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Bechtle acquires CAD Specialist

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:07:02 +0200

Bechtle adds CAD system house to its solution portfolio / Management group remains intact

Neckarsulm/Langenau, 31 August 2010 – Bechtle AG acquires the CAD software specialist Solidpro Informationssysteme GmbH. The Germany-based system house was founded in 1997 and has since grown to include nine locations across Germany, including the company headquarters in Langenau, near Ulm. In the fiscal year 2009 the CAD specialist earned approximately 20 million euros in revenue while employing a staff of 98 for a very profitable balance. It offers a wide spectrum of services, ranging from consultation to implementation, system integration and project management—all from one source.

The management group remains unchanged, as does the company name Solidpro until further notice. The parties agreed to keep the purchase price confidential. The acquisition is subject to the approval of the relevant competition authorities.

Bechtle expects to gain valuable synergy effects from this acquisition for its customers in the fields of mechanical engineering, transportation and in the automotive industry: “By bringing a CAD specialist into the fold, we are able to expand our portfolio to include valuable solutions in the niche market. With the addition, we will now be able to offer a more complete range of IT products and support to customers in the mechanical engineering and technical design fields—everything from IT infrastructure to highly specialised CAD software,” explains the Bechtle AG CEO, Dr. Thomas Olemotz.

Solidpro specialises in solutions for Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp. (DS SolidWorks). The Windows-based products for construction, analysis and evaluation of environmental impact, product data management and documentation are designed for businesses of all sizes, offering an easy-to-use interface and cutting edge technology. DS SolidWorks is the market leader in 3D CAD technology solutions with the highest number of users worldwide.

Statement by Werner Meiser, CEO of Solidpro Informationssysteme GmbH:

“The integration into the Bechtle group will provide our company with opportunities that are generally reserved for big international corporations. The expected synergy effects will ensure long-term continuity and flexibility for us and our customers. At the same time, Solidpro and Bechtle will both profit from an enhanced portfolio of products and services. We're very happy with the decision to join the Bechtle group and look forward to a bright future together with solid growth potential.”

Statement by Uwe Burk, Country Manager of Central Europe, SolidWorks Deutschland GmbH:

“With SolidPro now a part of the Bechtle Group, we feel that our leading sales partner have put themselves in excellent position for sustained future growth. This also significantly raises our market potential in Germany. We're looking forward to a successful future together to the benefit of our shared customer base and investors.”

Bechtle AG strengthens its position in Austria

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:17:03 +0200

Bechtle has acquired the IT specialist HTH Consulting

The founding managing director remains on board

Neckarsulm/St. Pölten, 24.08.2010 – Bechtle AG is expanding with the latest acquisition of HTH Consulting GmbH with headquarters in St. Pölten, Austria. HTH Consulting employs 10 IT specialists who are trained in the field of IT system integration and consultation. Founded in 1999 by Herbert Thallauer, the company has made virtualisation its core business. HTH has earned a wide customer base, offering a comprehensive range of services in both planning and the implementation of IT solutions. In 2009 the profitable system house generated roughly three million euros in revenue. The parties agreed to keep the purchase price confidential.

The company founder Herbert Thallauer remains at the helm: “I'm very pleased to be partnering up with Bechtle AG. Being affiliated with such a strong parent company will provide us with excellent growth opportunities. For our customers, as well as our employees, it will mean more stability and security, and it will let us expand our range of services.”

This acquisition falls in line with Bechtle's ongoing strategy to bolster and solidify its presence in the D-A-CH region. In 2008 Bechtle moved into the Austrian market with the acquisition of two system houses. Today's Bechtle Vienna is the result of the successful integration of the 2008 acquisition.

HTH is a certified Citrix Platinum, VMware Enterprise and Microsoft Gold Partner.

The Bechtle Weekly Report, No. 2010/33

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:47:03 +0200

The Bechtle Share
Closing price (13.08.2010)	euros	22.46
Closing price (20.08.2010)	euros	22.16
% change	per cent	-1.3
High/low (Xetra)	euros	22.69 (16.08.2010)	22.11 (18.08.2010)
Average daily trading volume for the week (all German markets)	units/euros	22,653	505,120

Index Development
TecDAX	per cent	-0.5
Technology All Share	per cent	-0.5
Prime All Share	per cent	-1.6
GEX	per cent	-0.4
CDAX	per cent	-1.6
DAXplus Family	per cent	-1.1

Performance Overview		1 month	1 year
Bechtle AG share	per cent	-2.7	32.5
TecDAX index performance	per cent	-2.2	6.1

52-week high (Intraday)	euros	25.80 (21.04.2010)
52-week low (Intraday)	euros	14.50 (29.10.2009)

Company News
17.08.2010: LBBW confirms its buy rating and the target share value of 29 euros.
20.08.2010: The analysts at Deutschen Bank recommend to hold the share.
20.08.2010: In a customer survey conducted by the IT experts at Channel Partner and Computerwoche, Bechtle once again made second place among Germany's system houses.

Important Dates
24.08.2010: Commerzbank Sector Conference Frankfurt am Main 25.08.2010: Bechtle Shareholder Day 2010 16.09.2010: Bechtle Shareholder Day 2010 12.10.2010: Bechtle Shareholder Day 2010 12.11.2010: Interim report for the 3rd quarter

The Bechtle Weekly Report, No. 2010/32

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 11:37:03 +0200

The Bechtle Share
Closing price (06.08.2010)	euros	23.00
Closing price (13.08.2010)	euros	22.46
% change	per cent	-2.4
High/low (Xetra)	euros	23.40 (09.08.2010)	21.96 (13.08.2010)
Average daily trading volume for the week (all German markets)	units/euros	32,115	718,967

Index Development
TecDAX	per cent	-3.0
Technology All Share	per cent	-2.8
Prime All Share	per cent	-2.5
GEX	per cent	-0.8
CDAX	per cent	-2.5
DAXplus Family	per cent	-1.7

Performance Overview		1 month	1 year
Bechtle AG share	per cent	1.6	40.7
TecDAX index performance	per cent	-5.3	6.9

52-week high (Intraday)	euros	25.80 (21.04.2010)
52-week low (Intraday)	euros	14.50 (29.10.2009)

Company News
12.08.2010: Bechtle AG has published the figures for the second quarter and first half year of 2010, which show an increase in revenues of 16.2 per cent to 375.0 million euros (prior year: 322.6 million euros). The IT system house & managed services segment reported a revenue growth of 12.8 per cent, and the IT e-commerce segment contributed to this positive development with 23.1 per cent. EBT climbed by 61.2 per cent to 11.0 million euros (prior year: 6.8 million euros). Thus, the EBT margin is at 2.9 per cent, compared to 2.1 per cent in the same quarter last year. Earnings after taxes skyrocketed by 72.6 per cent, amounting to 8.3 million euros in the second quarter (prior year: 4.8 million euros). The earnings per share amounted to 0.40 euros, compared to 0.23 euros in the prior year.
12.08.2010: Against the backrdop of the Q2 figures, analysts at SES Research and LBBW confirm their respective target values of 26.50 euros or 29.00 euros, as well as their recommendation to buy the share.
13.08.2010: WestLB, too, sticks to its recommendation to buy, the target share value remains at 27.30 euros. Merrill Lynch rates the share as “hold”, increasing the target share value to 25.00 euros.

Important Dates
24.08.2010: Commerzbank Sector Conference Frankfurt am Main 25.08.2010: Bechtle Shareholder Day 2010 16.09.2010: Bechtle Shareholder Day 2010 12.10.2010: Bechtle Shareholder Day 2010 12.11.2010: Interim report for the 3rd quarter

Bechtle training centres in high demand

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:57:02 +0200

Neckarsulm, 5 August 2010 – Bechtle training centres have been an integral partner in the IT industry for the past 15 years. The Bechtle training centres have dramatically expanded their services to keep in step with the ever-evolving developments in technology, offering a wide range of professional training services. More and more, the Bechtle training centres are assuming the complete responsibility of all their clients' training requirements.

Employees must be kept up to date on the latest technology and certified according to the latest standards. Effective training must be both flexible and efficient with respect to time and money. All 19 Bechtle training centres are well equipped to handle these demands: companies and public institutions across Germany take part in one-on-one training sessions, seminars, workshops and company training courses that amount to roughly 7 thousand days of training. “Many of our clients today operate their business on an international scale. Being certified is an important tool for them to advertise their qualifications. At the same time, however, it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to be able to offer their employees the level of quality training necessary to cope with the growing demand. As a result, more and more clients entrust us with the task of handling all of their company training. That means, we take over the planning and coordination of the entire employee training programme for our client,” explains Angelika Pieta, director of the Bechtle training centre in Nuremberg and Würzburg.

Great wealth of experience

Most clients opt for group seminars or individual, employee-specific traning sessions as opposed to standard seminars, in order to make the most efficient use of their budget possible. These seminars offer highly specialised training, instructed by highly qualified and competent trainers. Bechtle has many more resources at its disposal than merely what the market has to offer, being able to draw upon the valuable expertise and experience from the many professionals of Bechtle's 4,400 employees. “Since we can offer our customers everything from just one source, they profit from the added value that this brings: companies save time and money by letting us manage the entire value chain, from the organisation of seminars to quality assurance processes,” explains Angelika Pieta.

Client's right-hand man

The experts at the training centres evaluate the possibilities of public funding of different training courses, create databases, keep employees informed of updates, and act as an interface with the purchasing department. In addition to processing all documentation related to completed certification programmes, the Bechtle training centre staff produce preliminary and annual reports for all training-related activity. This makes it easier to adapt the type of training offered to the individual needs of the client. Angelika Pieta explains, “For us, these are things that we deal with on a daily basis. We assume the responsibility for the client's training as a hired hand. The client's personnel employees are thus able to concentrate on their core competency and at the same time are able to ensure professional certification programmes for their employees.” Bechtle assumes responsibility of the planning, organisation, preparation and instruction of the training courses, as well as all the ensuing paper work involved. With revenues exceeding eight million euros, the 19 Bechtle training centres are among the industry's largest providers of corporate training.

Competent solutions from one source

Upon the adoption of SAP software, VR Leasing from Eschborn in Frankfurt, Germany, awarded Bechtle with the task of training their employees how to use the application. They were looking for an experienced partner, who was able to offer all the necessary resources such as extra training facilities outside the premises of VR Leasing. The Bechtle training centre in Frankfurt was able to impress the decision makers at VR Leasing with a comprehensive portfolio that satisfied all technical as well as professional requirements. A decisive factor in winning the tender was Bechtle's experience in conducting highly complex user training courses in virtually all relevant IT-related fields. “With individual course material and the customised training programme, designed specifically for VR Leasing, the Bechtle instructors have prepared our staff more than adequately for the introduction of SAP FI / CO into our company processes,” claims the senior project manager of VR Leasing's process and product management division, Stefan Santel. Four Bechtle instructors trained some 800 VR Leasing employees in SAP over the course of approximately 100 training days.

Extensive portfolio

“We train our clients' employees in such a way that they will be able to put to use what they learned. If, for example, an Office version upgrade is in the works, we place extra emphasis on the information that you need to know to help you best cope with the upgrade,” says Volker Wörtmann, director of the Bechtle training centre in Neckarsulm. Training centres such as those in Würzburg and Neckarsulm now offer extensive support in personnel development. Only a few years ago the seminar catalogue consisted primarily of IT topics. In order to accommodate the needs of today's market so that we can offer clients such as s.Oliver, VW OTLG or VR Leasing added value, the Bechtle training centres have added a series of soft skill courses to its portfolio. Demand for training units dealing with business etiquette, and oratory and telephone skills has been on the rise. Currently, demand is highest for Microsoft products with regard to software training, in Volker Wörtmann's assessment. “As far as hardware goes, the focus has shifted to the field of storage,” says Volker Wörtmann.

Interim report for the second quarter 2010

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 11:22:09 +0200

The Bechtle Weekly Report, No. 2010/31

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:47:03 +0200

The Bechtle Share
Closing price (30.07.2010)	euros	22.12
Closing price (06.08.2010)	euros	23.00
% change	per cent	4.0
High/low (Xetra)	euros	23.00 (06.08.2010)	22.10 (02.08.2010)
Average daily trading volume for the week (all German markets)	Units/euros	15,826	358,468

Index Development
TecDAX	per cent	0.6
Technology All Share	per cent	1.0
Prime All Share	per cent	1.9
GEX	per cent	3.4
CDAX	per cent	1.8
DAXplus Family	per cent	0.9

Performance Overview		1 month	1 year
Bechtle AG share	per cent	6.2	58.3
TecDAX index performance	per cent	2.6	14.7

52-week high (Intraday)	euros	25.80 (21.04.2010)
52-week low (Intraday)	euros	14.15 (12.08.2009)

Company News
02.08.2010: WestLB has raised the target share value from 26.00 euros to 27.30 euros and further recommends the share.
05.08.2010: SES Research analysts confirm their recommendation to buy and maintain a target share value of 26.50 euros.
05.08.2010: Bechtle training centres are in high demand: Bechtle training centres have been an integral partner in the IT industry for the past 15 years. Employees must be kept up to date on the latest technology and certified according to the latest standards. Effective training must be both flexible and efficient with respect to time and money. All 19 Bechtle training centres are well equipped to handle these demands: companies and public institutions across Germany take part in one-on-one training sessions, seminars, workshops and company training courses that amount to roughly 7 thousand days of training.

Important Dates
12.08.2010: Interim report for the 2nd quarter

The Bechtle Weekly Report, No. 2010/30

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 09:33:02 +0200

The Bechtle Share
Closing price (23.07.2010)	euros	23.20
Closing price (30.07)	euros	22.12
% change	per cent	-4.7
High/low (Xetra)	euros	23.39 (26.07.2010)	21.86 (30.07.2010)
Average daily trading volume for the week (all German markets)	Units/euros	24,041	539,711

Index Development
TecDAX	per cent	-2.7
Technology All Share	per cent	-2.3
Prime All Share	per cent	-0.5
GEX	per cent	1.4
CDAX	per cent	-0.5
DAXplus Family	per cent	-5.6

Performance Overview		1 month	1 year
Bechtle AG share	per cent	5.3	64.3
TecDAX index performance	per cent	4.1	13.5

Company News
29.07.2010: The analysts at LBBW confirm their recommendation to buy and maintain a target share value of 29 euros.

Important Dates
12.08.2010: Interim report for the 2nd quarter

The Bechtle Weekly Report, No. 2010/29

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 09:33:00 +0200

The Bechtle Share
Closing price (16.07.2010)	euros	22.96
Closing price (23.07.2010)	euros	23.20
% change	per cent	1.1
High/low (Xetra)	euros	23.55 (23.07.2010)	22.40 (20.07.2010)
Average daily trading volume for the week (all German markets)	Units/euros	26,696	614,767

Index Development
TecDAX	per cent	1.5
Technology All Share	per cent	1.0
Prime All Share	per cent	2.3
GEX	per cent	1.9
CDAX	per cent	2.3
DAXplus Family	per cent	0.3

Performance Overview		1 month	1 year
Bechtle AG share	per cent	1.7	78.6
TecDAX index performance	per cent	1.8	17.4

Company News
21.07.2010: The analysts at Commerzbank confirm their recommendation to buy as well as the target value of 23 euros.

Important Dates
12.08.2010: Interim report for the 2nd quarter

Bechtle stays on course for success

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:38:31 +0200

Revenue up 16 per cent in Q2 to 375.0 million euros

EBT grows by 61 per cent to 11.0 million euros

Executive Board optimistic concerning further development

Neckarsulm, 12 August 2010 - In the second quarter of 2010, Bechtle AG recorded further substantial increases in revenue and earnings. Revenues increased by 16.2 per cent to 375.0 million euros (prior year: 322.6 million euros). The IT system house & managed services segment reported a revenue growth of 12.8 per cent, and the IT e-commerce segment contributed to this positive development with 23.1 per cent. EBT climbed by 61.2 per cent to 11.0 million euros (prior year: 6.8 million euros). The EBT margin thus amounted to 2.9 per cent, compared to 2.1 per cent in the prior-year quarter. Earnings after taxes skyrocketed by 72.6 per cent, amounting to 8.3 million euros in the second quarter (prior year: 4.8 million euros). The earnings per share amounted to 0.40 euros, compared to 0.23 euros in the prior year.

"We are very happy with our business performance. Thanks to the significant economic recovery and the continually high willingness to invest on the part of businesses and public-sector clients, we continued to grow encouragingly in the second quarter. We gained market shares and further increased the dynamics of the extremely strong first quarter to a significant extent," says Dr. Thomas Olemotz, Chairman of the Executive Board of Bechtle AG.

IT system house & managed services segment eclipses prior year

The revenue in the IT system house & managed services segment increased by 12.8 per cent to 243.7 million euros (prior year: 216.0 million euros). The growth was exclusively organic. In the second quarter of 2010, the EBIT in this segment increased by 53.5 per cent to 5.8 million euros (prior year: 3.8 million euros). The EBIT margin was 2.4 per cent, compared to 1.8 per cent in the prior year. Both the domestic system houses and the system houses in Switzerland contributed to this positive development.

IT e-commerce exhibits particularly strong growth

The trading segment grew at a disproportionately high rate of 23.1 per cent from 106.6 million euros to 131.3 million euros. The economic upturn is still much stronger in this segment than in the system house segment. The earnings underwent an even more distinct improvement. The EBIT in the IT e-commerce segment climbed by 75.4 per cent from 2.7 million euros to 4.8 million euros. The EBIT margin was 3.7 per cent, compared to 2.6 per cent in the prior-year quarter. This favourable development was made possible by the strong revenue growth and a slightly increased gross margin.

Continually sound assets and financial position

As of 30 June 2010, the equity climbed to 341.6 million euros, compared to 335.0 million euros as of 31 December 2009. Due to the balance extension, the equity ratio dropped slightly from 64.3 per cent to 64.2 per cent. Cash and cash equivalents including time deposits and securities amounted to 85.2 million euros as of the end of the reporting period (31 December 2009: 95.0 million euros). The decrease in cash and cash equivalents was mainly caused by the increase in working capital by 13.2 million euros and the dividend payment of 12.6 million euros. In the six-month period, the cash flow from operating activities dropped by 11.8 million euros to 7.6 million euros (prior year: 19.4 million euros). This was due to the high business performance, which resulted in a disproportionately high build-up of inventories and trade receivables for reasons related to the reporting date.

Executive board embarks on second half of the year with optimism

The Executive Board expects the economic recovery to continue, albeit less dynamically in the remaining part of the year. Provided that the economic framework conditions remain stable, the management still expects a revenue increase in both segments, along with a significant improvement in earnings in the financial year 2010.

Bechtle financial key figures for the 2nd quarter and 1st half of 2010

		Q2/2010	Q2/2009	+/-	H1/2010	H1/2009	+/-
Revenue	th. euros	374,977	322,619	+16.2%	729,735	641,489	+13.8%
- Domestic	th. euros	244,707	213,819	+14.4%	475,475	420,137	+13.2%
- Abroad	th. euros	130,270	108,800	+19.7%	254,260	221,352	+14.9%
- IT systemhouse & managed services	th. euros	243,716	215,970	+12.8%	471,673	423,242	+11.4%
- IT e-commerce	th. euros	131,261	106,649	+23.1%	258,062	218,247	+18.2%
EBIT	th. euros	10,640	6,541	+62.7%	20,534	12,323	+66.6%
- IT systemhouse & managed services	th. euros	5,841	3,805	+53.5%	10,449	6,820	+53.2%
- IT e-commerce	th. euros	4,799	2,736	+75.4%	10,085	5,503	+83.3%
EBT	th. euros	11,020	6,838	+61.2%	21,265	12,965	+64.0%
EAT	th. euros	8,321	4,821	+72.6%	15,908	9,150	+73.9%
EPS	euros	0.40	0.23	+71.0%	0.76	0.44	+73.0%
Cash flow from operating activities	th. euros	-9,029	5,981		7,556	19,359	-61.0%

		30.06.2010	31.12.2009	+/-
Cash and cash equivalents*	th. euros	85,173	94,977	-10.3%
Equity ratio	%	64.2	64.3
Emlpoyees		4,440	4,354	+2.0%

* including time deposits and securities