10/25/2017
Sales and EBIT of the Vossloh Group above previous year after nine months of 2017
In the first nine months of 2017, Vossloh increased Group sales by 12.1% to €744.3 million (previous year: €664.1 million). The Group’s EBIT also increased significantly from €35.8 million in the first nine months of 2016 to €43.3 million in the current reporting period. This corresponds to an increase of 20.9%. As a result, the EBIT margin after the first nine months of 2017 stands at 5.8% (previous year: 5.4%). The Core Components division was primarily responsible for the Group’s significantly improved sales and earnings performance. Orders received by the Vossloh Group of €699.6 million came in below the high figure of €830.3 million in the previous year. In 2016, the Transportation division was able to win a major order in the amount of €140 million in the third quarter. As of September 30, 2017, the order backlog for the Vossloh Group amounted to €719.8 million (previous year: €748.8 million).
In the Core Components division, consisting of the two business units Fastening Systems and Tie Technologies, consolidated sales in the current reporting period were €268.1 million after €183.1 million (the previous year’s figure without Vossloh Tie Technologies). Vossloh Fastening Systems achieved a sales increase of 14.1% to €208.9 million in the current reporting period (previous year: €183.1 million). The Tie Technologies business unit, newly added at the beginning of 2017, contributed revenues of €60.3 million in the first nine months of 2017. The Core Components division’s EBIT amounted to €39.9 million after nine months of 2017 (previous year: €24.1 million). As a result, the division’s EBIT margin increased to 14.9% (previous year: 13.1%). Totaling €199.2 million, orders received by Core Components in the current reporting period, including the new Tie Technologies business unit, were on a par with the previous year (€198.4 million). Of the new orders in the current fiscal year, €149.2 million is attributable to the Fastening Systems business unit and €51.0 million to Vossloh Tie Technologies. The order backlog of the Core Components division as of September 30, 2017, amounted to €148.7 million (previous year: €192.8 million).
The revenues of €353.2 million generated by the Customized Modules division in the period from January to September 2017 remained 5.7% below the previous year’s level of €374.6 million. This development can be primarily attributed to lower sales in France and Sweden. In addition, demand from Class I operators continues to be weak in the USA. After nine months of 2017, the EBIT of the Customized Modules division amounted to €24.2 million (previous year: €27.4 million). The EBIT margin declined to 6.9% (previous year: 7.3%). After the impairment recognized in the 2014 fiscal year for the Chinese joint venture, it was possible to undertake a reversal of the impairment for the investment given increasingly profitable business performance and therefore improved prospects. Orders received by the Customized Modules division in the third quarter of 2017 were €143.2 million, well above the previous year’s figure of €91.8 million. As a result, orders received after nine months of 2017 increased by 8.2% to €391.4 million (previous year: €361.6 million). Order backlog in the division amounted to €317.7 million as of September 30, 2017, following €285.1 million as of the reporting date in the previous year.
In the Lifecycle Solutions division, sales and earnings development improved in the current year compared to the previous year. After nine months of 2017, revenues totaled €67.7 million (previous year: €61.9 million). The 9.5% increase in sales was first and foremost due to significantly stronger business in China. Here Lifecycle Solutions was primarily successful with the sale of vehicles and components in the High Speed Grinding segment (HSG). EBIT improved from €3.6 million in the previous year to €4.0 million in the current reporting period. Orders received in the period from January to September 2017 totaling €67.8 million fell short of the previous year figure (€83.8 million). The year 2016 included a multi-year framework agreement in Germany. The division’s order backlog of €29.4 million as of September 30, 2017, was roughly equal to the figure achieved on the reporting date in the previous year of €29.7 million.
In the Transportation division, which no longer belongs to Vossloh’s core business and which since 2017 solely retains the activities of Vossloh Locomotives, revenues were €61.1 million after nine months (previous year: €52.9 million). EBIT in the first nine months of 2017 amounted to €(13.7) million after €(9.0) million in the same period of 2016, caused among other things by a temporarily weaker service business. For the fourth quarter of 2017 a positive EBIT contribution is expected for the division, which will, however, only partially compensate for the negative EBIT in the first nine months. Orders received by the Transportation division amounted to €47.0 million in the current reporting period. The previous year’s high figure of €195.8 million included a major order from the French leasing company Akiem for 44 type DE 18 locomotives. The order backlog as of the reporting date of September 30, 2017, amounted to €224.6 million (previous year: €242.1 million).
Employees
On September 30, 2017, the Vossloh Group had 4,378 employees. The number of employees has thus increased by 331 compared to the previous year’s reporting date (9/30/16: 4,047 employees). There has been a total increase in employees of 327 since the end of 2016, when the Group employed 4,051 staff. The growth resulted primarily from the initial consolidation of the Tie Technologies business unit in the Core Components division.
Outlook
For the entire 2017 fiscal year, Vossloh continues to expect Group sales between €1.0 billion and €1.1 billion. The revenue growth will primarily be driven by the inclusion of Vossloh Tie Technologies. For the EBIT margin for the 2017 fiscal year in the current portfolio structure, a range between 5.5% and 6.0% continues to be forecast.
An Overview of Key Figures for the Vossloh Group
| Vossloh Group | Jan–Sept 2017 | Jan–Sept 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orders received | € million | 699.6 | 830.3 |
| Order backlog | € million | 719.8 | 748.8 |
| Sales | € million | 744.3 | 664.1 |
| EBIT | € million | 43.3 | 35.8 |
| EBIT margin | % | 5.8 | 5.4 |
| ROCE | % | 6.7 | 6.7 |
| Value added | € million | (4.9) | (12.2) |
| Net income | € million | 22.0 | 6.0 |
| Earnings per share | € | 0.92 | 0.13 |
Werdohl, October 25, 2017
Contact information for media:
Dr. Thomas Triska
Phone: +49 (0) 2392 52-608
Email:
presse@vossloh.com
Contact information for investors:
Dr. Daniel Gavranovic
Phone: +49 (0) 2392 52-609
Email:
investor.relations@vossloh.com
Vossloh is active in railway technology markets worldwide. The company’s core business is railway infrastructure. In addition, the Group is involved in the locomotive business. The Group activities are organized into the four divisions of Core Components, Customized Modules, Lifecycle Solutions and Transportation. In the 2016 fiscal year, Vossloh achieved sales revenues of about €930 million with slightly more than 4,000 employees.