- Growth targets achieved: Total operating performance rises by 10% to around €330 million
- Structural and integration measures implemented as planned and managed well in economic terms: Operating EBIT is €23.0 million (previous year: €30.0 million)
- On the way to the Agenda 500 Order books of approximately €130 million are a good springboard for further growth in 2013
By embarking on the 2- to 3-year build and integrate phase at the start of fiscal year 2012, euromicron put the focus of its activities, as planned, on optimizing and consolidating its corporate structures and processes. This first stage of integration was brought forward and, following completion of the buy and build phase and the early acquisition of telent as the first large target in 2011, had become necessary in order to adapt the Group to the new general conditions as quickly as possible and to get its structures ready for further growth.
“Our aim with this is to prepare our company for its next phase of growth and give it a secure and professional setup as we move to the next plane,” explains Dr. Willibald Späth. “In 2015 we plan to achieve the final stage of our 15-year strategy of achieving annualized sales of €500 million. So that we can cope with this ambitious growth, it’s vital for us to adapt structures, optimize processes and costs, reorganize business and make our organization even more professional – in short, to put the company on a new foundation,” adds the Chairman of the Executive Board.
In view of that, the company has launched a large number of measures in fiscal 2012 as part of the “Agenda 500”, i.e. at the start of the third 5-year phase in the corporate strategy. They range from location optimization, reorganization of management structures at the operating companies, expansion and modernization of the IT landscape, investment in product innovations, professionalization of the sales team, initiation of Competence Centers, the setup of operational controlling units to establishment of a compliance organization.
The first stage of these extensive measures has resulted in total integration costs of around €4.5 million. The quality of earnings – with a consolidated EBIT margin of 5.2% – is lower than in previous years due to these measures. The minimum sales growth target was achieved despite the organization’s focus on integration and structuring.
“After buying telent, we planned for a decline in the quality of our EBIT to a maximum of 7% and so a lower share of high-margin manufacturing business relative to total consolidated EBIT for the integration phase 2012-2014 and also communicated that. This trend was bolstered in 2012 by the unforeseen drop in high-margin delivery business as a result of investments being deferred, in particular by the telecommunications industry, and consequently an operationally weaker 2nd half of the year,” states Dr. Späth.
Nevertheless, the company did not slacken its pace in implementing the planned integration measures in the course of the year and will continue them in 2013 so as to prepare itself purposefully for further growth. The Group has come to terms well with the structural and integration measures implemented as planned in the fiscal year and posted respectable figures:
Total operating performance and consolidated sales
In fiscal 2012, the euromicron Group posted a total operating performance of around €330 million and so, largely like sales, around 10% above the comparable figure for the previous year (around €300 million). The euromicron Group generated sales of €330.0 million (previous year: €305.3 million).
Own work capitalized
Own work capitalized of €5.6 million grew by €3.7 million over the previous year’s figure of €1.9 million and reflects the company’s significantly greater efforts in connection with the development of new products to secure its market position and increase its innovativeness. Moreover, the inclusion of the companies acquired in the previous year for the first time for the year as a whole resulted in an increase in own work capitalized.
Consolidated income
EBITDA was €25.0 million (previous year: €30.7 million). Operating EBIT was €23.0 million (previous year: €30.0 million). Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were €17.1 million (previous year: €24.2 million). The consolidated EBIT margin relative to sales was 5.2% (compared with 7.9% in the previous year) following the strong growth in the previous year, the impact of the consolidation effects in 2012, extensive postponement of investments in the telecommunications market in the 2nd half of the year and the generally difficult economic climate. Consolidated net income was €8.6 million (previous year: €12.2 million). After the issue of more than 2 million new shares in the years 2010 and 2011, undiluted earnings per share were €1.29 following €2.32 in the previous year.
Order situation at the Group
New orders in fiscal 2012 rose by around 6% to €327.8 million (previous year: €309.2 million) despite the tough general economic conditions. Order books were €125.2 million and so around the good level of the previous year (€127.5 million). That means euromicron enters fiscal 2013 with well-filled order books.
Balance sheet structure
Total assets of the euromicron Group at December 31, 2012, rose to €283.9 million or by 7.1% year on year.
Personnel
The euromicron Group employed 1,699 persons at December 31, 2012. The increase of 244 in the headcount compared with the previous year is mainly attributable to changes in the consolidated companies.
Equity
Equity at December 31, 2012, was €119.0 million and so at the level of the previous year (€120.0 million). The equity ratio was around 42%, still at a very stable level against the backdrop of the further increase in total assets and well above the average for the German small and medium-sized sector.
Finances/liquidity
euromicron’s partner banks again supported its corporate strategy in fiscal 2012, proving to be strong and dependable partners. All of the financial institutes expressed their interest in expanding their commitment at euromicron as the company grows. Of particular importance for the company is the statement by all of the financing partners that euromicron in its entirety is graded as a virtually “risk-free commitment” – a result of the many years of trusted cooperation and substantial understanding of the financial partners for the company’s strategic development.
Share and investor relations
The euromicron share started the fiscal year 2012 very positively with its admission to the TecDAX. After publication of the annual financial statements for the record fiscal year 2011, the share even went as high as €23 at one stage. Although the restrained trend in operational business against the background of a turndown in the investment climate resulted in temporary fluctuations in the further course of the year, the share proved stable overall and was mostly listed at around the €20 mark thanks to greater attention for it on the capital market. At December 31, 2012, the share’s market capitalization was €120.9 million, well up on the previous year (€106.2 million) and the volume of trading in the share also around 30% higher at 7.4 million (previous year: 5.7 million).
In line with a sustainable financial policy, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board will propose a dividend payout to the General Meeting on May 17, 2013, at a lower level in the years of structuring and integration so as to ensure that the company has the necessary financial flexibility on its way to becoming a €500 million enterprise. That also accords with the long-term objectives of the corporate strategy, which include a reduction in net financial debt, strengthening of the equity structure and maintaining the good rating as the basis for trusted cooperation with financial partners. €0.30 per share is to be proposed as the dividend for 2012.
Outlook
The focus of activities in the year 2013 will again be on integration of the company. The framework of measures initiated in fiscal 2012 will be expanded further and flanked by appropriate adjustment of the cost ratios and programs to increase efficiency, with the objective of giving the company feasible structures for its further growth and the necessary security and agility.
“As part of adapting our organizational structures, we will deal in particular with expanding the Competence Centers we have launched,” explains Thomas Hoffmann from euromicron’s Executive Board. “Our aim here is to build important future topics, such as active technology or data centers, pool them in the overall organization and make them available comprehensively.”
The company aims to let specific functions – such as IT or Purchasing – act as a service function/shared service center in future. Structuring of the company’s international activities will also be a subject of the 2- to 3-year integration phase. It will also continue its strategy of acquiring specialized companies in order to round out its expertise and portfolio in the future.
In view of the demand for high-speed, state-of-the-art data transmission networks, the company is excellently equipped to tackle structural changes in the world of communications thanks to its business model geared to sustainable growth, clear strategic orientation, operational competences and skills and a secure basis for financing. “We assume that, following the operational structuring phase, the phase of strategic integration of the Group can be accomplished on a strong economic foundation and that, after the years of integration 2012 to 2014, expansion of our manufacturing activities and optimization of all internal general conditions, we can again attain the quality of earnings and dividends we have had all these years,” concludes Dr. Willibald Späth.
euromicron AG (www.euromicron.de) is an all-round solution provider for communications, transport, data and security networks. euromicron’s network infrastructures integrate voice, video and data transport wirelessly, via copper cable and by means of fiber-optic technologies. euromicron builds leading applications, such as security, control, healthcare or surveillance systems, on the basis of these cutting-edge network infrastructures.
Founded on its expertise as a developer and producer of fiber-optic components, euromicron AG is a strongly growing, highly profitable group that is listed on the stock market, has a medium-sized character and focuses on operational growth, integration and further market penetration, internationalization and expansion.