13.08.2014
OVB Holding AG DE0006286560
DGAP-News: OVB shows strength in Europe (news with additional features)
DGAP-News: OVB Holding AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results/Interim
Report
OVB shows strength in Europe (news with additional features)
13.08.2014 / 07:45
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OVB shows strength in Europe
- Significant earnings increase based on strategic measures
- Further growth in sales power and number of clients
Cologne, 13 August 2014 - The European financial service provider OVB
increased its total sales by 2.3% to EUR103.7 million in the first half of
2014. After an anticipated modest performance in the first quarter of 2014,
the Group's sales rose strongly by around 16% year-on-year in the second
quarter of 2014. Despite these successes, Michael Rentmeister, CEO of OVB
Holding AG, expressed concern over private pensions in Europe: "We are
currently seeing an emotionally charged discussion of life insurance and
remuneration models for financial consultants making headlines. And this is
happening even though it is clear and has been largely accepted by clients
that good advice has its price. So it should be much more important to
pillory the devastating effects of the targeted low interest policy on
pensions: It really is the same as dispossessing pension savers and is
doing substantial harm to people's notions about their own pensions, which
they urgently need. Those who draw false conclusions could end up paying a
high price: poverty when they are old."
Growth in client numbers, financial consultant numbers and new contracts
The fact that the need for comprehensive consulting on financial and
pension issues exists can be seen by the growth achieved by OVB in clients,
consultants and the number of new contracts brokered: Since the middle of
2013, the OVB Group has expanded its client base to currently 3.14 million
clients. The number of new contracts concluded rose by 5.7% year-on-year to
247,349. The number of financial consultants working full-time for OVB
climbed by 3.5% in the past twelve months to 5,134. "We are clearly seeing
how crucial it is to systematically continue the core measures initiated in
2012 on our way to becoming Europe's leading system sales company. Measures
such as BOOST(Best of OVB Success Teams), with which OVB supports
successful entrepreneurship in Europe with transparent best practices that
can be multiplied throughout a company are now having a sustainable effect
and are boosting our new business in a demanding field," said Rentmeister
of the positive development in the Group's key operating figures.
Clearly positive business performance on many national markets
In the first half of 2014, the OVB Group posted a highly positive sales
performance in Spain, Hungary, Poland, Italy and Switzerland. Business in
Germany was stable. Sales losses in the Czech Republic at the start of the
year were offset by a good performance on almost all other markets of the
Central and Eastern Europe segment; for example, OVB Slovakia's sales
growth was nearly 5%.
The dynamic business development of the first quarter in Southern and
Western Europe continued in the second. Overall, total sales commission in
this segment rose by 30.5% in the first six months of the year from EUR16.2
million in the previous year to EUR21.1 million in the reporting period.
"This shows once again how clever and prescient the decision at the start
of the 1990s was to transplant OVB's winning business model to 13
international markets to date. Today we are the only one-stop financial
services provider established throughout Europe offering its consultants a
unique business model with international career opportunities," commented
Rentmeister on the high stability afforded by the Group's international
outlook.
Dynamic earnings development
In the period from January to June 2014, the OVB Group generated EBIT of
EUR4.7 million, up 22.7% on the prior-year figure of EUR3.9 million.
The main stimulus for this positive development came from the Southern and
Western Europe segment, where operating earnings tripled to EUR2.2 million
(previous year: EUR0.7 million).
While some of OVB's national markets are currently enjoying dynamic growth,
the strategic focus in countries such as Germany, the Czech Republic and
Slovakia is currently essentially on stable earnings contributions, which
these countries are delivering in a challenging environment as well.
In the first half of 2014, the Group's EBIT margin based on total sales
commission improved to 4.6% after 3.8% in the same period of the previous
year.
The rise in operating earnings and earnings per share is even more
significant: EBIT surged by 84.9% quarter-on-quarter and by 22.7%
year-on-year.
The earnings per share generated by OVB for its shareholders in the period
from January to June climbed by 35% from 20 euro cents to 27 euro cents.
Outlook for 2014 confirmed
OVB is reiterating its forecast of a slight increase in sales for 2014 as a
whole as against 2013 with stable operating earnings on this basis. "In the
quarters ahead, we will focus on profiting further from our strengths, such
as our far-reaching European presence and our comprehensive OVB ACS
(Analysis - Consulting - Service) system. In addition, we wish the
maelstrom of increasing market impediments and regulation mania would
steadily calm down a little, so that business can finally concentrate on
the demographic challenges," said Michael Rentmeister of the seemingly
never-ending flood of regulation.
About the OVB Group
The OVB Group, with its holding company headquartered in Cologne, is one of
Europe's leading financial service providers. Since being founded in 1970,
OVB's business activities have focused on comprehensive consulting for
private households. OVB works with more than 100 high-performance providers
and uses competitive products to serve its clients' individual needs for
retirement provision, asset and proberty protection as well a asset
generation and wealth management. OVB currently operates in a total of 14
countries. Around 5,100 full-time financial consultants currently advise
approximately 3.1 million clients. In 2013, OVB Holding AG and its
subsidiaries generated total sales commission of EUR204.8 million and EBIT
of EUR10.2 million. OVB Holding AG has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock
Exchange (Prime Standard, ISIN DE0006286560) since July 2006.
The presentation and the interim report on the first six months of 2014 can
be downloaded from the Investor Relations section of www.ovb.eu.
This press release is also available on the Internet at:
www.ovb.eu > Press > Press Releases
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Additional features:
Document: http://n.equitystory.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=WVHKCSMFBP
Document title: Press Release 08/13/2014
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Language: English
Company: OVB Holding AG
Heumarkt 1
50667 Köln
Germany
Phone: +49 221 2015 - 0
Fax: +49 221 2015 - 264
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.ovb.ag
ISIN: DE0006286560
WKN: 628656
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard);
Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover,
München, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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