DGAP-News: Bechtle reports extremely strong third quarter

DGAP-News: Bechtle AG / Key word(s): Quarter Results/Interim Report Bechtle reports extremely strong third quarter 14.11.2013 / 07:30 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Bechtle reports extremely strong third quarter - Revenue up 11.4 per cent to EUR558.8 million - Consolidated EBIT reaches EUR25.2 million, 35.3 per cent above prior year - Excellent performance in domestic system house business - Confidence for the fourth quarter Neckarsulm, 14 November 2013 - In the third quarter of 2013, Bechtle AG generated revenues of EUR558.8 million, an increase of 11.4 per cent. From July to September, the growth was again driven by the domestic system houses, which contributed to the revenue growth with an above-average increase of 16.7 per cent. Earnings before taxes (EBIT) increased 35.3 per cent to EUR25.2 million. In this field too, the development was mainly supported by the IT system house & managed services segment, which was able to boost its EBIT by an outstanding 65.5 per cent to EUR17.0 million. The cumulative EBIT as of 30 September amounted to EUR54.6 million, 6.7 per cent more than in the prior year. 'The excellent performance of Bechtle in the third quarter confirms our strategy of combining trade and project business with high-quality services. In this way, we have further improved our market and competitive position. We are also increasingly seeing the benefits of the investments in our team. All in all, the preconditions for a strong final quarter are good,' says Dr. Thomas Olemotz, Chairman of the Executive Board. System houses report excellent quarterly result In the third quarter, the IT system house & managed services segment made an above-average contribution to the company's growth. At EUR385.0 million, revenues were 14.6 per cent higher than in the corresponding prior-year quarter (EUR336.0 million). The domestic system houses served as the growth driver, stepping up their contribution to the group revenue by 16.7 per cent to EUR348.2 million (prior year: EUR298.4 million). In the third quarter of 2013, the segment EBIT increased 65.5 per cent to EUR17.0 million (prior year: EUR10.3 million). At 4.4 per cent, the EBIT margin was significantly higher than in the prior year (3.1 per cent). This development was mainly driven by the increased share of high-quality services. IT e-commerce reports high margin level as usual In the IT e-commerce segment, the revenue in the third quarter went up 4.9 per cent from EUR165.6 million to EUR173.8 million. Domestic revenues climbed 3.1 per cent from EUR55.8 million to EUR57.5 million. The European e-commerce companies grew 5.8 per cent to EUR116.2 million (prior year: EUR109.8 million). EBIT decreased slightly from EUR8.3 million to EUR8.2 million. At 4.7 per cent, the margin remained at a high level, as in the prior year (5.0 per cent). Balance sheet structure sound as a bell As of 30 September, cash and cash equivalents including time deposits and securities amounted to a comfortable EUR119.9 million. Thus, Bechtle is free of debt, as the total liquidity exceeds the total financial liabilities by EUR47.0 million. As of the balance sheet date, the equity totalled EUR475.2 million, 3.4 per cent more than on 31 December. The equity ratio improved from 54.4 per cent to 57.8 per cent. High training ratio As of the reporting date 30 September 2013, the Bechtle Group had a total of 6,150 employees, including 480 trainees. Compared to 31 December 2012, this means an increase of 180. The increase is attributable both to acquisitions in Germany and Switzerland and to the high number of new trainees. Year on year, the headcount went up by 172 (30 September 2012: 5,978), an increase of 2.9 per cent. As of 30 September 2013, the training ratio in Germany was 9.4 per cent, the highest level of the past years. Annual forecast concretised From the current perspective, Bechtle is confident that its revenue and earnings position will outperform the prior year in the fourth quarter as well. However, as the fourth quarter of 2012 was already very successful, it is unlikely that we will be able to record growth rates as high as those of the third quarter. Backed by the good reporting quarter, the Executive Board believes that the fiscal year 2013 will see a clear â?? though single-digit â?? increase in revenue and a noticeable earnings growth. 'Thus, we will again grow faster than the market and profitably in our anniversary year 2013 as well. With our business model, an efficient portfolio and highly motivated team members, our positioning for the future is excellent,' says Dr. Thomas Olemotz. Bechtle KPIs for the third quarter and the first nine months of 2013 <pre> Q3/2013 Q3/2012 +/- 9M/2013 9M/2012 +/- Revenue EURk 558,805 501,626 +11.4% 1,591,272 1,484,551 +7.2% Domestic EURk 405,704 354,255 +14.5% 1,104,191 1,009,220 +9.4% Abroad EURk 153,101 147,371 +3.9% 487,081 475,331 +2.5% IT system house EURk 385,049 335,981 +14.6% 1,069,747 979,120 +9.3% IT e-commerce EURk 173,756 165,645 +4.9% 521,525 505,431 +3.2% EBIT EURk 25,173 18,608* +35.3% 54,639 51,209* +6.7% IT system house EURk 17,023 10,287* +65.5% 32,081 27,590* +16.3% IT e-commerce EURk 8,150 8,321* -2.1% 22,558 23,619* -4.5% EBIT margin % 4.5 3.7 3.4 3.4* EBT EURk 24,749 18,329* +35.0% 53,427 50,401* +6.0% EAT EURk 17,609 13,167* +33.7% 38,085 36,184* +5.3% EPS EUR 0.83 0.62* +33.7% 1.81 1.72* +5.3% OCF EURk 6,225 4,282 +45.4% 17,831 11,059 +61.2% Employees(average) 6,072 5,862 +3.6% 6,026 5,721 +5.3% </pre> <pre> 30.09.2013 31.12.2012 +/- Liquidity EURk 119,859 146,155 -18.0% Equity ratio % 57.8 54.4* +6.3% Employees 6,150 5,970 +3.0% </pre> *Prior-year figures adjusted pursuant to IAS 19R *** The interim financial report for the third quarter of 2013 is available for download at www.bechtle.com/reports. About Bechtle As a one-stop IT provider, Bechtle AG is active with 65 system houses in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and is one of Europe's leading dealers for information technology, with subsidiaries in 14 countries. This combination forms the basis of Bechtle's trend-setting business model, which links IT services to the direct marketing of IT products. Established in 1983 and headquartered in Neckarsulm, Germany, the company offers a one-stop, vendor-independent, comprehensive IT portfolio to its more than 75,000 customers from the fields of industry and trade, the public sector and the financial industry. Bechtle has been quoted at the stock exchange since 2000 and has been listed in the TecDAX technology index since 2004. In the fiscal year 2012, the group generated revenues of more than EUR2 billion. Contact Bechtle AG Bechtle Platz 1 74172 Neckarsulm, Germany Investor Relations Corporate Communications Martin Link Sabine Brand martin.link@bechtle.com sabine.brand@bechtle.com Phone +49 7132 981-4149 Phone +49 7132 981-4115 Fax +49 7132 981-4116 End of Corporate News --------------------------------------------------------------------- 14.11.2013 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. DGAP's 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: Bechtle AG Bechtle Platz 1 74172 Neckarsulm Germany Phone: +49 7132 981-0 Fax: +49 7132 981-8000 E-mail: ir@bechtle.com Internet: www.bechtle.com ISIN: DE0005158703 WKN: 515870 Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service --------------------------------------------------------------------- 239154 14.11.2013