05.03.2015
Klöckner & Co. SE DE000KC01000
DGAP-News: KLÖCKNER & CO SE POSTS FISCAL YEAR 2014 RESULTS WITH SHARP RISE IN EARNINGS
DGAP-News: Klöckner & Co. SE / Key word(s): Final Results
KLÖCKNER & CO SE POSTS FISCAL YEAR 2014 RESULTS WITH SHARP RISE IN
EARNINGS
05.03.2015 / 07:00
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- Sales up 2.0% to EUR6.5 billion
- Gross profit margin further improved from 18.6% to 19.4% through
stronger focus on higher-margin business
- Major improvement in operating income (EBITDA) from EUR124 million to
EUR191 million and in net income from loss of EUR90 million to profit
of EUR22 million
- Net income allows return to dividend distributions, with dividend of
EUR0.20* per share
- kloeckner.i launched as dedicated Group Center of Competence for
Digitalization in Berlin
- Further increase in EBITDA** expected for 2015 despite difficult start
to year
Figures relate to fiscal year 2014 relative to prior year.
*Proposal to the May 12, 2015 Annual General Meeting.
**Outlook does not include any effects of further restructuring measures in
France.
Duisburg, Germany, March 5, 2015 - Klöckner & Co SE's sales rose by 2.0% to
some EUR6.5 billion in fiscal year 2014. Due to the lower price level in
Europe, sales did not increase quite as strongly as shipments (up 2.4% to
around 6.6 million tons). Sharper focus on higher-margin business made
gross profit margin rise from 18.6% to 19.4%.
Driven mainly by contributions totaling EUR52 million from the KCO 6.0 and
KCO WIN restructuring and optimization programs, operating income (EBITDA)
went up by 53.3%, from EUR124 million to EUR191 million. The improvement in
net income was even more substantial. Net income was back in positive
figures at EUR22 million, compared with a loss of EUR90 million in the
prior-year period. Earnings per share improved accordingly from a negative
EUR0.85 to a positive EUR0.22.
Gisbert Rühl, CEO of Klöckner & Co SE: "We made major progress last year in
what is still a challenging environment. As already announced, with net
income back in positive figures, our shareholders stand to receive an
appropriate portion. At the Annual General Meeting, the Supervisory Board
and Management Board will therefore be proposing the payment of a dividend
of EUR0.20 per share."
Sharp rise in earnings in both segments
Despite the lower price level, and largely driven by the inclusion of Swiss
acquisition Riedo from the second quarter, sales in the Europe segment went
up by 2.0% to EUR4.1 billion. In a persistently difficult market
environment, EBITDA increased, mainly due to internal measures, by 20.6%
from EUR90 million to EUR108 million.
By contrast, the 2014 price level in the US, which is by far the dominant
part of the Americas segment, was higher overall than in the prior year. As
a result, segment sales increased by 1.9% to EUR2.4 billion despite the
consolidation of locations at the end of 2013 and rigorously scaling back
low-margin business. EBITDA improved even more substantially than in the
Europe segment - by 66%, from EUR60 million to EUR100 million. Alongside
internal measures, this also reflected a noticeably more positive market
environment.
Major progress in digitalization of business processes
As part of the "Klöckner & Co 2020" long-term growth strategy, Klöckner &
Co plans to digitalize the entire supply and service chain, and already
made tangible progress toward this in the past year. The new web shops -
currently being enhanced into comprehensive customer portals - are thus
already online in the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom.
On the supplier side, the first major producer has followed in the
footsteps of several wholesalers in committing to the use of electronic
data exchange (EDI).
To bring together all digitalization projects under one roof, Klöckner & Co
has launched kloeckner.i, a dedicated Group Center of Competence for
Digitalization in Berlin. kloeckner.i develops and tests new digital
solutions for implementation Group-wide. It also oversees online marketing
activities and supports the transfer of knowledge and ideas relating to
digital innovation across the Group. Up to 20 employees are to be recruited
for kloeckner.i by the end of the year.
Klöckner & Co has set itself ambitious targets for further implementation
of its digitalization strategy. The Group-wide rollout of the new web shops
is scheduled for completion by the year-end. More than half of Group sales
is to be generated online by as early as 2019.
Outlook
Klöckner & Co is fundamentally optimistic about global economic growth
going forward and about the course of business in 2015, even though major
macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties remain. As things stand, steel
demand is expected to grow by between 1% and 2% in Europe and between 3%
and 4% in the USA.
On this basis, and taking into account a likely fall in the steel price
level, Klöckner & Co anticipates only a slight increase in sales this year.
Like-for-like operating income (EBITDA) is expected to be significantly
down on the prior-year quarter in the first quarter of 2015, at EUR15
million to EUR25 million, due to a sharp drop in steel prices in the USA,
pressure on margins from exchange rates and potential inventory writedowns
in Switzerland as well as a continued slowdown in construction activity in
France. Despite this, Klöckner & Co expects a further increase in EBITDA
for the full year; this outlook does not include any effects of envisaged
restructuring measures in France.
Klöckner & Co plans further acquisitions as a growth accelerator. The focus
here is on companies offering higher value-added products and processing
services. Investments in startups are also planned in order to drive
forward the digitalization strategy.
Gisbert Rühl: "Despite the further progress made with the internal measures
we put in place last year, the expected impact on earnings in the first
quarter from what is still excessive dependency on steel prices shows that
we must continue to press rigorously ahead with the transformation. This
includes driving forward expansion of higher value-added processing
services, also via acquisitions, and above all digitalization of the entire
value chain from supplier to customer."
About Klöckner & Co:
Klöckner & Co is the largest producer-independent distributor of steel and
metal products and one of the leading steel service center companies in the
European and American markets combined. The core business of Klöckner & Co
is the warehousing and distribution of steel and non-ferrous metals as well
as the operation of steel service centers. Based on the Group's
distribution and service network, around 150,000 customers are supplied
through around
220 locations in 15 countries. Currently, Klöckner & Co employs around
9,700 employees. The Group had sales of around EUR6.5 billion in fiscal
2014.
The shares of Klöckner & Co SE are admitted to trading on the regulated
market segment (Regulierter Markt) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
(Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse) with further post-admission obligations
(Prime Standard). Klöckner & Co shares are listed in the MDAX(R)-Index of
Deutsche Börse.
ISIN: DE000KC01000; WKN: KC0100; Common Code: 025808576.
Contact person:
Christian Pokropp - Press Spokesperson
Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Phone: +49 (0) 203-307-2050
Fax: +49 (0) 203-307-5025
Email: [email protected]
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Language: English
Company: Klöckner & Co. SE
Am Silberpalais 1
47057 Duisburg
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)203 / 307-0
Fax: +49 (0)203 / 307-5000
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.kloeckner.com
ISIN: DE000KC01000
WKN: KC0100
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated
Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover,
Munich, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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