Bechtle AG Reports Excellent Second Quarter.
- Higher profitability:
EBIT surges 55.9 per cent - Market shares gained:
Revenue up 16.4 per cent - Positive impulses from all divisions
Neckarsulm, 8 August 2014 – In the second quarter of 2014, Bechtle AG further increased its growth dynamics, which had already been strong in the prior quarter. In the period from April to June, revenue grew 16.4 per cent to €603.7 million. The trading business was the growth driver, gaining 22.6 per cent. The service segment also underwent a two-digit growth of 13.3 percent. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased 55.9 per cent to €23.3 million. The earnings performance was supported by both segments. At plus 69.3 per cent, the system house & managed services segment accounted for the major share. The trading business climbed 41.9 per cent. As of 30 June 2014, Bechtle had a total of 6,393 employees, 340 (5.6 per cent) more than in the prior year.
“With the excellent figures of the second quarter, we seamlessly followed up on the strong performance of the first quarter. What is more, the revenue and earnings growth surpassed the prior year even more significantly than at the beginning of the year. The entire team deserves the praise for this remarkable achievement,” explains Dr. Thomas Olemotz, Chairman of the Executive Board of Bechtle AG.
System House & Managed Services Improves Profitability.
The IT system house & managed services segment increased its revenue 13.3 per cent to €388.8 million (prior year: €343.3 million). The domestic system houses provided the primary contribution to this extremely positive development. Their contribution to the group revenue increased 14.6 per cent to €347.8 million (prior year: €303.3 million). In the second quarter of 2014, the segment EBIT went up by an outstanding 69.3 per cent to €13.0 million (prior year: €7.7 million). The EBIT margin amounted to 3.3 per cent, compared to 2.2 per cent in the prior year.
IT E-Commerce Reports Above-Average Growth.
In the reporting period, the revenue in the IT e-commerce segment climbed 22.6 per cent from €175.2 million to €214.9 million. The increase of the foreign e-commerce companies was especially high. They boosted their revenues 25.7 per cent to €159.2 million. The increase was distributed over almost all international markets of the Bechtle Group. Domestic revenues climbed 14.5 per cent from €48.6 million to €55.7 million. Year on year, EBIT increased 41.9 per cent to €10.4 million. The margin progressed from 4.1 per cent to 4.8 per cent.
Sound Balance Sheet.
Bechtle AG continues to report outstanding balance sheet KPIs. As of 30 June, cash and cash equivalents including time deposits and securities amounted to a comfortable €113.5 million. Thus, Bechtle can pre-finance large projects and grow by means of acquisitions without any difficulties. The equity ratio improved from 55.1 per cent to 57.6 per cent. The extrapolated return on equity reached an excellent value of 13.1 per cent.
Great Demand for Bechtle Training Posts.
As of the reporting date 30 June 2014, the Bechtle Group had a total of 6,393 employees (including 412 trainees), a year-on-year increase of 340. The increase of 5.6 per cent is the result of acquisitions as well as new recruitment. Training remains a major area of Bechtle’s HR work. The high interest in training positions at Bechtle is a good indicator of this success.
Annual Forecast Confirmed.
Bechtle is still confident that its revenue and earnings position will outperform the prior year in the further course of the year as well. However, in view of the excellent prior year, the Executive Board believes that the growth dynamics will slacken to a certain extent in the second half of the year. “In the first half of 2014, we laid an impressive foundation for attaining new record figures in the year as a whole, thereby significantly exceeding the revenue and earnings of the prior year. Currently, all signs indicate that we will be able to reach this goal,” says Dr. Thomas Olemotz.
