Interim Report January – March 2009
STRABAG SE increases revenues and EBIT margin in Q1/09- Revenue up 18 % to € 2,082.3 million – growth from acquisitions in Germany
- Order backlog only slightly below the level of 31 December 2008
- EBITDA and EBIT lower, but margins improved at -3.2 % and -7.3 %, respectively
- Outlook: STRABAG SE expects to end the current year at the same levels as the year before
Vienna, 29 May 2009
Output Volume and Revenue
The publicly listed construction company STRABAG SE grew its output volume to € 2,190.3 million in the first three months of 2009, a plus of 14 % compared to the same period the year before. Significant growth was registered in Germany – thanks mainly to enterprise acquisitions in the Transportation Infrastructures and the Special Divisions & Concessions segments –, in Russia and in the Middle East. By comparison, business receded in Austria and the Czech Republic in the Building Construction & Civil Engineering segment.
The consolidated group revenue reached € 2,082.3 million in the first three months of the 2009 financial year, compared to € 1,762.7 million the period before (+18 %). The growth is largely due to the acquisi¬tions made the previous year.
Order Backlog
The order backlog on 31 March 2009 stood at € 12,848.7 million, slightly higher than at the same time last year and down slightly when compared to the end of 2008. In a year-on-year comparison, the order backlog in Germany was up by more than € 1 billion, compensating for decreases in Russia at a similar value. In the first quarter of 2009, the order backlog in Russia dropped even more, while a plus was re¬gistered in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. The order backlog in Poland was remarkably high – with € 1,029.6 million, Poland now ranks third in terms of the group’s order backlog by country, behind Germany and just slightly behind Austria.
Financial Position, Financial Performance and Cash-flows
The limited capacity for construction in winter results in significant seasonal effects on the development of earnings and other financial figures of STRABAG SE. The first two quarters of the year typically have a negative effect on results, which is then overcompensated by results in the second half of the year. As a result of the seasonal effects, a quarterly comparison makes little sense. Due to the higher business volume, there was a more pronounced effect of seasonality on the earnings in the first quarter of 2009 as well. The EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) fell by 6 % with the higher output volume to reach € -66.3 million and the EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) fell by 10 %to € -152.7 million.
The EBITDA and EBIT margins, by comparison, improved from -3.5 % to -3.2 % and from -7.8 % to -7.3 %, respectively. STRABAG explains this development in part with the better earnings in the Building Const¬ruction & Civil Engineering segment on the German home market. On the other hand, the first-time inclu¬sion of STRABAG Property und Facility Services GmbH (SPFS) in the Special Divisions & Concessions segment also had a positive effect on the margins.
While the contribution from the net interest had still been positive in the same period last year, with € -26.4 million it has now slipped into negative territory – in part due to the lower net liquidity but also because of the higher currency exchange losses. The tax rate remained relatively stable, at 20.7 % com¬pared to 19.4 % the previous year. The minority interest reached € -12.7 million. Last year – STRABAG has meanwhile increased its share in the German subsidiary STRABAG AG, Cologne, to 90.0 % – this figure still stood at € -28.6 million. The profit for the period after minorities fell by 59 % to € -129.3 million, while the earnings per share were down from € -0.71 to € -1.13.
The balance sheet total fell by 6 % from € 9,765.2 million on 31 December 2008 to € 9,143.2 million. The negative cash-flow from operating activities improved from € -241.6 million to € -189.9 million, as, despite the higher business volume, the replenishment of the working capital could be reduced com¬pared to the same period the year before. In line with the strategy of lowering capital expenditures, the cash-flow from investing activities was down from € -155.0 million to € -58.6 million. The cash-flow from financing activities was at € 32.0 million.
Employees
The number of employees grew with the higher output volume, gaining 16 % to 73,720, of which 31,339 were white-collar and 42,381 were blue-collar workers. The acquisitions in Germany led to additional 7,000-plus employees in this market. Significant increases were also registered in the Middle East and in Poland.
Outlook
Concerning the outlook for the full financial year 2009 Hans Peter Haselsteiner, CEO of STRABAG SE, commented: “The first quarter developed positively for STRABAG SE, as had been expected, despite the fact that the economic environment became more difficult. We also do not share the budding optimism; rather, we believe that the external factors will continue to develop negatively. Nevertheless, STRABAG SE expects to end the current year at the same levels as the year before, in part thanks to the economic stimu¬lus programmes adopted by the various national governments.”
Analyst conference call Q1/09
The analysts conference call will be recorded and the replay will be available as of 29 May 2009, 3.00 p.m., until 3 June 2009. The replay dial-in numbers are:
+49 (0) 69 7104 8870 (Germany)
+44 (0) 1212 60 48 61 (UK)
+1 (1) 866 268 1947 (US)
+43 (0) 268 2205 9238 (Austria)
+43 (0) 800 10251970 (Toll free Austria)
You will be asked for the code: 4 7 6 0, followed by the # key.