Earnings Release • Aug 14, 2015
Earnings Release
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Corporate | 14 August 2015 08:01
OVB posts good results for first half of year – concerns over the future of private pensions in Europe (news with additional features)
DGAP-News: OVB Holding AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results/Interim
Report
2015-08-14 / 08:01
OVB posts good results for first half of year - concerns over the future of
private pensions in Europe
Cologne, 14 August 2015 - The European financial advisory group OVB
continued its success story in the first half of 2015. Total sales
increased by 6.9% to EUR110.9 million. A positive business development was
recorded on many national markets. "In June 2015 alone, OVB brokered around
60,000 new contracts throughout Europe - testifying to the strong demand
for our services," said Michael Rentmeister, CEO of OVB Holding AG, at the
presentation of the figures for the first half of the year. The Group
increased its operating income by 28.2% to EUR6.1 million.
However, the CEO of OVB is concerned about private pensions in Europe:
"More and more people are turning away from private pensions out of
uncertainty and also in light of the current low interest rates. Only a
very few are prepared to cut back today in order to set aside provisions
for old age. Our financial advisors are also observing this dangerous
development in their contact with clients. Here, the time factor works
against self-doubt, hesitation and people's tendency to put things off or
push them to the back of their minds. The need for qualified, comprehensive
advice from financial advisors is greater than ever."
OVB has been offering its clients this service at the highest level for
many years. For example, out of a total of 19,897 complaints filed with the
ombudsman in Germany in 2014, not a single one was directed against a
product brokered by OVB. In Austria, OVB's financial advisors emerged as
the winners ahead of all competitors in anonymous test consultations on
pension accounts conducted by the test magazine konsument.at this year.
"These are just two examples that confirm the scientifically proven
positive close-up picture of the relationship between clients and financial
advisors and lead to the conclusion that there is no need for further
inappropriate blanket restrictions - in spite of all the prophesies of doom
from politicians and consumer protection organisations," says Rentmeister,
explaining OVB's involvement in the topic of regulation. "Of course we know
that politicians do not tend to follow a business model of not making any
laws. But it is also clear that the effect of new laws cannot be seen until
time has passed. In our opinion, no new law after the introduction of the
EU Insurance Mediation Directive (IMD) has brought any further benefits as
far as consumer protection is concerned. On the contrary. Any additional
regulation of financial brokerage now actually increases the risk of
poverty in old age significantly."
At its Annual General Meeting in June 2015, OVB therefore proposed a
realignment in several stages together with a harmonisation of the European
old-age pension systems:
Strong business performance on many national markets
The Group's international alignment and its core strategic measures to
become the leading system sales company in Europe form the basis for the
successful business development: An above-average sales performance was
recorded in Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Italy and Austria.
In the Southern and Western Europe segment, total sales commission
increased by 21.5% from EUR21.1 million to EUR25.7 million in the first six
months of the year. Sales growth amounted to 5.3% in Germany and 2.1% in
the Central and Eastern Europe segment.
More clients, more financial brokers
The OVB Group has further expanded its client base in Europe to currently
3.27 million clients. The number of licensed financial consultants working
full-time for OVB climbed by 3.4% in the past twelve months to 5,308.
Substantial increase in earnings
Earnings developed in line with sales, with all segments contributing to
the overall increase in earnings of 28.2%. The OVB Group's operating income
totalled EUR6.1 million in the first half of 2015 after EUR4.7 million in
the same period of the previous year.
In the first half of 2015, the Group's EBIT margin based on total sales
commission improved to 5.5% after 4.6% in the same period of the previous
year.
The earnings per share generated by OVB for its shareholders in the period
from January to June climbed by 7.4%.
Continued positive development anticipated
The general conditions for OVB'S business activities are expected to remain
stable over the rest of the year. In view of the results achieved in the
first six months of 2015, OVB anticipates a slight rise in sales for the
year as a whole in comparison to 2014 and expects operating income to
remain stable or increase slightly as against the significantly improved
result for 2014.
OVB Group
OVB Group, with its holding company headquartered in Cologne, is one of the
leading European financial sales organisations. Since its founding in 1970,
customer-oriented consulting for private households with regard to asset
protection, asset building, pension plans and real estate acquisition has
been the focus of OVB's business activities. OVB currently advises some 3.3
million customers across Europe, working in cooperation with over 100
renowned product partners.
OVB is presently active in 14 countries, with 5,300 full-time financial
advisors working for the Group. In 2014, OVB Holding AG and its
subsidiaries generated total sales commission of EUR214.0 million and EBIT
of EUR12.3 million. OVB Holding AG has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock
Exchange (Prime Standard, ISIN DE0006286560) since July 2006.
The presentation of the results of the first half year 2015 and the interim
report can be downloaded from the Investor Relations section of www.ovb.eu.
This corporate news is also available on the Internet at:
www.ovb.eu > in Dialogue > Press Releases
+++++
Additional features:
Document: http://n.equitystory.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=EEAVTDPMWH
Document title: OVB Press Release 8/14/2015
2015-08-14 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.
Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de
Language: English
Company: OVB Holding AG
Heumarkt 1
50667 Köln
Germany
Phone: +49 221 2015 - 0
Fax: +49 221 2015 - 264
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.ovb.eu
ISIN: DE0006286560
WKN: 628656
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated
Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover,
Munich, Stuttgart
386843 2015-08-14
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