EANS-News: Kapsch TrafficCom finished a weak fiscal year 2012/13 with an
outstanding fourth quarter
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annual result/Earnings/Financial Figures/Balance Sheet
Wien (euro adhoc) -
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| |
|1_April-31_March_____|___2012/13____|_________+/-_________|___2011/12____|
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|Revenues (in million | 488.9 | -11 % | 549.9 |
|EUR)_________________|______________|_____________________|______________|
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|EBIT_(in_million_EUR)|_____15.3_____|________-64_%________|_____42.2_____|
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|Profit for the period| 16.7 | -39 % | 27.5 |
|(in_million_EUR)_____|______________|_____________________|______________|
|
|Earnings per share | 0.74 | -54 % | 1.62 |
|(in_EUR)*____________|______________|_____________________|______________|
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|Dividend per share | 0.40** | -56 % | 0.90 |
|(in_EUR)_____________|______________|_____________________|______________|
* Earnings per share 2012/13 relate to 13.0 million shares, 2011/12 relate to a
weighted average number of 12.74 million shares
** Proposal of the executive board subject to approval of the shareholders?
meeting on 12 September 2013
Vienna, 11 June 2013 - Kapsch TrafficCom AG (ISIN AT000KAPSCH9), listed on the
Vienna Stock Exchange in the prime market segment, is reporting on its fiscal
year 2012/13 as a transition period in terms of projects and the company's
organizational structure, which was retooled during the reporting period for the
planned continuation of growth.
The Kapsch TrafficCom Group made significant progress during the past fiscal
year, although the investments in the future as well as project delays led to
lower revenues with simultaneously high expenditures. The earnings figures of
the reporting year therefore lie clearly below the targets of the executive
board.
Revenue and earnings
The revenue in the fiscal year 2012/13 was EUR 488.9 million, which is 11.1 %
below the previous year's value of EUR 549.9 million. This decline reflects, on
one hand, the fact that the major installation projects in Poland and South
Africa were already completed but the new projects were of smaller overall
volume and only began contributing revenue as of the second half of the year. On
the other hand, the operation revenues in Poland and South Africa were still
significantly below expectations since the completed system in South Africa did
not go into operation by the end of the fiscal year and the revenues earned in
Poland reached the expected levels only as of the third quarter. The number of
on-board units sold also remained below that of the previous year since no
initial deliveries or subsequent deliveries for new systems took place.
These circumstances also led to an operating result (EBIT) that was negative in
the first two quarters. In the third quarter, the continued delays in the South
African project forced Kapsch TrafficCom to update the contract calculation.
This resulted again in negative operational earnings. Only in the fourth quarter
did the improved system operation in Poland together with progress in the
project in Belarus enable a significant increase in revenue, making the
quarterly earnings more than satisfactory at EUR 24.9 million. For the entire
year, the EBIT was EUR 15.3 million, following EUR 42.2 million in the previous
year. This puts the EBIT margin at 3.1 %, considerably below the previous year's
value of 7.7 %.
The reporting year was also characterized by preparations for new projects, in
other words by already recorded expenditures that were not yet offset by
corresponding revenue or income. The implementation of the new organizational
structure also required initial investments. The lower revenues made cost
coverage more difficult here.
The profit before taxes decreased from EUR 36.3 million in the previous year to
EUR 16.9 million. Lower tax expenses and increased finance income were able to
partially compensate for the decline in the operating result (EBIT). The profit
for the period declined from EUR 27.5 million to EUR 16.7 million, putting the
profit per share at EUR 0.74 compared with EUR 1.62 in the year before.
The executive board will recommend to the annual shareholders' meeting on 12
September 2013, the payment of a dividend of EUR 0.40 per share (2011/12: EUR
0.90 per share) for the fiscal year 2012/13. The payout ratio (with respect to
the profit for the period attributable to the equity holders of the company) is
therefore roughly 54 % (2011/12: roughly 57 %).
Segments
The segment RSP (Road Solution Projects) recorded revenues of EUR 128.3 million
after EUR 229.9 million in the previous fiscal year, a decrease of 44.2 %. The
projects begun in Belarus, France, Australia and the U.S.A. as well as the
extensions to the system in Poland were not able to compensate for the revenue
decline in connection with the complete or largely concluded system
implementations in Poland and South Africa. The EBIT of the segment RSP was EUR
-51.7 after EUR 4.1 million in the previous year. Due to the decreased revenues,
it was not possible to cover the regular costs associated with this segment. The
project in South Africa also further weighed down the result.
In the segment SEC (Services, System Extensions and Components Sales), revenues
increased by 11.1 % from EUR 308.1 million in the previous year to EUR 342.3
million. A significant revenue contribution was supplied by the project in
Poland, which went into operation in July 2011 and therefore only contributed
income for nine months. The operation of the nationwide systems in the Czech
Republic, Austria and Switzerland continued to yield stable revenue
contributions. On the other hand, the continued delay in the commissioning of
the project in the South African province of Gauteng had a negative impact. The
number of on-board units sold was 9.3 million compared with 11.2 million units
in fiscal year 2011/12. The lower volume in the fiscal year just finished was
related to the absence of additional deliveries for the project in Gauteng,
South Africa. The EBIT of the segment SEC was EUR 66.1 million after EUR 37.3
million in the previous year. The EBIT margin therefore increased from 12.1 % to
19.3 %.
Financial position and cash flows
The balance sheet of the Kapsch TrafficCom Group paints an extremely solid
picture. The conclusion of the system implementation in Poland and the
associated payment of the last milestone from construction of the system in the
first quarter of the reporting year led to noticeable improvements compared with
the balance sheet date of 31 March 2012. Despite the weak profit situation, the
equity ratio was 42.4 % at the end of the fiscal year 2012/13. The net debt on
31 March 2013 was 46 % below the previous year's value despite financing of the
Belarus project. The net working capital and the capital employed are also far
below the level of the previous year despite the rise in the fourth quarter. The
cash and cash equivalents increased over the fiscal year from EUR 44.9 million
to EUR 79.0 million. The free cash flow, which was negative in the comparison
period, amounted to EUR 48.3 million at the end of the reporting year. This
confirms that Kapsch TrafficCom has the necessary financial potential for the
planned growth.
Strategy
In 2012, the Kapsch TrafficCom Group defined its company strategy up to the year
2016 as well as four specific strategy paths. Since October 2012 the entire
group now shares a globally standard organizational structure with coordinated
standards, processes and interfaces. This should increase efficiency and support
further growth. Additional growth prospects also lie in the development of
complete ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) solutions. "We will continue
our investments in the future despite the weak results of the fiscal year
2012/13. Making cuts due to the current situation would mean not having the
necessary structures and capacities for the projects that are expected in the
future," says Georg Kapsch, CEO of Kapsch TrafficCom AG, in confirmation of the
growth strategy.
Outlook
Kapsch TrafficCom considers itself well positioned with its ITS strategy and the
new company structure. The strong balance sheet structure shows that the group
also has sufficient financial potential for upcoming projects both small and
large - even running in parallel.
The fiscal year 2013/14 will be marked by a continuation of the existing
projects. In particular, the further developments in South Africa will influence
the revenue and earnings situation. In addition, an invitation to tender has
already begun in Slovenia. Kapsch TrafficCom expects additional tenders in
Belgium and the U.S.A. Extensive toll systems are under discussion in Bulgaria,
Russia and the surrounding countries as well as in Germany, and these
discussions are also being followed with great interest.
An overview of the fiscal year 2012/13 (key aspects and figures) can be found at
http://www.kapsch.net/ktc/investor_relations/reports/download/KTC_Key-
Aspect_FY13?lang=en-US. The annual financial statements and the annual report
will be published sooner than planned on 14 June 2013 (instead of 26 June 2013).
Kapsch TrafficCom is a provider of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) in
the application fields of road user charging, urban access and parking, road
safety enforcement, commercial vehicle operations, electronic vehicle
registration, traffic management and V2X cooperative systems. Kapsch TrafficCom
covers with end-to-end solutions the entire value creation chain of its
customers as a one-stop shop, from components and subsystems to their
integration and operation. The solutions of Kapsch TrafficCom help to provide
funding for infrastructure projects, to increase traffic safety, to optimize
traffic flow, and to reduce environmental pollution from traffic. The core
business is to design, build and operate electronic toll collection systems for
multi-lane free-flow traffic. References in 43 countries on all continents make
Kapsch TrafficCom a recognized supplier of electronic toll collection worldwide.
As part of the Kapsch Group, a family-owned Austrian technology group founded in
1892, Kapsch TrafficCom, headquartered in Vienna, Austria, has subsidiaries and
representative offices in 33 countries, has been listed on the Vienna Stock
Exchange (KTCG) since 2007, and generated with more than 3,000 employees
revenues of EUR 488.9 million in fiscal year 2012/13. For more information,visit
www.kapschtraffic.com.
Follow us on Twitter:twitter.com/kapschnet.
Further inquiry note:
Marcus Handl
Investor Relations Officer
Kapsch TrafficCom AG
Am Europlatz 2
1120 Vienna, Austria
phone: +43 50.811 1120
email: {ir.kapschtraffic@kapsch.net}
[HYPERLINK: mailto:ir.kapschtraffic@kapsch.net]
Press contact:
Katharina Riedl
Spokesperson
Kapsch AG
Am Europlatz 2
1120 Vienna, Austria
phone: +43 50.811 1705
email: {katharina.riedl@kapsch.net}
[HYPERLINK: mailto:katharina.riedl@kapsch.net]
end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: Kapsch TrafficCom AG
Am Europlatz 2
A-1121 Wien
phone: +43 1 50811 1122
FAX: +43 1 50811 99 1122
mail: ir.kapschtraffic@kapsch.net
WWW: www.kapschtraffic.com
sector: Technology
ISIN: AT000KAPSCH9
indexes: Prime Market
stockmarkets: official market: Wien
language: English