Bechtle AG — Earnings Release 2008

Mar 19, 2009

News Details

Corporate | 19 March 2009 10:30

Bechtle AG records successful fiscal year 2008

Bechtle AG / Final Results

Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory
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The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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Bechtle AG records successful fiscal year 2008

• Increase in revenue by 3.5 per cent
• Pre-tax earnings increase by 4.3 per cent
• Board proposes 0.60 EUR dividend

Neckarsulm, 19 March 2009 - Bechtle AG recorded a successful year in 2008
and once again was able to exceed the strong results from the previous year
for both revenue and earning. In 2008 the group revenue of the IT service
and trading company increased by 3.5 per cent to 1431.5 million Euros
(previous year: 1383.5 million Euros) despite difficult market conditions.
Earnings before taxes (EBT) amounted to 61.5 million Euros (previous year:
59.0 million Euros), surpassing the company's own expectations for the
fiscal year 2008. The EBT margin is stable at 4.3 per cent, which is an
excellent ratio for the IT sector (previous year: 4.3 per cent). Earnings
per share were up 11.1 per cent, from 1.93 Euros in the previous year to
2.14 Euros. Due to the successful business development, both the Executive
and the Supervisory Board will recommend a dividend of 0.60 Euros per share
to the Annual General Meeting in June 2009.

'We are very pleased with the business development. We were able to
continue our company's success with yet another record-breaking year. We
raised our revenue despite difficult market conditions and even exceeded
our EBT forecast with better than expected results. Above all, we owe our
success to the more than 4400 dedicated Bechtle employees,' says Dr. Thomas
Olemotz, Spokesman of the Executive Board at Bechtle AG.

IT system house & managed services has significantly improved the segment's
margin

Bechtle's IT system house & managed services segment earned a revenue of
927.5 million Euros in 2008, an increase of 4.7 per cent over the previous
year's mark of 885.8 million Euros. Apart from the acquisitions in Germany
and Austria, the growth is largely attributable to the public sector and
managed services divisions. In the course of the fiscal year greater growth
was recorded in the first two quarters, while revenue growth in the second
half of the year declined slightly in comparison to the previous year's
third and fourth quarters respectively; in retrospect, a clear indication
of the economic downward trend. However, the significance of the last
quarter remains the same: at 29.2 per cent, the fourth quarter accounts for
an above-average share of the segment revenue.

At 84.0 per cent (previous year: 83.9 per cent) domestically and 16.0 per
cent (pervious year: 16.1 per cent) abroad, the distribution of revenue
remained virtually the same. The organic growth in this segment amounted to
2.9 per cent (previous year: 4.6 per cent).

The earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in the IT system house &
managed services segment rose by 16.3 per cent from 33.1 million Euros to
38.4 million Euros for the fiscal year 2008. The EBIT margin improved from
3.7 to 4.1 per cent. In addition to employee training, the positive
development was due to improved efficiency of company processes and an
increased share of high-quality IT services.

IT e-commerce continued its course of growth

The IT e-commerce segment, despite a significant economic downturn and
price pressure for hardware products in the course of the year, was able to
increase its revenue. The revenues rose by 1.3 per cent from 497.7 millions
Euros to 503.9 million Euros. A good portion of the revenue was generated
abroad. Due to the internationalisation strategy in the IT e-commerce
segment, foreign sales increased by 1.6 per cent from 383.3 million Euros
to 343.8 million Euros. In Germany, the trading companies contributed 160.2
million Euros (previous year: 159.4 million Euros), 31.8 per cent of the
segment's revenue (previous year: 32.0 per cent).

Excluding acquisitions, revenue in the IT e-commerce segment represents an
increase of 1.2 per cent. The slower growth in the reporting year can be
attributed to the sale of TomTech GmbH, which accounted for approximately
5.5 million Euros of the revenue in the previous year. The increase in
revenue was due chiefly to the increase in sales personnel and employee
training. However, an increase in sold items was not able to completely
compensate for the affects of the dip in prices.

The earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) declined from 25.2 million
Euros by 13.5 per cent to 21.8 million Euros. Reasons for this development
are for one: the proportionally weaker revenue development in relation to
the number of employees in 2008, and two: necessary investment leading up
to the expansion of the Europe-wide sales activity. The EBIT margin
decreased from 5.1 to 4.3 per cent.

Solid balance sheet structure and significantly improved cash Flow

Despite the increase in total assets and liabilities, the equity ratio
improved as a result of the increased annual net profit on 31 December
2008,
from 61.2 per cent to 62.8 per cent. The cash and cash equivalents
increased at the balance sheet date by 47.8 per cent to 77.3 million Euros
(previous year: 52.3 million Euros). Together with free credit lines of
39.9 million Euros, Bechtle AG had a comfortable level of cash reserves in
the amount of 117.2 million Euros (previous year: 93.9 million Euros) at
its disposal.

The cash flow from operating activities improved upon last year's value by
18.9 per cent at 49.9 million Euros (previous year: 42.0 Million Euros).

Rise in employee numbers

As of 31 December 2008, the Bechtle group had 4405 employees compared to
4250 at the end of 2007. The rise is due to both acquisitions and to new
hiring's, in particular in the IT system house & managed services segment.
Personnel expenses in the reporting year grew 7.1 per cent to 217.7 million
Euros (previous year: 203.3 million Euros), a proportionally higher growth
in relation to revenue. The personnel expenditure quota increased from 14.7
to 15.2 per cent.

2009 defined by uncertainty

The Bechtle AG management expects to be confronted with intensified market
competition and with difficult economic conditions. Despite the delicate
economic situation, Bechtle is striving for an above-average market
position in its industry. The continuing internationalisation in the IT
e-commerce segment and the expansion of the managed services and public
sector divisions remain an important strategy in 2009. True to its
strategy, Bechtle AG has opened up its first Portuguese subsidiary, and is
now represented in eleven different European countries with its e-commerce
brand, Bechtle direct. The Bechtle group is also planning to expand to
Eastern Europe with its IT e-commerce segment in the second half of 2009.

Profitable acquisitions will continue to be an essential component of the
group's growth strategy in all business segments. In the IT system house &
managed services segments in particular, selective acquisitions can
supplement the regional positioning and competence profile of Bechtle AG.
'It is particularly important to prepare for the future in difficult
economic times. Our comfortable financial situation should provide us with
the necessary scope of action,' explains Dr. Thomas Olemotz.

                                              2008       2007   Change

Revenue EUR'000 1 431 462 1 383 453 3.5%
Domestic EUR'000 938 868 902 367 4.0%
Abroad EUR'000 492 594 481 086 2.4%
IT system house & managed
services EUR'000 927 530 885 772 4.7%
IT e-commerce EUR'000 503 932 497 681 1.3%
EBITDA EUR'000 74 139 71 754 3.3%
EBIT EUR'000 60 229 58 253 3.4%
IT system house & managed
services EUR'000 38 444 33 065 16.3%
IT e-commerce EUR'000 21 785 25 188 -13.5%
EBT EUR'000 61 533 59 006 4.3%
Earnings after taxes EUR'000 45 428 40 959 10.9%
Earnings per share EUR 2.14 1.93 11.1%
Cash flow from operating
activities EUR'000 49 941 41 993 18.9%
Cash and cash equivalents EUR'000 77 300 52 300 47.8%
Equity ratio % 62.8 61.2 2.6%
Workforce on 31/12 4 405 4 250 3.6%

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The 2008 annual report is available at www.bechtle.com/gb.

Contact:
Bechtle AG
Investor Relations
Thomas Fritsche
Telefon: +49 7132/981-4121
Martin Link
Telefon: +49 7132/981-4149
Telefax: +49 7132/981-4116
ir@bechtle.com

19.03.2009 Financial News transmitted by DGAP

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 - 8000
E-mail: ir@bechtle.com
Internet: www.bechtle.com
ISIN: DE0005158703
WKN: 515870
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin, Hannover, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart

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