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Bechtle reports extremely strong second quarter

Revenues and earnings up by two-digit rate
EBT margin above prior year
Outlook for the year adjusted upwards

Neckarsulm, 10 August 2018 – The high growth rate that Bechtle AG had exhibited since the beginning of the year continued in the second quarter. From April to June 2018, revenue surged 17.4 per cent to €965.0 million. Operating income (EBIT) grew even more, up 20.3 per cent to €43.9 million. Earnings before taxes (EBT) are at €43.6 million, and the EBT margin increased from 4.4 to 4.5 per cent. As of 30 June 2018, Bechtle had a total of 8,790 employees, 881 or 11.1 per cent more than in the prior year.

“Profitable growth of almost 20 per cent in two consecutive quarters is an outstanding achievement. It is the result of our compelling solution competence and the high motivation of our team. Moreover, the more or less even distribution of the growth over the two business segments shows the broad basis of our customers’ willingness to invest, which remains high,” explains Dr. Thomas Olemotz, Chairman of the Executive Board of Bechtle AG.

IT System House & Managed Services Reports Further Dynamic Growth

The IT system house & managed services segment increased its revenue 18.1 per cent to €676.8 million. Posting an increase of 31.4 per cent, our system houses in Austria and Switzerland recorded especially high growth. However, growth was at a very high level in Germany as well, reaching 16.3 per cent. Impulses came from the application solutions and managed services segments as well in the classic project business. Operating income climbed 17.0% to €28.8 million in the second quarter of 2018. The EBIT margin was 4.2 per cent, only slightly below the prior-year level.

IT E-Commerce Performance Especially Strong Abroad

In the IT e-commerce segment, revenue grew 15.6 per cent to €288.2 million second quarter of 2018. Here too, the growth rate was higher abroad, where it reached 23.3 per cent. Segment EBIT underwent a significantly higher increase of 27.0 per cent, resulting in a substantial margin increase from 4.8 per cent to 5.3 per cent. One of the factors that contributed to this positive development was the expansion of the international customer relationships by the ARP brand, which is represented in six countries.

Acquisitions Highlight Growth Orientation

In 2018, Bechtle has already performed two rather small, but strategically important acquisitions in Switzerland. Additionally, as already reported in July, the company plans to acquire the French Inmac Wstore. The company’s employee representation has meanwhile agreed to the purchase; the purchase contract was signed on 30 July. Following the review by the French cartel authority, we are confident that we will be able to finalise the acquisition before the end of the third quarter.

Annual Forecast Adjusted Upwards

With its strong revenue and earnings performance in the first half of 2018, Bechtle has exceeded its own expectations for 2018 as a whole. “Apart from the highly positive organic development, the purchase of Inmac Wstore will also help us to achieve further growth through acquisitions. Against this backdrop – and assuming that the economic framework conditions remain positive – we are stepping up our forecast for the year and now expect a two-digit growth rate for our revenue and earnings, i.e. a growth rate very significantly higher than that of the prior year,” says Dr. Thomas Olemotz. As far as the margin is concerned, the Executive Board confirms its original forecast, which predicts a slight increase.

Bechtle KPIs for the Second Quarter and First Half of 2018

		Q2/2018	Q2/2017	+/-	H1/2018	H1/2017	+/-
Revenue	€k	964,970	822,198	+17.4%	1,920,359	1,625,327	+18.2%
Domestic	€k	657,004	576,953	+13.9%	1,310,737	1,127,116	+16.3%
Abroad	€k	307,966	245,245	+25.6%	609,622	498,211	+22.4%
IT system house	€k	676,794	572,862	+18.1%	1,334,976	1,136,188	+17.5%
IT e-commerce	€k	288,176	249,336	+15.6%	585,383	489,139	+19.7%
EBIT	€k	43,900	36,504	+20.3%	79,618	68,327	+16.5%
IT system house	€k	28,755	24,578	+17.0%	52,827	47,370	+11.5%
IT e-commerce	€k	15,145	11,926	+27.0%	26,791	20,957	+27.8%
EBIT margin	%	4.5	4.4		4.1	4.2
EBT	€k	43,560	36,230	+20.2%	78,960	67,705	+16.6%
EBT margin	%	4.5	4.4		4.1	4.2
Earnings after taxes	€k	30,704	25,390	+20.9%	55,553	47,488	+17.0%
Earnings per share	€	0.73	0.60	+20.9%	1.32	1.13	+17.0%
Cash flow from operating activities	€k	-6,586	-6,329	-4.1%	7,353	-23,283	+131.6%
Employees (as of 30 June)		8,790	7,909	+11.1%

		30.06.2018	31.12.2017	+/-
Liquidity¹	€k	104,395	174,827	-40.3%
Equity ratio	%	56.5	53.9