Revenue in the first nine months of 2009 climbs by 9 % to € 9,091.50 million – output volume stable
Significant increases in EBITDA (+13 %), EBIT (+18 %) and earnings after taxes (+8 %), but higher minority interest
Order backlog at € 14.6 billion – higher compared to year end 2008 (+10 %) and versus 30 September 2008 (+5 %) – group-wide second-highest order backlog in Poland
Outlook: slight decline of output volume for full year 2009; earnings expectation remains at previous year’s level
Vienna, 30 November 2009
Output volume and Revenue
The output volume of STRABAG SE stood at € 9,406.70 million in the first nine months of 2009, which represents stable development compared to the year before (previous year: € 9,381.77 million). On the one hand, significant growth could be observed especially in Germany due to the first-time consolidation of STRABAG Property & Facility Services (STRABAG PFS) – on the other hand, business activity was down in Austria, the Czech Republic and Russia. The consolidated group revenue for the first nine months of the 2009 financial year amounted to € 9,091.50 million, compared to € 8,314.54 million in the same period last year (+9 %). Group revenue in the third quarter 2009 of stood at € 3,744.18 million, up 6 % from the year before.
Order Backlog
The order backlog on 30 September 2009 stood at € 14,620.96 million, despite significant declines in Russia and Hungary. This corresponds not only to a plus compared to 30 June 2009 but also to an increase versus 30 September 2008 (+5 %) and versus the end of 2008 (+10 %).
Financial Performance
Personnel expenses and expenses for raw materials, consumables and other services could be lowered in the past nine months from 93 % to 90 % of the revenue, so that the EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) gained 13 % to € 440.82 million. This contributed to the slight growth of the EBITDA margin from 4.7 % to 4.8 %. Amortisation and depreciation was up by 10 % due to the high level of capital expenditures made in the past financial year. The EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) nevertheless improved by 18 % to € 174.61 million.
At € -14.09 million, the financial result in the first nine months was more negative than in the same period last year. This is mainly due to the very low level of interest on credit in 2009 and the capital expenditures of the previous year.
The pre-tax result of € 160.52 million nevertheless grew by 10 %. The tax quota increased slightly, however, from 25.2 % to 27.0 %, leading to a plus of 8 % for the net income (earnings after taxes). The minority interest reached € 14.48 million. Last year, this figure had been in negative territory with € -6.20 million. STRABAG SE therefore posted a consolidated net income of € 102.75 million in the first nine months of 2009, 11 % lower year on year. The earnings per share stood at € 0.90 versus € 1.01 the previous year.
The third-quarter EBITDA grew by 6 % to € 278.07 million; the EBIT was up 5 % to € 185.74 million. The consolidated net income stood at € 126.16 million, a plus of 11 %, while quarterly earnings per share rose from € 1.00 to € 1.11.
Financial Position and Cash-flows
The balance sheet total remained relatively unchanged with € 9,737.04 million at 30 September 2009 versus € 9,765.21 million at 31 December 2008. The equity ratio grew only slightly to 31.2 % (31 December 2008: 30.5 %). The net cash position of € 109.66 million turned into a net financial liability of € 297.88 million as the cash and cash equivalents fell from € 1,491.37 million to € 983.70 million.
The cash-flow from operating activities improved from € -232.79 million in the first three quarters of 2008 to € 17.91 million and entered positive territory as, despite the higher business volume, the replenishment of the working capital – particularly with regard to receivables – could be reduced compared to the same period the year before. In line with the strategy of lowering capital expenditures, the cash-flow from investing activities was down from € -995.71 million to € -296.33 million. This is the result of restraint regarding the purchase of new equipment and the lack of enterprise acquisitions. The cash-flow from financing activities was in negative territory (€ -228.04 million), in part because unlike last year STRABAG has opted against a corporate bond issue and because of the repayment of bank borrowings.
Outlook
Dr. Hans Peter Haselsteiner, CEO of STRABAG SE, expects stable business: “The developments of the past three months have confirmed our expectations of ending the 2009 financial year with an anticipated slightly lower output volume and a result at the same levels as last year.
In the third quarter, we received the first orders arising from the various state-sponsored economic stimulus programmes. Furthermore, our being awarded the contracts for a number of new large-scale projects – including public private partnerships in education, infrastructure projects in Poland, and civil engineering projects in non-European countries – shows that we were properly positioned during these economically difficult times.
I therefore expect the 2010 financial year to remain relatively stable for STRABAG. From today’s perspective, I believe we will see the first deterioration of market conditions in the construction sector in 2011, followed by several difficult years starting in 2012.”
STRABAG SE is one of Europe’s leading construction groups. With some 76,000 employees, STRABAG generated a construction output volume of € 13.7 billion in the 2008 financial year. From its core markets of Austria and Germany, STRABAG is present via its numerous subsidiaries in all countries of Eastern and South-East Europe, in selected markets in Western Europe and on the Arabian Peninsula. STRABAG’s activities span the entire construction industry (Building Construction and Civil Engineering, Transportation Infrastructures, Tunnelling) and cover the entire value-added chain in the field of construction. More information is available at www.strabag.com.