- Consolidated sales are €233.3 million, above the strong figure of the previous year
- Operating EBIT remains good at €16.6 million
- Order books are €141.1 million, around 12% up year on year
- New orders increase by 11% to €249.2 million
- Net debt relative to growth is at the level of the previous year
- Equity ratio remains strong at 41%
euromicron AG posted strong orders and maintained its operating income at a good level in the first nine months of 2013 in a volatile investment market that is highly price-sensitive. Against this backdrop, the company further consolidated and intensified its planned measures under the “Agenda 500” integration program in order to put the company on a new foundation and give it the necessary structures, qualifications and processes.
Consolidated sales
Given the fact that investment is still restrained, especially on the part of major wide area network operators, the euromicron Group generated respectable consolidated sales of €233.3 million in the first nine months of 2013, 3% more than the previous year’s strong figure of €226.5 million.
Consolidated income
On the back of a still strong operating EBIT of €16.6 million (previous year: €16.5 million) and to prepare itself for the next stage of growth, the company has expanded its upper-level controlling units, which help coordinate the individual activities of the group companies, optimize processes and identify synergy and cost-cutting potentials. As a consequence, the EBITDA margin at September 30, 2013, was 7.7%, slightly below the target corridor of 8% to 11% planned for the year as a whole. EBITDA was €18.0 million (previous year: €18.2 million). Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were around €11.7 million (previous year: €12.1 million). The net profit for the period for euromicron AG shareholders at September 30, 2013, was €5.9 million following €6.3 million in the previous year. Undiluted earnings per share were €0.89, almost equaling the good level of the previous year (€0.94).
Order situation at the Group
New orders were at the very good level of €249.2 million, some 11% up on the previous year (€224.9 million). Order books were around €141.1 million, about 12% above the previous year’s €125.9 million. We are not currently aware of any risks from significant project cancellations. Postponements for call-off orders have intensified, in particular in the capital spending arena, which is changeable, particularly price-sensitive and increasingly difficult to plan for the company.
Balance sheet structure
The euromicron Group’s total assets at September 30, 2013, were €299.4 million, up by around €15.5 million from December 31, 2012 (€283.9 million).
Personnel
1,769 persons were employed by the euromicron Group as of September 30 of fiscal 2013. Personnel costs totaled €70.9 million (previous year: €65.6 million). In the first nine months of 2013, the group-wide qualification program was successfully continued, investments in building and expanding the workforce were strengthened and work was carried out to adjust the company’s personnel capacities.
Equity
Equity at September 30, 2013, was €122.9 million, €3.8 million above the level at December 31, 2012. The result was a strong equity ratio of 41%.
euromicron’s share
euromicron’s share performed positively in the third quarter of 2013. After a quiet start to July at a peak of €14.85, the share rose at one point to €17.74 and settled at November 1, 2013, at a level of €17.53. The share was able to cope well with its re-inclusion in the Prime Standard index and the associated regrouping by large index funds, with the result that analysts rate it a clear “buy” with an upside target of €26.50.
Outlook
“We don’t see any significant changes in our economic environment in the final quarter of 2013. Investments in expansion of vectoring and LTE have started, and in particular euromicron’s production companies can feel that in the shape of our products being called off from the existing master agreements. However, they have not overall achieved the anticipated dynamism,” explains Dr. Willibald Späth, Chairman of the Executive Board.
On the back of restrained and volatile capital spending, and despite a basic need to invest, in particular among key accounts from the wide area network arena, the Executive Board envisages that sales for fiscal 2013 will “tend to be at the lower end of the forecast range of €350 to €365 million” despite a very good order situation. On the earnings side, and given the information known at present, the goal is to post an EBITDA margin of 8% to 11% for the year as whole, even though customers’ investment behavior is increasingly difficult to plan and so achieving high order books is a challenge.
To safeguard the company’s solid quality of earnings in future, in the next stage of the “Agenda 500” integration program the group aims to establish and provide structures, processes and qualifications to address the changing requirements of the market and the company’s growth strategy. “Thanks to our steady earnings strength and stable liquidity base, we have the necessary financial resources to implement the planned integration measures and so achieve growth to an annualized sales volume of €500 million in 2015, coupled with sustainable profitability. No significant changes to our corporate objectives and strategies are planned,” concluded Dr. Späth.
You can find the Q3/2013 Interim Report as of November 8, 2013, on our homepage at http://www.euromicron.de/en/financial-reports.
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.