71.5 | 13.8 | -122.0 | 84.7 |
| Non-recurring income | ||||||||
| Operating income | -36.5 | -36.7 | -6.5 | -2.6 | - | - | -1.7 | -84.0 |
| Net financial income | -0.0 | -24.4 | -5.2 | 0.3 | - | - | 50.9 | 21.7 |
| Tax expense | 10.0 | 9.9 | 6.5 | 0.8 | - | - | - | 27.1 |
| Share in net income of equity-method investments | - | - | - | -0.3 | -118.3 | -2.2 | 369.0 | 248.2 |
| Net income from discontinued operations and operations held for sale | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Non-recurring net income | -26.5 | -51.2 | -5.2 | -1.8 | -118.3 | -2.2 | 418.2 | 213.0 |
| of which: | ||||||||
| - Non-recurring items | -3.5 | -32.3 | -1.7 | 1.2 | (2) -85.3 | -1.7 | (3) 418.2 | 294.8 |
| - Impact of goodwill allocation | -23.0 | -10.4 | -3.5 | -3.0 | -14.1 | -0.5 | - | -54.5 |
| - Asset impairment | - | -8.5 | - | - | -18.8 | - | - | -27.3 |
| Non-recurring net income – non-controlling interests | -12.9 | -12.5 | -0.4 | -0.1 | - | - | 0.1 | -25.8 |
| Non-recurring net income – Group share | -13.6 | -38.7 | -4.8 | -1.8 | -118.3 | -2.2 | 418.2 | 238.8 |
| Consolidated net income | 172.1 | -42.9 | 8.1 | 2.2 | -46.7 | 11.6 | 296.2 | 400.6 |
| Consolidated net income – non-controlling interests | 86.9 | -10.7 | 0.6 | 0.2 | - | - | 0.1 | 77.1 |
| Consolidated net income – Group share | 85.1 | -32.2 | 7.5 | 2.0 | -46.7 | 11.6 | 296.2 | 323.4 |
(1) Before the impact of goodwill allocation, non-recurring items and management fees.
(2) Includes impact of dilution on the Saint-Gobain investment (€-88.9 million)
(3) Includes gain on the sale of Legrand shares (€369.0 million)
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