As at 24 April 2013, Solar A/S divested the subsidiary Aurora Group Danmark A/S. The stated figures for 2013 and 2014 in this announcement, therefore, relate to the continuing operations.
Q2 revenue for the Solar Group matched our expectations, while EBITA was in the low range of our expectations. Our expectations for revenue and EBITA for 2014 are changed.
As the Board of Directors of Solar A/S has processed the quarterly report and guidance earlier than planned, the publication of Quarterly Report Q2 2014 has been moved forward.
CEO Anders Wilhjelm says:
“Most of our enterprises generated negative growth in Q2, and we see a historically weak Danish market, which is disappointing to us. It gives us an unfavourable effect of our geographical mix. In spite of the dropping top line, we still expect group EBITA to grow compared to 2013, however at a lower level than earlier stated. In general, we do not see any vast changes to the group’s overall market conditions in 2015.”
| Select financial highlights | € million | ~ DKK million | ||||||
| Q2 2014 | Q2 2 013 | H1 2014 | H1 2013 | Q2 2014 | Q2 2013 | H1 2014 | H1 2013 | |
| Revenue | 361.2 | 383.9 | 739.6 | 759.4 | 2,695 | 2,863 | 5,519 | 5,663 |
| EBITA | -2.1 | 2.3 | 0.8 | -1.6 | -16 | 17 | 6 | -12 |
| Earnings before tax | -5.5 | -2.1 | -6.5 | -9.9 | -41 | -16 | -49 | -74 |
| Cash flow from operating act | -12.5 | 8.1 | -34.0 | -23.5 | -93 | 60 | -254 | -175 |
| Select key figures | % | % | ||||||
| Organic growth | -3.5 | -4.7 | 0.2 | -7.6 | -3.5 | -4.7 | 0.2 | -7.6 |
| EBITA margin | -0.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | -0.2 | -0.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Net working capital/rev.* | 13.0 | 14.0 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 13.0 | 14.0 |
* Calculated as an average of the last four quarters’ inventories, debtors and creditors.
Q 2 2014 revenue:
- Group revenue matched our expectations .
- Organic growth was -3.5% but was negatively affected by the placement of Easter compared with Q2 2013. When adjusted for the number of working days, organic growth was -2.3%.
Q2 2014 EBITA:
- Group EBITA was in the low range of our expectations.
- The result was negatively affected by the placement of Easter compared to Q2 2013.
- Furthermore, EBITA was affected by restructuring costs of € 1.5m and Solar 8000 costs of € 1.0m. In Q2 2013, EBITA was affected by restructuring costs of € 0.7m and Solar 8000 costs of € 0.8m as well as profit from the divestment of Aurora Group of € 1.4m.
Net working capital:
- Net working capital was reduced to 13.7% of revenue, down from 14.1% in H1 2013. When stated as an average of four quarters, net working capital was reduced to 13.0% of revenue from 14.0% in H1 2013.
- Efforts to reduce net working capital will continue. Stated as an average of four quarters, our target for 2014 is to get net working capital to 13% of revenue. We expect net working capital of 11% of revenue at year-end 2014.
Expectations for 2014:
- Expectations for 2014 revenue have changed from revenue at € 1,465-1,510m to revenue around € 1,500m.
- Expectations for EBITA have been changed from EBITA at € 25-32m to EBITA around € 23m.
- Expectations for EBITA are negatively affected by a shifting of the geographical mix, in which Solar Danmark, in particular, are experiencing negative organic growth above group average.
- At the same time, we expect the changes in our customer and product mix, which affected gross profit negatively in several of our markets in H1, to continue.
- Expectations for 2014 EBITA include restructuring costs of approximately € 2m and Solar 8000 implementation costs of approximately € 2m. Adjusted for these, normalised EBITA is expected at € 27m.
- As a consequence of our expectations for a continued weak market development we focus on improvement measures in several group enterprises with the purpose of adjusting the business to fit the market situation.
Q2 presentation – video webcast and teleconference
The presentation of Quarterly Report Q2 2014 will be transmitted online from NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen Wednesday 20 August at 11.00 CET and will be accessible via www.solar.eu . Teleconference numbers are available here:
Participants from Denmark: tel. +45 32 72 80 18
Participants from the UK: tel. +44 145 255 5131
Participants from the USA: tel. +1 866 682 8490
International participants: tel. +44 (0) 145 255 5131
Yours faithfully
Solar A/S
Anders Wilhjelm
Attachment: Quarterly Report Q2 2014 pages 1-22
Facts about Solar
Solar A/S is a listed company and one of Northern Europe’s leading sourcing and services companies within electrical, heating, plumbing and ventilation products. Solar offers products, knowledge and solutions.
In 2013, the Solar Group, which is based in Denmark, generated revenue totalling
€ 1,531.5m, equating DKK 11.4bn. The group currently has some 3,300 employees. Solar is listed on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen with the short designation SOLAR B and has been listed since 1953.
For more information, please visit: www.solar.eu .
Disclaimer
This announcement was published in Danish and English today via NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen. In case of any discrepancy between the two versions, the Danish version shall prevail.
