Neckarsulm, 12 May 2010: The economic rebound continued its course in quarter one 2010 and Bechtle AG saw its business rise accordingly. Revenue increased by 11.3 per cent over last year's mark of 318.9 million euros to 354.8 million euros and earnings before tax (EBT) improved by 67.2 per cent for the first quarter to 10.2 million euros (previous year: 6.1 million euros). The EBT margin increased a full percentage point from 1.9 to 2.9 per cent. Based on 21.0 million shares, the EPS was at 0.36 euros (previous year: 0.21 euros).
"Bechtle was able to continue the strong business development of Q4 2009 into the first quarter of the new year. Both business segments made significant gains in revenue and profits," explains Dr. Thomas Olemotz, spokesman of the executive board of Bechtle AG.
Improved business development in system house segment.
In the IT System House & Managed Services segment Bechtle recorded a revenue of 228.0 million euros in Q1 2010, which corresponds to a 10.0 per cent increase over Q1 2009 at 207.3 million euros. The system houses in Germany, in particular, showed solid growth with a growth rate of 12.2 per cent. Business with SMB customers is beginning to pick up again after suffering a slowdown due to last year's economic downturn. Demand is still high in the public sector segment.
Profitability in the system house segment has even improved considerably. The EBIT rose by 52.8 per cent from 3.0 million euros last year to 4.6 million euros in the current reporting quarter. The EBIT margin improved accordingly from 1.5 to 2.0 per cent.
IT e-commerce growth trend back on course.
Bechtle AG made revenue of 126.8 million euros in the e-commerce segment in the reporting quarter compared to 111.6 million euros in Q1 2009. That corresponds to a rise of 13.6 per cent.
The EBIT in the e-commerce segment was 5.3 million euros in the first three months of 2010, which corresponds to an increase of 91.0 per cent (previous year: 2.8 million euros). The EBIT margin rose considerably to 4.2 per cent after recording 2.5 per cent in the first quarter of last year.
By opening a new subsidiary in Poland on 6 April 2010, Bechtle remains true to its growth strategy in the e-commerce segment and has moved into the Eastern European market. Bechtle direct, the company's trading brand, has extended its presence into twelve European countries. Further expansion into another Eastern European country is planned for the second half of 2010.
Liquidity and cash flow once again on the rise.
The cash and cash equivalents including the current and non-current time deposits and securities amounted to 110.8 million euros on the reporting date, 31 March 2010 (31 December 2009: 95 million euros). Including global credit lines, Bechtle has a comfortable cash reserve amounting to 144.5 million euros (31 December 2009: 129.7 million euros). The cash flow from operating activities rose from 13.4 million euros in the previous year's first quarter to 16.6 million euros in the current reporting quarter. The equity ratio was up to 65.9 per cent on 31 March (64.3 per cent on 31 December 2009).
Promising start to the year.
"All indicators point to a sustainable positive economic trend. However, there is still a certain amount of uncertainty of just how sustainable the economic recovery will be. Considering the cyclical nature of business in this industry, it is at this time not possible to lay down any concrete company targets for the current fiscal year," explains Dr. Thomas Olemotz. Aside from the overall economic condition, several other factors will play a definitive role in determining how successful Bechtle AG will be this year, including the start of the new e-commerce subsidiaries, the further development in the public sector segment, as well as the continuing developments of large projects. "We do, however, fully anticipate that we will exceed last year's totals for both revenue and profits by a considerable margin. Bechtle's profits will once again be exceptionally high in relation to the industry's parameters."
| Q1 2010 | Q1 2009 | +/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | th. euros | 354,758 | 318,870 | 11.3 % |
| - Domestic | th. euros | 230,768 | 206,318 | 11.9 % |
| - Abroad | th. euros | 123,990 | 112.552 | 10.2 % |
| - IT-Systemhouse & Managed Services | th. euros | 227,957 | 207,272 | 10.0 % |
| - IT-E-Commerce | th. euros | 126,801 | 111,598 | 13.6 % |
| EBIT | th. euros | 9,894 | 5,82 | 71.1 % |
| - IT-Systemhouse & Managed Services | th. euros | 4,608 | 3,015 | 52.8 % |
| - IT-E-Commerce | th. euros | 5,286 | 2,767 | 91.0 % |
| EBT | th. euros | 10,245 | 6,127 | 67.2 % |
| EAT | th. euros | 7.587 | 4.329 | 75.3 % |
| EPS | € | 0.36 | 0.21 | 75.1 % |
| Cash flow from operating activities | th. euros | 16,585 | 13,378 | 24.0 % |
| 31.03.2010 | 31.12.2009 | +/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents* | th. euros | 110,815 | 94,977 | 16.7 % |
| Equity ratio | % | 65.9 | 64.3 | |
| No. of employees | 4,374 | 4,354 | 0.5 % |
*including time deposits and securities