17.03.2016
TAKKT AG DE0007446007
DGAP-News: TAKKT AG: Financial year 2015 concluded successfully - Higher dividend proposed
DGAP-News: TAKKT AG / Key word(s): Final Results/Dividend
TAKKT AG: Financial year 2015 concluded successfully - Higher dividend
proposed
17.03.2016 / 07:30
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Financial year 2015 concluded successfully - Higher dividend proposed
- Group sales up 8.5 percent to EUR 1,063.8 (previous year: 980.4)
million; organic sales increase of 4.7 percent
- Gross profit margin of 42.6 percent unchanged from previous year
- EBITDA margin of 14.8 (14.0) percent above previous-year figure and in
upper range of target corridor of 12 to 15 percent
- Dividend of EUR 0.50 (0.32) per share proposed
- TAKKT expects positive and profitable performance for 2016
Stuttgart, Germany, March 17, 2016. "For the first time in the history of
the company, we sold more than one billion euros in goods in one year. This
is a milestone that we are proud of. While Europe showed a slight
improvement over the course of the year, we were able to continue the
previous year's good performance in North America with strong growth,"
noted Felix Zimmermann, CEO of TAKKT AG. For TAKKT, the 2015 financial year
was once again characterized by varying momentum in the core markets of
Europe and North America. In Europe, however, business development was
affected, in particular, by the weak performance in Switzerland. With
Post-Up Stand in the US and BiGDUG in the UK, two smaller companies were
acquired. At the same time, the Plant Equipment Group (PEG) was sold. TAKKT
was able to achieve an organic (i.e. adjusted for currency, disposal and
acquisition effects) increase in Group sales of 4.7 percent compared to the
previous year. Reported sales of EUR 1,063.8 (previous year: 980.4) million
were 8.5 percent higher than in the previous year.
EBITDA margin once again within upper third of target corridor
EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of
EUR 157.3 (137.3) million was 14.6 percent higher compared to the previous
year. The corresponding EBITDA margin, the key performance indicator for
the operational profitability of the TAKKT Group, increased significantly
to 14.8 (14.0) percent, once again placing it in the upper third of the
target corridor of 12 to 15 percent. Along with the organic increase in
sales, the associated improvement in the utilization of the infrastructure
at TAKKT AMERICA and the positive effect from the sale of the less
profitable PEG business also contributed to this positive development. In
addition, a positive one-off contribution to earnings of EUR 3.3 million
was realized in the year under review due to the deconsolidation of PEG.
Adjusted for the income from the deconsolidation, the EBITDA margin in 2015
amounted to 14.5 percent.
TAKKT EUROPE: Subdued development in both divisions
In the TAKKT EUROPE segment, organic sales grew slightly by 0.7 percent.
Reported sales were 3.6 percent above the previous year's figure and came
to EUR 538.3 (519.8) million. The share in Group sales thus decreased to
50.6 (53.0) percent. While Topdeq realized sales during the phase-out
process in 2014, there were no longer corresponding sales in 2015. This was
offset by a positive impact from the acquisition of BiGDUG through its
contribution to the sales of TAKKT EUROPE since July. Sales for the segment
in the reporting currency of euros were also positively influenced by
currency effects, especially as a result of the stronger Swiss franc.
Overall, the Business Equipment Group (BEG) recorded a slight organic
increase in sales. The Packaging Solutions Group (PSG) also realized slight
organic sales growth. In the year under review, EBITDA in the TAKKT EUROPE
segment fell slightly by 0.8 percent to EUR 98.4 (99.1) million. This
resulted in an EBITDA margin of 18.3 (19.1) percent. The lower operational
margin is largely attributable to the subdued business development.
TAKKT AMERICA: Above-average sales growth
Organic sales growth in the TAKKT AMERICA segment was 10.0 percent.
Reported sales in the 2015 financial year increased by 14.1 percent to EUR
525.8 (460.9) million. The share of Group sales increased to 49.4 (47.0)
percent. Sales growth in the reporting currency of euros benefited from the
stronger US dollar as well as the first-time consolidation of the acquired
activities of Post-Up Stand as of April. By contrast, the disposal of the
North American PEG Group division as of January 30, 2015, had a negative
effect.
The Specialties Group (SPG) recorded organic sales growth in the low
double-digit percentage range. Particularly notable was the very dynamic
growth of Central, specialist supplier for the restaurant industry. The
Office Equipment Group (OEG) achieved even higher organic sales growth than
the SPG. In 2015, the division benefited from the good business with
government customers and even more so because of the high demand from
private companies.
In the TAKKT AMERICA segment, EBITDA increased by 44.9 percent to EUR 68.9
(47.6) million. The EBITDA margin of the TAKKT AMERICA segment rose to 13.1
(10.3) percent. After adjusting for the positive effect from the
deconsolidation of PEG, the EBITDA margin would have amounted to 12.5
percent. Besides the good business performance and the sale of the less
profitable PEG business, the acquisition of Post-Up Stand also had a
positive effect because the new US company realizes an above-average EBITDA
margin.
Sustainability report meets highest standards
TAKKT defined sustainability as an integral component of the corporate
strategy early on and has made great progress toward its goal of becoming
the global role model for sustainability in the industry by the end of
2016. Acting sustainably includes the entire supply chain. At KAISER+KRAFT,
for example, more than 90 percent of the shipments (parcels and general
cargo) within Germany are now carbon neutral. The further progress made in
the defined focus areas are described in the new sustainability report,
which is published at the same time as the 2015 annual report. It has once
again been prepared in accordance with the "Comprehensive" level, the
highest application level of the international standards of the Global
Reporting Initiative (GRI).
Increase in dividend to EUR 0.50 per share proposed
Due to the good performance, the Management Board and Supervisory Board of
TAKKT AG will propose to the Shareholders' Meeting in May that the dividend
be increased to EUR 0.50 per share. This corresponds to a payout ratio of
40 percent of profits for the period.
CFO Claude Tomaszewski explains: "The dividend proposal follows the amended
dividend policy announced in February, which provides for a payout ratio of
between 35 and 45 percent of the profit. This change reflects our desire
for our shareholders to participate even more in TAKKT's success."
Appointment of Dirk Lessing renewed
Besides the dividend proposal, the Supervisory Board decided in yesterday's
meeting to renew Dirk Lessing's appointment to the Management Board for
five years effective from 01 January 2017. Lessing is a member of TAKKT's
Management Board since 01 January 2014 as well as the Chairman of the
Management Board of KAISER+KRAFT EUROPA GmbH.
Outlook: Positive sales and earnings development expected
For 2016, TAKKT anticipates a positive business development. According to
economic forecasts, slightly better economic growth is expected in the
relevant TAKKT target markets. In light of this, and provided that the
current unrest on the financial markets does not spill over into the mood
and investment behavior of the real economy, TAKKT expects organic sales
growth of three to five percent and an EBITDA margin in the upper third of
the target corridor as the most likely scenario. TAKKT will also continue
developing its business model in 2016 as part of its multi-channel PLUS
strategy. "With our DYNAMIC growth and modernization initiative, we are
creating the foundation to harness the opportunities of digitalization and
to make them even more tangible for our customers and business partners. To
this end, we will be developing a broad digital agenda in 2016," says Felix
Zimmermann, summarizing the direction for 2016.
IFRS figures for the TAKKT Group for the 2015 financial year
(in EUR million)
2015 2014 Change in % TAKKT Group sales 1,063.8 980.4 +8.5 Organic growth +4.7 TAKKT EUROPE 538.3 519.8 +3.6 TAKKT AMERICA 525.8 460.9 +14.1 EBITDA 157.3 137.3 +14.6 EBITDA margin (%) 14.8 14.0 EBIT 129.4 110.8 +16.8 EBIT margin (%) 12.2 11.3 Profit before tax 119.9 99.3 +20.7 Pre-tax profit margin (%) 11.3 10.1 TAKKT cash flow 114.2 98.7 +15.7 TAKKT cash flow margin (%) 10.7 10.1 Investment 14.2 13.6 +4.4 TAKKT cash flow per share in EUR 1.74 1.50 +16.0 Earnings per share in EUR 1.24 1.00 +24.0 Non-current assets 735.6 663.6 +10.8 in % of total assets 76.3 75.2 Total equity 473.4 368.8 +28.4 in % of total equity and liabilities 49.1 43.8 Net borrowings 244.0 217.5 +12.2 Employees (full-time equivalent) as of 2,304 2,357 -2.2 December 31About TAKKT AG TAKKT is the leading B2B direct marketing specialist for business equipment in Europe and North America. The Group is represented with its brands in more than 25 countries. The product range of the subsidiaries comprises more than 300,000 products for the areas of plant and warehouse equipment, office furniture, transport packaging, display articles, equipment for the food service industry, hotel market and retailers. The TAKKT Group has over 2,000 employees and just under three million customers worldwide. The company is listed on the SDAX and Deutsche Börse Prime Standard. Contacts: Dr. Christian Warns Tel. +49 711 3465-8222 Giuseppe Palmieri Tel. +49 711 3465-8250 Email: [email protected] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17.03.2016 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: TAKKT AG Presselstr. 12 70191 Stuttgart Germany Phone: +49 (0)711 346 58 -0 Fax: +49 (0)711 346 58 - 10 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.takkt.de ISIN: DE0007446007 WKN: 744600 Indices: SDAX Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Stuttgart; Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Munich End of News DGAP News Service --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 446097 17.03.2016
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