Semi-annual statement 2009
STRABAG SE INCREASES REVENUE AND EBITDA IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2009 – OUTLOOK 2009 CONFIRMED- Revenue in first six months grows by 12 % to € 5,347.33 million – Acquisition-driven increases in Germany
- Order backlog € 14.3 billion – Higher compared to 2008 year-end (+8 %) and versus 30 June 2008 (+5 %) – Second-highest order backlog in group in Poland
- EBITDA disproportionally higher, EBIT remains seasonally negative – Improved margins of 3.0 % and -0.2 %, respectively
- Management confirms 2009 outlook: output volume and EBIT stable
Vienna, 31 August 2009
Output Volume and Revenue
STRABAG SE grew its output volume to € 5,611.26 million in the first six months of 2009, a plus of 6 % compared to the same period the year before. The second quarter brought growth of 1 % to € 3,420.93 million. While significant output growth could be recorded in Germany – mainly due to the previous year’s enterprise acquisitions in the Transportation Infrastructures and Special Divisions & Concession segments – as well as in Poland and Hungary, there were declines in Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy and Romania.
The consolidated group revenue for the first six months of the 2009 financial year amounted to € 5,347.33 million, compared to € 4,777.41 million in the same period last year (+12 %). The rise is due largely to the previous year’s acquisitions. Group revenue in the second quarter of 2009 stood at € 3,264.99 million, up 8 % compared with the second quarter of 2008.
Order Backlog
The order backlog on 30 June 2009 stood at € 14,318.85 million, despite declines in Russia, Hungary, Italy and Slovakia. This corresponds to an increase of 5 % compared to 30 June 2008 and a plus of 8 % versus the end of 2008. The growth is largely the result of the many new road construction orders in Poland – after Germany, Poland now has the second-highest order backlog in the group – and the increased contribution from STRABAG Property und Facility Services, which posted a plus of about € 256 million over the previous year (31 December 2008 € 367 million).
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.
Driven by volume and margins, the EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) grew by 25 % to € 162.75 million in the first six months of 2009. The sum amount from the two largest cost items, “expenses for raw materials, consumables and other services” and “personnel expenses”, fell from 95 % to 91 % of the revenue. Amortisation and depreciation was up by 10 %.
The EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes), in the first six months of 2009 was more moderate than the previous year, with € -11.13 million compared to € -28.41 million in 2008. The EBIT margin grew from -0.6 % to -0.2 % in response to the better results in Building Construction and Civil Engineering in Germany, the higher demand in Transportation Infrastructures in Poland and the inclusion of STRABAG Property und Facility Services GmbH (SPFS) in the Special Divisions & Concessions segment.
While the financial result in the first half of 2008 had been positive, the amount of € -16.57 million in the last six months had a negative effect on the pre-tax result of € -27.69 million. The worsened interest result is due to the expenditures that were made and the collapse of interest earned.
At 21.3 %, the tax rate remained slightly behind last year’s value of 23.7 %. The minority interest reached € 1.61 million. Last year, this figure had been in negative territory with € -18.84 million. STRABAG SE therefore posted a negative net income after minorities of € -23.41 million in the first half of 2009, compared to a plus of € 1.02 million in the first half of 2008. The earnings per share stood at € -0.21 versus € 0.01 the previous year.
The second-quarter EBITDA grew by 19 % to € 229.06 million; the EBIT was up 29 % to € 141.55 million. The net income after minorities stood at € 105.87 million, a plus of 29 %, while quarterly earnings per share rose from € 0.72 to € 0.93.
The balance sheet total fell slightly from € 9,765.21 million at 31 December 2008 to € 9,480.21 million. The equity ratio remained nearly unchanged at 30.3 %. The net cash position of € 109.66 million turned into a net financial liability of € 381.03 million as the cash and cash equivalents fell from € 1,491.37 million to € 915.35 million.
The negative cash-flow from operating activities improved from € -346.42 million for the first half of 2008 to € -208.65 million as, despite the higher business volume, the replenishment of the working capital – particularly with regard to receivables – could be reduced compared 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 € -591.69 million to € -169.40 million. The cash-flow from financing activities was in negative territory (€ -187.59 million), in part because unlike last year STRABAG had opted against a corporate bond issue.
Employees
The average number of employees grew by 8,998 or 14 % to 75,040. By far the greatest part of this growth is due to the enterprise acquisitions made in Germany in the second half of the previous year.
Outlook
Hans Peter Haselsteiner, CEO of STRABAG SE, confirms his forecast for the full year 2009: “At the six-month mark, the management continues to hold the same view it did three months ago: Thanks to the economic stimulus programmes instituted by the national governments we probably will conclude the ongoing year at about last year’s levels. With an output volume of more than € 5.6 billion in the first half of 2009, we are well on our way to reaching this goal. Furthermore, there are no indications that the EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) will differ significantly from that of 2008. Nevertheless we still expect a worsening climate in the construction sector in the years to come, while STRABAG SE could emerge stronger from the expected construction crisis.”