EANS-News: Strabag SE surpasses last year’s records

Corporate news transmitted by euro adhoc with the aim of a Europe-wide distribution. The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement.

Output volume, order backlog, EBIT, proposed dividend and balance sheet total at highest level in company history

Financial Figures/Balance Sheet

Vienna – The publicly listed construction group STRABAG SE posted several records in 2017: Not only did the output volume and the order backlog – as reported – reach their highest level in company history, but the earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and the balance sheet total did as well. Because of the very successful year, the Management Board plans to propose to the Annual General Meeting in June 2018 a dividend of EUR 1.30 per share (2016: EUR 0.95 per share) – the highest dividend since the IPO in 2007.

„2017 was another very successful year for us: The EBIT margin is our most important financial indicator. And with 3.3 %, we solidly achieved our self-imposed target of at least 3.0 %. The EBIT grew by 6 % versus the previous year, despite the fact that a non-operational one-off effect in 2016, which also had been disclosed, had resulted in an upwards distortion of the earnings figures. At the same time, the earnings reached an all-time high,“ says Thomas Birtel, CEO of STRABAG SE.

Output volume, Revenue and Order backlog

The STRABAG SE Group generated a record output volume of EUR 14.6 billion in the 2017 financial year. This corresponds to an increase of 8 % over the previous year. The consolidated group revenue amounted to EUR 13.5 billion, a plus of 9 % – similar to the output volume. Numerous large orders acquired above all in the fourth quarter in transportation infrastructures in Hungary and Poland, together with building construction and civil engineering projects in Germany and in Asia, helped push the order backlog to a new record high of EUR 16.6 billion, a plus of 12 % over the record value of the year before. The completion of large products as well as order reductions led to a decline in Italy, Romania and Denmark.

Financial performance

There was a slight (-2 %) decrease of the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to EUR 834.58 million; the EBITDA margin fell from 6.9 % to 6.2 %. Adjusting the EBITDA of the previous year by the aforementioned non-operating item from the sale of a minority investment, the EBITDA grew slightly (1 %). It was again possible to reduce the depreciation and amortisation, namely by 10 %, as it was not necessary to make extraordinary depreciation allowances to the same degree as in the previous year.

The EBIT increased by 6 % to EUR 448.36 million, which corresponds to an EBIT margin of 3.3 % after 3.4 % in 2016. Adjusted for the positive one-off effect, the margin would have stood at 3.2 %. All three operating segments contributed to the earnings improvement. This development is due, among other things, to improved earnings in several group countries, including Germany, and the recognition of a receivable from a concession project.

The net interest income declined dramatically, however, slipping from EUR -3.78 million to EUR -27.15 million. While positive foreign currency effects of EUR 13.01 million had been registered during the previous year, negative exchange rate differences of EUR -9.40 million had to be reported for 2017 from Poland and Chile, among other places.

The income tax rate stood at 30.6 %, slightly lower than the previous year’s level of 33.0 %. The earnings owed to minority shareholders amounted to EUR 13.45 million, compared to EUR 4.35 million in 2016 when the remaining minority shareholders of Ed. Züblin AG had still helped to carry the winter losses from the first quarter of that year. As the squeeze-out of the minority shareholders of STRABAG AG, Germany, was only completed on 29 December 2017, the earnings owed to these minority shareholders were still contained in the figures to the full amount. The net income after minorities for 2017 came to EUR 278.91 million, nearly unchanged versus the previous year. The earnings per share amounted to EUR 2.72 (2016: EUR 2.71).

Financial position and cash flows

The balance sheet total of STRABAG SE reached EUR 11.1 billion, surpassing the EUR 11 billion mark for the first time. This development was due above all to the exceptionally strong increase of the cash and cash equivalents from EUR 2.0 billion at the end of 2016 to EUR 2.8 billion on 31 December 2017. The fourth quarter especially was characterised by the receipt of unusually high advance payments, which became noticeable on the liabilities side in the higher trade payables. Nevertheless, the equity ratio remained relatively strong with 30.7 % after 31.5 % in the previous year. As usual, a net cash position was reported on 31 December 2017. Because of the aforementioned customer advance payments, however, which helped drive up the cash and cash equivalents, the net cash position was unusually high at EUR 1.3 billion.

The strong working capital reduction led to a more than fivefold increase of the cash flow from operating activities from EUR 264.17 million to EUR 1,345.19 million. Here, too, a significant reduction of the advance payments is expected in 2018, which should lead to an increase of the working capital to the usual level. The cash flow from investing activities sank from EUR -434.43 million to EUR -333.30 million because of the lack of significant enterprise acquisitions and despite increased investments in intangible assets and property, plant and equipment. The cash flow from financing activities amounted to EUR -234.52 million after EUR -564.18 million. In 2016, this figure had been influenced especially by the acquisition of the remaining shares of Ed. Züblin AG.

Outlook

STRABAG SE continues to expect a plus of the output volume to at least EUR 15.0 billion (+3 %) in 2018 and confirms the goal to again achieving an EBIT margin of at least 3 %.

Additional details as to the 2017 financial figures will be presented by the CEO, Thomas Birtel, at the press conference taking place today, Friday, at 10:00 a.m.

end of announcement euro adhoc

Attachments with Announcement:
———————————————-
http://resources.euroadhoc.com/documents/2246/5/10139969/1/STRABAG_SE_Pressemitteilung_FY2017_April2018_e.pdf

issuer: STRABAG SE
Donau-City-Straße 9
A-1220 Wien
phone: +43 1 22422 -0
FAX: +43 1 22422 – 1177
mail: investor.relations@strabag.com
WWW: www.strabag.com
ISIN: AT000000STR1, AT0000A05HY9
indexes: ATX, SATX, WBI
stockmarkets: Wien
language: English

Digital press kit: http://www.ots.at/pressemappe/4106/aom

STRABAG SE
Diana Neumüller-Klein
Head of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Tel: +43 1 22422-1116
diana.klein@strabag.com

OTS-ORIGINALTEXT PRESSEAUSSENDUNG UNTER AUSSCHLIESSLICHER INHALTLICHER VERANTWORTUNG DES AUSSENDERS. www.ots.at
© Copyright APA-OTS Originaltext-Service GmbH und der jeweilige Aussender