Annual Report of 2016 for ROCKWOOL International A

Hedehusene, Denmark, 2017-02-24 08:03 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  

Annual Report of 2016 for ROCKWOOL International A/S

Release n. 1 – 2017 to Nasdaq Copenhagen

ROCKWOOL International A/S Hovedgaden 584, Indgang C 2640 Hedehusene Tlf.: 46 56 03 00 www.rockwool.com CVR-nr.: 54879415

24 February 2017

The ROCKWOOL Group concludes successful transformation and announces expansion plans

Highlights

* Sales in 2016 reached EUR 2,202 million, an increase in local currencies by 1.9%. Q4 sales grew 0.8%, measured in local currencies.

* The Business Transformation Programme is now successfully completed ahead of schedule and will continue as integrated part of our business. The related redundancy costs included in 2016 amount to EUR 8.0 million.

* EBIT* increased by 38% to EUR 237 million equal to an EBIT margin of 10.8%.

* EBIT* in Q4 was EUR 62 million and the EBIT margin reached 10.6%.

* Investments before disposal of assets and investment grants totalled EUR 101 million. * Free cash flow improved by EUR 140 million to EUR 237 million for 2016. Q4 generated a strong free cash flow of EUR 97 million and resulted in a net cash position end of the year of EUR 119 million. * Profit for the year reached EUR 166 million, an improvement of EUR 76 million. Net profit in Q4 was EUR 44 million. * In line with the new dividend policy the proposed dividend per share is DKK 18.80, up from DKK 11.50 last year.

*) Ex. redundancy costs from the Business Transformation Programme from 2016 and 2015 and write-downs in Asia in 2015.

Full year Outlook 2017

* Growth in net sales expected to reach between 2-4% in local currencies. * EBIT margin slightly above 10% * Investment level of around EUR 130 million. * Investment plans include the purchase of land in Sweden, Romania and the United States to enhance geographic coverage, increase capacity and improve the efficiency and quality of the production process.

CEO comment Commenting on the Group’s performance, CEO Jens Birgersson says:

“We ended the year 2016 with 10.8% EBIT, strong cash flow and a flawlessly executed transformation. The way the organisation embraced the challenges and even accelerated the change, 12 months ahead of plan, has been impressive and is something I am very proud of. Even more so as we complemented the positive financial performance with a strong improvement in our ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) rankings, bringing our success beyond the bottom line.”

         Further information:          Kim Junge Andersen, Chief Financial Officer          ROCKWOOL International A/S          +45 46 56 03 00