06.03.2014
Continental AG DE0005439004
DGAP-News: Continental Increased Room to Maneuver Significantly
DGAP-News: Continental AG / Key word(s): Preliminary
Results/Miscellaneous
Continental Increased Room to Maneuver Significantly
06.03.2014 / 08:46
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Continental Increased Room to Maneuver Significantly
- Profit amounts to more than EUR1.9 billion / dividend proposal of
EUR2.50 per share
- Free cash flow of EUR1.8 billion / net indebtedness lowered by EUR1
billion
- Sales rise to EUR33.3 billion despite negative exchange rate effects of
over EUR800 million
- Adjusted EBIT of EUR3.7 billion / adjusted EBIT margin of 11.3 percent
- Outlook for 2014: sales to grow 5 percent to around EUR35 billion
- Good start in 2014: sales and adjusted EBIT up year-on-year in first
quarter
Hanover/Frankfurt/Main, March 6, 2014. The Continental Corporation
demonstrated strength and again significantly increased its room to
maneuver in 2013. It managed to do so despite a weak European automotive
markets and negative exchange rate effects of a considerable magnitude. In
2014 the international automotive supplier, tire manufacturer and
industrial partner expects markets to develop positively in North America
and Asia, as in the previous year. Expansion of business is planned for
China in particular. What is even more, Continental intends to use the
agreed purchase of the plastic and rubber specialist Veyance Technologies,
Inc. to bolster its non-automotive industrial business.
"In 2013 we achieved very good results and continued to pursue our goals
reliably, rigorously, and efficiently. Looking back, we achieved more than
anticipated overall. We once again generated a high level of profit of more
than EUR1.9 billion, or EUR9.62 per share. The free cash flow amounts to
more than EUR1.8 billion, allowing us to reduce net indebtedness by a
further billion euros. At the end of 2013, the gearing ratio stood at 46
percent, its lowest year-end level since 2006," said Continental's CEO Dr.
Elmar Degenhart on Thursday in Frankfurt/Main. He was speaking on the
occasion of the presentation of the provisional figures at the
corporation's annual financial press conference. "We continued to invest
heavily in property, plant and equipment, software and R&D. At the same
time, we persistently created the scope for an acquisition worth well over
a billion euros."
Degenhart pointed out to journalists that in 2013, Continental shares were
at the top of the DAX for the second time in a row, with a share price
increase of 82 percent. "In addition our shareholders are to participate,
as in the previous year, directly in the company's success. We want to pay
out a dividend of EUR2.50 per share and shall submit a corresponding
proposal. Calculated on the basis of the EUR9.62 earnings per share, this
works out to a payout ratio of around 26 percent and therefore a slight
increase over the previous year's level," said Degenhart.
Degenhart sees the company as getting off to a solid start in the first
quarter of 2014. "We are reckoning here with a 3-to-4-percent rise in
sales. The continuously unfavorable development of exchange rates weigh on
our performance. It is likely to have a negative impact of up to
4 percentage points on sales growth in the first quarter of 2014. Adjusted
EBIT in the first quarter of 2014 will be higher than the comparable figure
in the previous year."
In 2013 the Continental Corporation increased sales 1.8 percent to EUR33.3
billion. Adjusted for negative exchange rate effects in the order of EUR800
million and changes in the scope of consolidation, this worked out to an
increase of 4.0 percent. The EBIT climbed by 2.4 percent to close to
EUR3.3 billion. The EBIT margin was thus 9.8 percent, following 9.7 percent
in fiscal 2012. Adjusted EBIT - in particular for depreciation and
amortization due to acquisitions and for special effects - rose 3.5 percent
to over EUR3.7 billion. This corresponds to a ratio of 11.3 percent after
11.0 percent the year before.
Continental bolstered its equity by more than a billion euros. This brought
about an improvement in the equity ratio from around 30 percent to almost
35 percent. "We are therefore well above our targeted minimum level of 30
percent," said Degenhart.
Since the end of 2012, the corporation's net indebtedness dropped by around
EUR1 billion to
EUR4.3 billion. The gearing ratio thus improved significantly year-on-year
to 46 percent after roughly 65 percent at the end of 2012. "Although our
net indebtedness still exceeds that of our key competitors, we are
continuing to pursue the goal of a prudent strengthening of our business
outside the automotive industry - possibly through additional acquisitions
in the non-automotive industrial sector, but also by means of continuous
expansion of our replacement tire business," said Degenhart.
The reduced net indebtedness and the improved loan and bond conditions will
have a significant positive impact on the Continental Corporation's net
interest expense. "For the current fiscal year we are forecasting net
interest expense of less than EUR400 million," said CFO Wolfgang Schäfer.
Net interest expense in 2013 was slightly over EUR800 million. "The
increase of EUR300 million vis-à-vis 2012 resulted primarily from
non-recurring effects in connection with the early repayment of the four
bonds issued in 2010: This gave rise, firstly, to non-cash valuation
losses, and, secondly, to premium payments in the order of EUR110 million
for early bond redemption," explained Schäfer.
Free cash flow for fiscal 2013 amounted to EUR1.8 billion. "As in the
previous year, the further increase of EUR166 million was considerably
higher than we had expected," explained Schäfer, adding that this was
partly thanks to the continuous and successful improvement of the working
capital ratio. For 2014, Continental is planning on free cash flow of at
least EUR1.2 billion before acquisitions.
In 2013, Continental again made considerable investments in research and
development, with expenditure amounting to just short of EUR1.9 billion.
This is equivalent to 5.6 percent of sales, following 5.3 percent in the
previous year. "The EUR1.9 billion is the highest level ever in the
company's history. We are among the most innovation-strong companies on the
German blue-chip index, the DAX. In the past year, we once again invested
around EUR2 billion, moreover, in property, plant and equipment and
software," said Degenhart.
The positive business performance is also reflected in the growing number
of employees: At the end of 2013, the Continental Corporation had around
178,000 employees, roughly 8,000 more than the year before. The jobs were
created mainly in the growth markets.
"Overall, we are confident as regards the outlook for fiscal 2014. We
expect the market for passenger cars, SUVs and light commercial vehicles to
rise by 2 percent. We have therefore set ourselves the goal of growing by 5
percent and thus increasing total sales to around EUR35 billion. We again
anticipate substantial negative exchange rate effects, which, however,
should not hurt our profit margin," recapped Degenhart.
He added: "We expect to comfortably achieve an adjusted EBIT margin of more
than
10 percent. In the Automotive group, we are planning a sales growth of
about EUR21 billion in the current fiscal year, while the Rubber group will
up sales to roughly EUR14 billion, not taking into account the acquisition
of Veyance Technologies, Inc."
With provisional sales of around EUR33.3 billion in 2013, Continental is
one of the world's leading automotive suppliers. As a provider of brake
systems, systems and components for powertrains and chassis,
instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires, and
technical elastomers, Continental contributes to enhanced driving safety
and global climate protection. Continental is also an expert partner in
networked automobile communication. Continental currently employs around
178,000 people in 49 countries.
Contact for journalists
Hannes Boekhoff
Vice President Media Relations
Continental AG
Vahrenwalder Strasse 9
30165 Hanover, Germany
Phone: +49 511 938-1278
Fax: +49 511 938-1016
Email: [email protected]
Antje Lewe
Spokeswoman, Business & Finance
Continental AG
Vahrenwalder Strasse 9
30165 Hanover, Germany
Phone: +49 511 938-1364
Fax: +49 511 938-1016
Email: [email protected]
Available languages
Chinese, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Japanese,
Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Slovakian,
Spanish
Links
Press releases: www.continental-media.com
Media database: www.mediacenter.continental-corporation.com
Financial reports: www.continental-ir.com
Continental Corporation in EUR millions
Continental Corporation in EUR millions 2013 2012 in % Sales 33,331.0 32,736.2 1,8 EBITDA 5,095.0 4,967.4 2,6 in % of sales 15.3 15.2 EBIT 3,263.7 3,186.2 2,4 in % of sales 9.8 9.7 Net income attributable to the shareholders of the parent 1,923.1 1,905.2 0,9 Earnings per share (in EUR) 9.62 9.53 0,9 Research and development expenses 1,878.4 1,744.8 7,7 in % of sales 5.6 5.3 Depreciation and amortization1 1,831.3 1,781.2 2,8 - thereof impairment2 126.7 49.9 153,9 Operating assets as at December 31 15,832.3 16,277.6 -2,7 EBIT in % of operating assets as at December 31 20.6 19.6 Operating assets (average) 16,804.0 16,953.8 -0,9 EBIT in % of operating assets (average) 19.4 18.8 Capital expenditure3 1,981.1 2,019.4 -1,9 in % of sales 5.9 6.2 Number of employees as at December 314 177,762 169,639 4,8 Adjusted sales5 33,164.3 32,684.7 1,5 Adjusted operating result (adjusted EBIT)6 3,736.5 3,611.5 3,5 in % of adjusted sales 11.3 11.01 Excluding impairment on financial investments. 2 Impairment also includes necessary reversals of impairment losses. 3 Capital expenditure on property, plant and equipment, and software. 4 Excluding trainees. 5 Before changes in the scope of consolidation. 6 Before amortization of intangible assets from purchase price allocation (PPA), changes in the scope of consolidation, and special effects. End of Corporate News --------------------------------------------------------------------- 06.03.2014 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. DGAP's 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: Continental AG Vahrenwalder Straße 9 30165 Hannover Germany Phone: +49 (0)511 938-1068 Fax: +49 (0)511 938-1080 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.conti.de ISIN: DE0005439004 WKN: 543900 Indices: DAX Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Hamburg, Hannover, Stuttgart; Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, München; Terminbörse EUREX; Luxemburg, SIX End of News DGAP News-Service --------------------------------------------------------------------- 256071 06.03.2014
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