Bechtle AG — Earnings Release 2006

May 12, 2006

News Details

Corporate | 12 May 2006 07:30

Bechtle AG makes successful start to fiscal 2006

Corporate-news transmitted by DGAP – a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— 14.2 percent growth in revenue / Pre-tax earnings rose by 8.4 percent / Overall forecast for year confirmed Neckarsulm, 12.5.2006 – Bechtle AG reports strong revenue and earnings growth in the first quarter of fiscal 2006. Total consolidated revenue rose to 291.0 million euros, surpassing revenue in the same quarter of the previous year by 14.2 percent. The consolidation effects of recently acquired or founded companies were a significant contributing factor to the strong growth. Organic growth in the first quarter was 1.9 percent. The IT services and trading company generated 65.7 percent of the revenue at home. The largest segment, IT System House, contributed 190.5 million euros to consolidated revenue, which were 10.9 percent above the figure for the previous year. The increase was due exclusively to acquisitions. The second segment, IT E-Commerce, reported a sharp increase in revenue of 21.2 percent to 100.5 million euros. Organic growth in direct business was also positive at 14.0 percent. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 11.9 percent in the first quarter to 11.8 million euros. Consolidated earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 8.7 million euros were 6.9 percent higher than the figure recorded in the same period last year. The EBIT of the IT System House segment fell over the three-month period by 16.9 percent to 2.0 million euros. The EBIT margin was 1.0 percent. Higher expenses incurred in the development of the industry and service-focused distribution structure continue to affect earnings. The results also reflect the continuing strong competition and price pressure in the services sector. The EBIT of the IT E-Commerce segment rose by 16.8 percent to 6.7 million euros. Consequently, the strong EBIT margin stood at 6.6 percent (previous year: 6.9 percent). A general squeeze on margins in the IT market had still effects on earnings in the direct business segment, which were, however, for the most part counterbalanced by optimised process efficiency and cost reduction. Consolidated Earnings Before Taxes (EBT) – the key operating control parameter of the Bechtle Group – rose due to the light growth in net interest income to 8.8 million euros and exceeded the previous year’s figures by 8.4 percent. The EBT return on revenue, on the other hand, fell slightly to 3.0 percent from 3.2 percent. The tax load ratio improved over the quarter from 37.1 percent to 34.1 percent. Earnings after taxes increased by 13.6 percent to 5.8 million euros. Earnings per share reached 0.27 euros, compared to 0.24 euros in the first quarter of the previous year. The group’s equity ratio rose sharply from 57.4 percent to 62.3 percent at 31 March 2006. The return on equity amounted to 2.5 percent after three months (previous year: 2.4 percent). With free credit lines totalling 45.2 million euros, Bechtle has a solid liquidity reserve of 91.3 million euros. This means the company has a good framework within which to finance future growth. After the first quarter, the Board of Management confirmed the revenue and earnings targets disclosed in March for fiscal year 2006. “We have set ourselves the goal of continuing to outgrow the market. We have created the basis for this with our successful first-quarter results. In particular, we plan to undertake this year a series of strategic and organisational measures all of which are geared towards enhancing our profitability. We have already made good progress in this area during the first few months“, affirmed Ralf Klenk, Chief Executive Officer of Bechtle AG. The Board of Management is expecting revenue growth of between six and ten percent percent to between 1.25 and 1.30 billion euros for the year as a whole. While both segments will contribute to this goal, the E-Commerce companies are expected to post the higher percentage growth in revenue. As regards the IT system houses, the Board of Management expects that revenue figures in 2006 will continue to reflect the integration effects resulting from companies acquired in the previous year. At the present time, Bechtle envisages that consolidated pre-tax earnings will remain at the previous year’s level due to the structural and strategic measures implemented. “We will make a more definite annual forecast for the year when we announce our second-quarter results. Until then, we must wait and see how the calendar effect of having five fewer working days than in the first quarter impacts operating results“, stated Ralf Klenk. in TEUR Q1/2006 Q1/2005 Change in % Revenue 291,000 254,748 14.2 System House 190,531 171,837 10.9 E-Commerce 100,469 82,911 21.2 EBITDA 11,804 10,552 11.9 EBIT 8,662 8,103 6.9 System House 1,983 2,387 – 16.9 E-Commerce 6,679 5,716 16.8 EBT 8,777 8,095 8.4 Earnings after taxes 5,789 5,094 13.6 EPS (in Euro) 0.27 0.24 13.7 Equity ratio (%) 62.3 63.0 – 1.1 No. of Employees 3,906 3,321 17.6 The full Interim Report is available as from 8 o’clock on the Internet for download in German and English at www.bechtle.com. Contact: Bechtle AG, Sabine Emich, Investor Relations, Phone: +49 (0) 7132/981-4115, Fax: +49 (0) 7132/981-4116, sabine.emich@bechtle.com (c)DGAP 12.05.2006 ————————————————————————— Language: English Issuer: Bechtle AG Bechtle Platz 1 74172 Neckarsulm Deutschland Phone: +49 (0)71 32/ 9 81-0 Fax: +49 (0)7132/ 9 81 – 80 email: ir@bechtle.com WWW: www.bechtle.com ISIN: DE0005158703 WKN: 515870 indices: Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Hannover, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service —————————————————————————