DGAP-News: Bechtle Reports Strong First Quarter DGAP-News:

DGAP-News: Bechtle AG / Key word(s): Quarter Results/Interim Report Bechtle Reports Strong First Quarter 13.05.2015 / 07:30 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Bechtle Reports Strong First Quarter - Revenue up 6.1 per cent to EUR622.5 million - Consolidated EBT grows at an above-average 7.9 per cent - Executive Board confirms forecast for the year Neckarsulm, 13 May 2015 - In the first quarter of 2015, Bechtle AG generated revenue amounting to EUR622.5 million, an increase of 6.1 per cent. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased 6.3 per cent to EUR22.5 million. Consolidated EBT also amounted to EUR22.5 million, 7.9 per cent more than in the prior year, and the EBT margin retained a good level of 3.6 per cent. As of 31 March 2015, Bechtle had a total of 6,671 employees, 319 more than in the corresponding prior-year quarter. This represents an increase of 5.0 per cent. "In view of the excellent prior-year figures, it is remarkable that the company again achieved significant revenue and earnings growth right from the start of 2015, thereby following up seamlessly on the excellent performance in the fourth quarter of 2014," says Dr. Thomas Olemotz, Chairman of the Executive Board of Bechtle AG. System house & managed services report excellent margin In the first quarter, the IT system house & managed services segment increased its revenue 4.2 per cent to EUR402.6 million (prior year: EUR386.4 million). Impulses came mainly from the domestic companies, which stepped up their contribution to the consolidated revenue by 4.7 per cent to EUR354.6 million (prior year: EUR338.8 million). In the first quarter of 2015, the segment EBIT went up by a remarkable 20.9 per cent to EUR16.5 million (prior year: EUR13.7 million). The EBIT margin thus further improved to 4.1 per cent (prior year: 3.5 per cent). This excellent development is the result of factors such as the disproportionately low increase in personnel expenses and the higher share of managed services. Another factor was the high demand for the transformation of IT architectures in the solution business. IT E-Commerce Exhibits Strong Growth The IT e-commerce segment was the growth driver in the first quarter. From January to March, revenue climbed 9.8 per cent from EUR200.3 million to EUR219.8 million. This increase was mainly supported by the outstanding performance of our foreign companies, which increased 14.3 per cent from EUR143.7 million to EUR164.2 million. EBIT amounted to EUR6.0 million, i.e. less than in the prior year (EUR7.5 million). This was due to the higher personnel expenses resulting from new recruitment. The workforce expansion had become necessary because of the strong growth of the prior quarters and to secure future growth. Strong Balance Sheet Furnishes Evidence of Economic Strength As of 31 March, cash and cash equivalents including time deposits and securities amounted to a comfortable EUR150.4 million. The liquidity was EUR93.7 million higher than the total financial liabilities, i.e. Bechtle remains free of debt. As of the balance sheet date, the equity ratio amounted to 57.6 per cent. The extrapolated return on equity also reached an excellent value of 12.2 per cent. The operating cash flow was EUR0.4 million, EUR2.7 million less than in the prior year. The decline was mainly caused by the year-on-year increase in bonus payments. Continuous Investments in Workforce As of the reporting date 31 March 2015, the Bechtle Group had 6,671 employees, including 411 trainees. This represents a year-on-year increase of 319. The increase of 5.0 per cent was made up exclusively of new recruitment. The training of young people remains a highlight of the HR work. Annual Forecast Confirmed Bechtle increased its revenue and earnings significantly in the first quarter. From the current perspective, there is nothing to indicate why this positive performance should not carry on in the subsequent quarters. Therefore, the Executive Board confirms the targets for the year as whole, which it had formulated in March and which predict significant revenue and earnings growth and a slight margin improvement. "Our figures in the first quarter are within the target range of our expectations. The macroeconomic framework conditions and the industry performance remain positive. Therefore, we are looking forward to the coming months with optimism," says Dr. Thomas Olemotz. Bechtle KPIs for the First Quarter of 2015 <pre> Q1/2015 Q1/2014 +/- Revenue EURk 622,450 586,696 +6.1 % Domestic EURk 410,227 395,298 +3.8 % Abroad EURk 212,223 191,398 +10.9 % IT system house EURk 402,626 386,440 +4.2 % IT e-commerce EURk 219,824 200,256 +9.8 % EBIT EURk 22,501 21,161 +6.3 % IT system house EURk 16,528 13,668 +20.9 % IT e-commerce EURk 5,973 7,493 -20.3 % EBIT margin % 3.6 3.6 EBT EURk 22,475 20,832 +7.9 % EBT margin % 3.6 3.6 Earnings after taxes EURk 15,734 14,802 +6.3 % Earnings per share EUR 0.75 0.70 +6.3 % Cash flow from operating activities EURk 390 3,076 -87.3 % Employees (average) 6,613 6,299 +5.0 % </pre> <pre> 31.03.2015 31.12.2014 +/- Liquidity EURk 150,366 156,000 -3.6 % Equity ratio % 57.6 54.5 Employees 6,671 6,572 +1.5 % </pre> *** The interim financial report for the first quarter of 2015 is available for download at bechtle.com/reports. About Bechtle As a one-stop IT provider, Bechtle AG is active with over 65 system houses in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and is one of Europe's leading online 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 conventional 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 2014, the group generated revenues of approximately EUR2.6 billion. Contact Bechtle AG Bechtle Platz 1 D-74172 Neckarsulm Investor Relations Corporate Communications/Press 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 Fax: +49 7132 981-4116 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.05.2015 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: Bechtle AG Bechtle Platz 1 74172 Neckarsulm Germany Phone: +49 7132 981-0 Fax: +49 7132 981-8000 E-mail: ir@bechtle.com Internet: bechtle.com ISIN: DE0005158703 WKN: 515870 Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service --------------------------------------------------------------------- 356303 13.05.2015