Keeping momentum with strategic execution - results in line with expectations
- Consolidated revenue of the Santa Fe Group was EUR 338.6m in 2016 (EUR 373.6m) in line with latest outlook announced in the Q3 report in November 2016.
- Revenue from Relocation Services was almost on par with last year in local currencies and constituted 15% of the total revenue (14%).
- EBITDA before special items was above 2015 at EUR 10.6m (EUR 10.2m) with an associated improved EBITDA margin before special items of 3.1% (2.7%). In local currencies EBITDA before special items grew by 10.8%. The improvement was driven by fixed cost savings in several markets which more than outweighed the revenue shortfall in Moving Services.
- Special items was a gain of EUR 7.6m (EUR -0.7m) and includes a gain of EUR 12.2m from the divestment of the Records Management activities in 5 markets.
- An impairment charge of EUR 14.8m related to trademarks and other intangibles was recorded in the Australian business.
- Net profit from continuing operations was a net loss of EUR 10.5m. Excluding impairment charges of EUR 14.8m, net profit was positive with EUR 4.3m.
Outlook for 2017
- Santa Fe Group expects consolidated revenue to be at the same level as in 2016 (EUR 338.6m). The continuing operations are expected to deliver attractive growth rates – outweighing missed revenue from the divested Records Management activities and the loss of a large customer during 2017.
- EBITDA before special items is expected to be around EUR 10m. EBITDA margin is expected to further improve for the retained business, compensating for the EUR 3m impact of the divested Records Management activities.
- Special items is expected to be a profit of around EUR 2.0m (EUR 7.6m) including the estimated net gain from the divestment of the Records Management activities in the remaining 5 markets, which is expected to close during H1 2017.
Santa Fe Group CEO Martin Thaysen comments on the results:
“2016 was a tough year, where we were balancing strategic initiatives, restructuring and short term financial results in a soft market. Brexit had a hard impact on corporate customers in and related to the UK, and the Australian market continued to be slow. We finished the year very well, and despite a lower revenue we delivered an increased profit and increased margin for the year.
We went live with Phase 1 of our new CORE Technology platform in November, which puts us in a great position to accelerate development of digital solutions to our customers, and eventually also harvest internal efficiencies. We continue to develop our customer solutions with a focus on Immigration and Assignment Management – and will continue to invest in building these businesses. On the back of those investments, we have seen a good intake of new customers, which should positively impact our revenue in 2017.
With the divestment of the Records Management activities, we also continue to focus our business around Mobility and create financial freedom to make the right strategic investment in the future of our business.
2017 is expected to continue to be a relatively soft year, but that does not change our longer term market expectations for the mobility industry. We will continue our efforts to streamline our operation, and during 2017 shift into the second phase of our 2020 Strategy, focusing on growth and investment in our customer solutions and our people.“
Webcast today at 11:00
Santa Fe Group‘s Annual Report 2016 will be presented in a webcast followed by a conference call with financial analysts, investors and the press today at 11:00 CET on the company website www.thesantafegroup.com
Martin Thaysen, Group CEO, +44 20 3691 8300
Christian Møller Laursen, Group CFO, +44 20 8963 2514
