20.03.2018
Wacker Neuson SE DE000WACK012
DGAP-News: Wacker Neuson SE: 2017 proves to be a successful year for Wacker Neuson, 'Strategy 2022' focuses on winning market shares and achieving sustainable profit growth
DGAP-News: Wacker Neuson SE / Key word(s): Final Results
Wacker Neuson SE: 2017 proves to be a successful year for Wacker Neuson,
'Strategy 2022' focuses on winning market shares and achieving sustainable
profit growth
20.03.2018 / 11:03
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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2017 proves to be a successful year for Wacker Neuson,
"Strategy 2022" focuses on winning market shares and achieving sustainable
profit growth
(Munich, March 20, 2018) International light and compact equipment
manufacturer Wacker Neuson reported a significant rise in revenue and
earnings for 2017 relative to the previous year and was able to achieve the
goals it set itself. Guided by its "Strategy 2022" roadmap, the Group is
systematically aligning itself with customer needs. Topics such as
digitalization and Service 4.0 are key focus areas here.
2017 highlights: Double-digit revenue growth, significant rise in
profitability
Group revenue for 2017 rose 13 percent to EUR 1,534 million (2016: EUR 1,361
million) - driven by market share gains in a favorable business climate and
an upswing in almost all key regions for the Group. Highly innovative
products and systematic alignment with market needs are fueling strong
demand among customers. "We were able to further expand our market reach at
national and international level and gain new market shares," explains
Martin Lehner, CEO of Wacker Neuson SE.
Revenue for Europe, which is the Group's largest market with a 74-percent
share of revenue, grew 11 percent to EUR 1,130 million (2016: EUR 1,021
million). Once again, Germany was the strongest revenue driver here. The
Group has a particularly strong market position in the country thanks to its
dense network of branch offices that includes more than 60 of its own sales
and service stations flanked by a supporting network of dealers. This trend
was reflected across the region with the broad majority of European
countries contributing to healthy revenue growth. France, Poland and Austria
performed particularly well here. The mood in the European agricultural
sector also improved significantly thanks to rising food prices, especially
prices for dairy products. This also helped fuel growth in the region.
Revenue growth in the agricultural sector was dampened by the termination of
the OEM collaboration with agricultural equipment manufacturer Claas, but
the new partnership with John Deere already started to show positive
results.
In the Americas, revenue grew at an even faster pace than in Europe. Revenue
for this region amounted to EUR 358 million, which corresponds to an
increase of 23 percent relative to the previous year (2016: EUR 292
million). Growth here was driven by worksite technology products as well as
skid steer loaders manufactured in the US and compact equipment imported
from Europe.
Revenue for the Asia-Pacific region decreased 5 percent relative to the
previous year to EUR 47 million (2016: EUR 49 million). The Group
experienced a drop in revenue in China due to a one-off effect - the initial
stocking of new dealers with compact equipment increased the comparative
baseline of 2016. In contrast, revenue in Australia and New Zealand
increased significantly.
The strong rise in revenue across the Group had an above-average impact on
profit thanks to substantial economies of scale and the Group's continued
commitment to its efficient cost structure. Profit before interest and tax
(EBIT) grew 48 percent to EUR 131 million. This corresponds to an EBIT
margin of 8.6 percent (2016: EUR 88.8 million; 6.5 percent). Adjusted to
discount one-off effects and expenses for restructuring measures, the EBIT
margin amounted to 9.4 percent (2016: 6.2 percent).
Free cash flow for fiscal 2017 nearly trebled to a new record high of EUR 99
million (2016: EUR 35 million). Alongside the increase in profit, the
Group's efforts to reduce net working capital also had an impact here.
Expressed as a percentage of revenue, net working capital decreased tangibly
from approximately 42 percent to approximately 36 percent in 2017. This
trend was fueled by the Group's targeted efforts to sell off old stock and
significant improvements to its inventory structure.
The Group started to optimize its internal structures back in 2017 in order
to improve profitability in the long term and reduce complexity across the
Group following years of expansion. During the course of 2018, the Group
will move on to the next step here and incorporate two of its ten production
plants into existing facilities. The US factory in Norton Shores, Michigan,
will relocate to the much larger facility in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. The
light equipment production plant in the Philippines will be moved to the new
factory in China. Furthermore, the two logistics companies will be
incorporated into the production company in Germany and the sales company in
the US.
New "Strategy 2022" roadmap
The Group aims to further expand its position as a leading international
manufacturer of light and compact equipment. Europe and North America will
play an important role here as the Group plans to intensify its activities
in these core markets. "There is still plenty of potential for us to grow in
our main regions. We are particularly keen to leverage growth potential in
our core business fields with compaction and concrete technology from our
light equipment segment and products from our compact equipment offering,"
explains Lehner. "The aim of 'Strategy 2022' is to ensure that the company
is focused 100 percent on our customers' needs. The three strategic pillars
of 'focus', 'acceleration' and 'excellence' guide all of our actions here,"
he adds.
As part of further international expansion plans, the Group has its sights
set on growth markets such as China. In January 2018, it started series
production of mini excavators at its new factory in Pinghu, near Shanghai.
This sees Wacker Neuson enter the market at exactly the right time, as the
trend toward more compact, smaller construction equipment is rapidly
gathering momentum in China. The Group is committed to continually expanding
its portfolio of competitive light and compact equipment products for China
and the Asian market.
"Over the coming years, we want to rank among the top three providers of
core products based on market share in the industry. We also aim to grow
faster than the market. In the past year, we have proven that this is
possible," says Lehner. Within the framework of the "Strategy 2022" roadmap,
the Group has set itself the goal of significantly exceeding the EUR 2
billion revenue mark in the medium term and achieving an EBIT margin of over
11 percent. It aims to gradually reduce net working capital to below 30
percent of revenue. This will also have a positive impact on free cash flow.
In order to finance its growth plans, the Group successfully placed a
Schuldschein loan agreement in the amount of USD 100 million with investors
at the end of February 2018, thus securing its long-term financing needs.
The Group's "Strategy 2022" roadmap also aims to capitalize on megatrends.
"We firmly believe that alternative drive technologies will play an
important role in future. This trend is being accelerated not only by
changes in legal regulations, but also by rising demand from the market as
the compelling ergonomics, environment, health and safety benefits of
electric motors resonate with more and more users. Our developers are
working on numerous new developments that will open up major opportunities
for us to play a leading role in shaping the future of light and compact
equipment. Our goal is to offer a genuine zero-emissions alternative in each
of our core product groups," explains Lehner. Digitalization is another
megatrend shaping product development, production, sales and service. Topics
such as augmented and virtual reality have become increasingly important in
recent years. State-of-the-art technologies are already being used for
product development and for optimizing production activities. Digital
solutions will also change sales and service activities across the industry,
enabling providers to deliver more benefits to customers.
Forecast for fiscal 2018
The Group is optimistic about 2018. "Our markets are currently intact and
forecasts give us every reason to be confident. The year also got off to a
great start for us. We expect revenue to amount to between EUR 1.65 and 1.70
billion. This represents an increase of 8 to 11 percent relative to 2017. We
also expect the EBIT margin to improve to between 9.0 and 10.0 percent,"
adds Lehner. This forecast does not include one-off income expected from a
potential transaction relating to a real estate company in the Group.
Table: Revenue and earnings
Key figures in EUR million 2017 2016 Change
Revenue 1,533.9 1,361.4 +13%
EBIT (adjusted)1 131.4 88.8 +48%
(144.0) (84.7) (+70%)
EBIT margin (adjusted)1 8.6% 6.5% +2.1PP
(9.4%) (6.2%) (+3.2PP)
Profit for the period 87.5 57.2 +53%
Earnings per share in EUR 1.25 0.81 +54%
1 Adjusted to discount one-off effects and
restructuring measures.
The full 2017 Annual Report for the Wacker Neuson Group is available at
http://wackerneusongroup.com/en/investor-relations/financial-reports-presentations/2017/
Your contact partner:
Wacker Neuson SE
Katrin Yvonne Neuffer
Head of Corporate Communication /
Investor Relations
Preussenstrasse 41
80809 Munich, Germany
Tel. +49-(0)89-35402-173
[email protected]
www.wackerneusongroup.com
About Wacker Neuson
The Wacker Neuson Group is an international family of companies and a
leading manufacturer of light and compact equipment with over 50 affiliates
and 140 sales and service stations. The Group offers its customers a broad
portfolio of products, a wide range of services and an efficient spare parts
service. The product brands Wacker Neuson, Kramer and Weidemann belong to
the Wacker Neuson Group. Wacker Neuson is the partner of choice among
professional users in construction, gardening, landscaping and agriculture,
as well as among municipal bodies and companies in industries such as
recycling, energy and rail transport. In 2017, the Group achieved revenue of
EUR 1.53 billion, employing more than 5,500 people worldwide.
www.wackerneusongroup.com
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20.03.2018 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,
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Language: English
Company: Wacker Neuson SE
Preußenstr. 41
80809 München
Germany
Phone: +49 - (0)89 - 354 02 - 173
Fax: +49 - (0)89 - 354 02 - 390
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.wackerneusongroup.com
ISIN: DE000WACK012
WKN: WACK01
Indices: SDAX
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated
Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover,
Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
End of News DGAP News Service
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