EANS-News: Kapsch TrafficCom AG Kapsch significantly reduces semi-annual loss
and sees itself on the right path
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Financial Figures/Balance Sheet
Vienna (euro adhoc) - Kapsch significantly reduces semi-annual loss and sees
itself on the right path
* Increased revenue thanks to project progress and ongoing operation of systems
* Good performance in system operation enables a positive EBIT
* Expansion phase 2 of the Belarus project has now begun, new projects are under
way
* Profit for the period remains slightly negative, primarily due to currency
fluctuations
* Additional milestones in existing projects expected in the second half
of the year
______________________________________________________________________________
|2013/14 H1: 1 April-30| 2013/14 H1 | +/- % | 2012/13 H1 |
|September_2013________|________________|_____________________|________________|
| | | | |
|Revenues (in million | 235.9 | +16 % | 203.4 |
|EUR)__________________|________________|_____________________|________________|
| | | | |
|EBIT_(in_million_EUR)_|______7.6_______|__________-__________|______-5.6______|
| | | | |
|Profit for the period | -0.7 | +91 % | -6.9 |
|(in_million_EUR)______|________________|_____________________|________________|
| | | | |
|Earnings per share (in| -0.36 | +57 % | -0.85 |
|EUR)__________________|________________|_____________________|________________|
Kapsch TrafficCom AG (ISIN AT000KAPSCH9), listed in the Prime Market of the
Vienna Stock Exchange, achieved considerable progress in its existing projects
in the first half of the fiscal year 2013/14 and is also now engaged in new
projects. Together with the ongoing operation of systems, this led to a revenue
increase compared with the same period of the previous year, and the EBIT has
now also seen positive development for three straight quarters.
In Belarus, Kapsch TrafficCom achieved the first key milestone during the
period under report, with the first stage of this major project entering into
commercial operation on August 1st. Despite changing circumstances in some
cases, the company also achieved good progress in the ongoing projects in
France, Australia and Texas, for which implementation is expected to be largely
completed by the end of the fiscal year. In Kazakhstan, weigh-in-motion systems
were installed on two highways already in August, and a total of four projects
in Russia were obtained in September - all successes in pursuing the ITS
(intelligent transportation systems) strategy of expanding beyond toll
collection systems.
Following the successful commissioning of the first phase of the nationwide
electronic truck toll collection system in Belarus, this system will now be
further expanded in two additional phases. In South Africa, the law enabling the
commissioning of the already completed toll collection system in the Gauteng
province was signed and entered into force at the end of September. December 3,
2013, has now been announced as the toll commencement date.
In Russia, in addition to the four new projects already under implementation,
Kapsch TrafficCom also prequalified for participation in the invitation to
tender for a nationwide toll collection system for heavy trucks together with
the Russian telematics company JSC NIS.
Subhead: Revenue and earnings
The project progress and the ongoing operation of systems made it possible to
increase revenue in the first half of 2013/14 by 16.0 % compared to the same
period of the previous year, from EUR 203.4 million to EUR 235.9 million. The
EBIT, which was negative in the previous year at EUR -5.6 million, amounted to
EUR 7.6 million in the reporting period. This marks three straight quarters of
positive results, even if these results still fall far short of the goal of a
two-digit EBIT margin. The profit for the period is negative at EUR -0.7 million
due to a decline in the financial results.
"Looking back, we have achieved impressive developments in the past years
despite operational volatilities. In 2011, the consistent revenue base of the
ongoing operation of systems and the on-board units business was supported
primarily by just two toll collection systems in Austria and the Czech Republic.
In the past two years, we have expanded this base enormously. In North America,
contracts with the E-ZPass Group and the Canadian toll authority Cantoll now
make up part of this base, and in the meantime, we now also have significant
operation projects in Poland and Belarus. At this time, we already have six
projects contributing to our regular revenue base," says Georg Kapsch, CEO of
Kapsch TrafficCom AG, confirming the strategic progress of the group.
This is also reflected in the segment Services, System Extensions, Components
Sales (SEC), where revenue rose from EUR 144.7 million in the first half of the
previous year to EUR 164.4 million in the reporting period, an increase of 13.6
%. The EBIT increased by 110.7 % from EUR 9.7 million to EUR 20.4 million. In
the segment Road Solution Projects (RSP), revenue increased by 26.3 % from EUR
50.2 million to EUR 63.4 million, while the EBIT remained negative at EUR -13.1
million following EUR -15.7 million in the same period of the previous year.
This outcome shows that the project business has developed more slowly than
expected. The organizational structure of the Kapsch TrafficCom Group, which was
reorganized roughly one year ago for further growth in the toll segment as well
as other select segments in the ITS market, has therefore been adjusted somewhat
during the period under report, particularly in terms of costs. The objective
here was to achieve cost reductions in all areas without cutting back on the
strategically essential resources for potential major projects in the future.
Subhead: Financial position and cash flows
The balance sheet of the Kapsch TrafficCom Group at the end of the first half
of 2013/14 reflects the progress and the prefinancing of the project in Belarus.
Receivables and financial liabilities increased relative to the balance sheet
date of March 31, 2013, as did the net working capital. In line with the project
progress, the free cash flow is negative at EUR -46.7 million, and the net debt
was EUR 100.3 million at the end of the first half of the year. With the end of
the first expansion stage, the customer will now begin making payments, while
the next phase of the project will again be prefinanced by Kapsch TrafficCom.
Subhead: Outlook
The second half of the 2013/14 fiscal year will be marked by a continuation
of the existing projects and by new projects. The major project in South Africa
is now scheduled to enter into operation on December 3, 2013. In Belarus, Kapsch
TrafficCom expects that the second expansion stage of the toll collection system
will be able to enter operation partly yet this year and partly at the start of
the next fiscal year. Thanks to the continued progress in the projects in
France, Australia and Texas, corresponding project implementation revenues are
expected. At the same time, the initiated cost-cutting measures should visibly
impact the results in the second half of the year.
Moreover, the tender documents for Russia are currently being prepared. In
Slovenia, it is expected that the invitation to tender suspended at the start of
the summer will be restarted. In parallel to this, Kapsch TrafficCom continues
to actively contact potentially interested parties for toll collection systems,
an approach that has already proved successful in Belarus. Overall, management
views the prospects for the second half of the year positively in light of the
organizational changes and successes to date.
Subhead: Notification
The report on the first half of fiscal year 2013/14 can be found at http://
www.kapsch.net/ktc/investor_relations/reports/download/Quarterly-reports/2013-
14/KTC_IR_Report_FY14-H1?lang=en-US.
Kapsch TrafficComis 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 additional
information: www.kapsch.net and www.kapschtraffic.com
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/kapschnet.
Further inquiry note:
For more information:
Marcus Handl
Investor Relations Officer
Kapsch TrafficCom AG
Am Europlatz 2, 1120 Vienna, Austria
Phone +43 50 811 1120
Email ir.kapschtraffic@kapsch.net
Press contact:
Katharina Riedl
Spokesperson
Kapsch AG
Am Europlatz 2, 1120 Vienna, Austria
Email katharina.riedl@kapsch.net
Phone +43 50 811 1705
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