EANS-Adhoc: Kapsch TrafficCom AG hold firm to long-term growth strategy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ad-hoc disclosure transmitted by euro adhoc with the aim of a Europe-wide
distribution. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this
announcement.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Financial Figures/Balance Sheet/quarterly report
27.02.2013
Ad hoc Release
05778400
* Revenue decline by 24 % in the first three quarters of 2012/13; new projects
contributing little so far
* Updated calculation for the order in South Africa results in negative earnings
* Balance sheet figures show the strong foundation of the company group
* Investment strategy will be continued in the future
2012/13 Q1-Q3: 1 Apr.-31 Dec. 2012 2012/13 Q1-Q3 +/- % 2011/12 Q1-Q3
Revenues (in million EUR) 310.9 -24 % 408.2
EBIT (in million EUR) -9.6 - 37.4
Profit for the period (in million EUR) -5.8 - 24.7
Earnings per share (in EUR) -1.09 - 1.40
Vienna, February 27, 2013 - Kapsch TrafficCom AG (ISIN AT000KAPSCH9), listed on
the Vienna Stock Exchange in the prime market segment, reports on three
challenging quarters of the current 2012/13 fiscal year. The new projects that
the group succeeded in obtaining in the past months have hardly yet contributed
to revenues or earnings. At the same time, the delays in existing major projects
in Poland and South Africa led to significantly lower revenues than expected.
The updated calculation for the order in South Africa further indicated a
decline in the expected project revenues by roughly 10 %, which, together with
the additional costs and standby costs, negatively impacted the project's
earnings contribution in the third quarter. The overall profitability of the
project is also lower than expected as a result.
The legal action in South Africa, which was not directed against Kapsch
TrafficCom but has delayed the commissioning of the toll collection system in
the Gauteng province, has now been dismissed. The company hopes that the system
can be put into operation at the start of the coming fiscal year - following
announcement of the starting date by the government, which had been expected by
now. In the operation project in Poland, Kapsch TrafficCom was able to clarify
key open issues regarding the system operation during the third quarter. This
can also be seen in the significant improvement of the margin in the segment
Services, System Extensions, Components Sales (SEC).
"The earnings situation is currently not satisfactory. However, our fundamental
business continues to operate solidly, and we see enormous growth potential in
our markets. In the previous year, we restructured our organization in line with
this growth, which has not yet been realized. We have decided to continue with
our previous course in order to participate in the expected future projects,
some of them quite large. Naturally, we will at the same time strive to take
advantage of potential cost reductions and analyze where we can streamline or
suspend investments," explains Georg Kapsch, CEO of Kapsch TrafficCom AG.
Revenue and earnings
In the first three quarters of 2012/13, the Kapsch TrafficCom Group achieved
revenues of EUR 310.9 million - a decline of 24% compared to the outstanding
equivalent period in the previous year. The EBIT was negative at EUR -9.6
million, weighed down primarily by the South African project.
The segment RSP (Road Solution Projects) recorded revenues of EUR 64.0 million
after EUR 181.0 million in the same period of the previous fiscal year, a
decrease of 64.6%. While the two implementation projects in Poland and South
Africa are reflected in the previous year's figures, the projects begun in
Belarus, France, Australia and the U.S.A. have not yet delivered comparable
revenue contributions. This situation contributed to the inability to cover the
costs assigned to this segment. Moreover, the implementation project for the
electronic toll collection system in the South African province of Gauteng
weighed down the results due to the delay, the revenue up to commissioning that
was lower than originally expected and the additional costs and standby costs
incurred. The segment EBIT for the first three quarters of 2012/13 was therefore
EUR -30.1 million after EUR 2.0 million in the same period of the previous year.
In the segment SEC (Services, System Extensions and Components Sales), revenues
increased by 6.3% from EUR 220.3 million to EUR 234.3 million. While the
operation project in Poland delivered a significant revenue contribution, the
delay in commissioning of the South African project had a dampening effect here
as well. The delay also meant the absence of the expected deliveries of on-board
units. The number of on-board units sold amounted to 6.7 million after 8.0
million in the previous year. The segment EBIT was EUR 20.1 after EUR 34.9
million in the same period of the previous year.
Financial position and cash flows
Despite the disappointing earnings situation, the strength of the Kapsch
TrafficCom Group can be seen in the solid balance sheet structure. The equity
ratio increased to 47.7 % as at 31 December 2012. On the balance sheet date, the
company had no net debts, rather net assets in the amount of EUR 1.0 million.
The cash and cash equivalents amounted to an impressive EUR 83.7 million. The
net working capital and capital employed were back to significantly below the
comparison values of the previous year. Not least, the free cash flow increased
to EUR 89.7 million. Kapsch TrafficCom therefore enjoys a solid foundation,
including for future projects.
Outlook
The negative influence of the South African project will still weigh down the
annual results for 2012/13, bringing them considerably lower than previous
expectations. In view of the progress that has been made in the existing
projects and the expected tenders and additional projects, the executive board
of the Kapsch TrafficCom Group is holding firm to the growth-oriented strategy
and looks forward optimistically to the future.
The report on the first three quarters of the 2012/13 fiscal year can be
downloaded from
[HYPERLINK:
http://www.kapsch.net/ktc/investor_relations/reports/download/Quarterly-reports/2012-13/KTC_IR_Report_FY13-Q1-Q3?lang=en-US].
Kapsch TrafficCom is a provider of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) in
the application fields of toll collection, urban access management and traffic
safety and security. Kapsch TrafficCom covers the entire value creation chain of
its customers as a one-stop shop by providing products and components as well as
subsystems as open market products, by integrating them into turnkey systems or
by developing end-to-end solutions, including services for the technical and
commercial operations of systems. Within its current core business of electronic
toll collection (ETC), Kapsch TrafficCom designs, builds and operates ETC
systems, in particular for multi-lane free-flow traffic. With 280 references in
41 countries on all five continents and with almost 70 million on-board units
delivered and about 18,000 lanes equipped, Kapsch TrafficCom has positioned
itself among the internationally recognized suppliers of electronic toll
collection worldwide. Kapsch TrafficCom is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, and
has subsidiaries and representative offices in 30countries.
For more information, visit[HYPERLINK: http://www.kapschtraffic.com/].
Follow us on Twitter: [HYPERLINK: http://twitter.com/kapschnet].
Further inquiry note:
For more information:
Mag. Marcus Handl
Investor Relations Officer
Kapsch TrafficCom AG
Am Europlatz 2
1120 Wien, Österreich
Tel.: +43 50.811 1120
E-Mail: {ir.kapschtraffic@kapsch.net}
[HYPERLINK: mailto:ir.kapschtraffic@kapsch.net]
Pressekontakt:
Mag. Katharina Riedl
Unternehmenssprecherin
Kapsch AG
Am Europlatz 2
1120 Wien, Österreich
Tel.: +43 50.811 1705
E-Mail: {katharina.riedl@kapsch.net}
[HYPERLINK: mailto:katharina.riedl@kapsch.net]
end of announcement euro adhoc
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
issuer: 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