EANS-News: RHI AG Results of the first quarter 2015
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quarterly report
Revenue of the RHI Group, at EUR 424.1 million in the first quarter of 2015,
exceeded the revenue of the comparative period of 2014, at EUR 402.3 million,
but fell short of the fourth quarter of 2014, at EUR 466.5 million. The increase
in revenue compared with the first quarter of 2014 is primarily attributable to
improvements in the product mix and positive currency effects.
The operating EBIT amounted to EUR 34.5 million in the first quarter of 2015,
versus EUR 34.1 million in the comparative period of 2014, but was lower than in
the fourth quarter of 2014, at EUR 41.8 million. While the Steel and Industrial
Division significantly increased their contribution to earnings compared with
the first quarter of 2014, the Raw Materials Division recorded a considerable
decline due to poor utilization of the raw material plants. The operating EBIT
margin, at 8.1% in the first quarter of 2015, was lower than in the comparative
period of 2014, at 8.5%, and lower than in the fourth quarter of 2014, at 9.0%.
Equity amounted to EUR 547.6 million at March 31, 2015, versus EUR 493.9 million
at March 31, 2014. The equity ratio rose from 26.5% at the end of the financial
year 2014 to 28.4% at March 31, 2015. Cash and cash equivalents declined from
EUR 151.1 million to EUR 109.7 million in comparison with December 31, 2014 due
to the repayment of non-current financial liabilities. Net debt declined
slightly from EUR 466.9 million to EUR 462.2 million. The gearing ratio, defined
as net financial liabilities divided by equity, fell from 94.5% to 84.4%.
Working Capital, which consists of inventories and trade receivables less trade
payables and prepayments received, rose by EUR 48.8 million compared with the
end of the year 2014 and amounted to EUR 619.7 million at March 31, 2015. This
corresponds to 35.6% of the revenue of the past twelve months. While trade
accounts receivable and trade accounts payable remained largely constant,
inventories increased significantly. This is primarily due to exchange rate
effects and higher inventories in North America as demand was weaker than
expected.
Net cash flow from operating activities is characterized by an increase in
working capital and amounted to EUR 21.8 million in the past quarter. Net cash
flow from investing activities amounted to EUR (9.4) million. Consequently, free
cash flow totaled EUR 12.4 million in the first quarter of 2015.
The number of employees rose slightly from 8,016 at the end of the year 2014 to
8,079.
Outlook
Provided that the macroeconomic environment and exchange rates remain stable,
the Management Board of the RHI Group expects an increase in revenue by roughly
3% compared with the previous year and an operating EBIT margin of approximately
9% for the full year 2015.
Due to the current order situation of the Industrial Division, a significant
increase in revenue is expected for the second quarter of 2015.
in EUR million Q1/2015 Q1/2014 Delta Q4/2014 Delta
Revenue 424.1 402.3 5.4% 466.5 (9.1)%
EBITDA 51.2 50.0 2.4% 51.8 (1.2)%
EBITDA margin 12.1% 12.4% (0.3)pp 11.1% 1.0pp
Operating EBIT 1) 34.5 34.1 1.2% 41.8 (17.5)%
Operating EBIT margin 8.1% 8.5% (0.4)pp 9.0% (0.9)pp
EBIT 34.5 33.6 2.7% 11.9 189.9%
EBIT margin 8.1% 8.4% (0.3)pp 2.6% 5.5pp
Profit before income tax 29.9 28.8 3.8% 4.1 629.3%
Profit from continuing operations 21.1 19.8 6.6% 0.9 2,244%
1) EBIT before impairment and restructuring expenses and result from Chapter 11
proceedings
The report for the first quarter of 2015 is available for download at the RHI
website: www.rhi-ag.com / Investor Relations / Financial Reports
Further inquiry note:
RHI AG
Investor Relations
Mag. Simon Kuchelbacher
Tel: +43-1-50213-6676
Email: simon.kuchelbacher@rhi-ag.com
end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: RHI AG
Wienerbergstrasse 9
A-1100 Wien
phone: +43 (0)50213-6676
FAX: +43 (0)50213-6130
mail: rhi@rhi-ag.com
WWW: http://www.rhi-ag.com
sector: Refractories
ISIN: AT0000676903
indexes: ATX Prime, ATX
stockmarkets: official market: Wien
language: English