DGAP-News: KION Group hits new highs in 2015 (news with additional features)


DGAP-News: KION GROUP AG / Key word(s): Preliminary Results
KION Group hits new highs in 2015 (news with additional features)

11.02.2016 / 07:00
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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- Forecast for the year achieved across the board according to preliminary
  and unaudited figures
- KION's growth again outperforms global market: new truck orders up by 7.0
  per cent last year driven by momentum in western Europe
- Total value of order intake grows by 9.3 per cent in 2015
- Revenue goes up by 9.0 per cent year on year, exceeding EUR5 billion for
  the first time
- EBIT[1] rises by 9.0 per cent to around EUR483 million; EBIT[1] margin
  remains at a high level at 9.5 per cent
- Net income increases by 24.0 per cent to roughly EUR221 million
- Free cash flow improves to approximately EUR333 million
- Record margin achieved in the very strong fourth quarter of 2015

Wiesbaden, 11 February 2016 - The KION Group has hit new highs in 2015,
matching its outlook across the board according to preliminary, unaudited
figures. Its order intake, revenue, adjusted EBIT and net income were
better than in any previous year. As expected, the KION Group's
profitability maintained the same high level achieved in 2014. One of the
drivers for these excellent results was the very strong fourth quarter of
2015.

"These latest record results for 2015 prove that the KION Group is ideally
positioned to benefit from strong market growth, such as that of western
Europe," said the CEO of the KION Group, Gordon Riske. "What's more, we
recently renewed our financing structure, securing terms that are typical
for large, established corporates. This gives us greater flexibility to
pursue profitable growth under our Strategy 2020," he continued. "Our
extensive portfolio of automation and system solutions also means that we
are excellently positioned in this increasingly important market."

The KION Group, one of the two largest suppliers of forklift trucks,
warehouse technology and associated services, saw the value of its order
intake increase by 9.3 per cent to EUR5.216 billion last year. Around
EUR114 million of this was attributable to positive currency effects.
Moreover, the Group started this year with an order book worth EUR864
million, 13.1 per cent up on the figure reported twelve months earlier.
Revenue exceeded the EUR5 billion threshold for the first time, advancing
by 9.0 per cent to EUR5.098 billion in 2015. Approximately EUR109 million
of this was due to favourable currency effects. Earnings before interest
and tax (EBIT[1]) also went up by 9.0 per cent, reaching EUR482.9 million.
At 9.5 per cent, the EBIT[1] margin remained at the very high level
achieved in 2014.

Mainly thanks to growth in the core market in western Europe, the KION
Group's new truck orders rose by 7.0 per cent in 2015, comfortably beating
the global market's growth rate of 1.0 per cent. The number of trucks
ordered worldwide was 1.1 million, compared with 1.09 million in 2014.
Overall, the KION Group received approximately 165,800 orders in 2015, more
than in any other previous year. Roughly 155,000 industrial trucks had been
ordered in 2014.

In China, the world's largest single market, the Company saw the number of
units ordered rise by 5.6 per cent due to demand for warehouse trucks and
electric forklift trucks. It therefore outperformed the market as a whole,
which contracted by 12.8 per cent. In addition, the KION Group's orders
were up by 10.0 per cent in western Europe, where the overall market
expanded by a robust 11.3 per cent in 2015.

Net income is expected to advance to EUR221.1 million, an increase of 24.0
per cent on the previous year (2014: EUR178.2 million). The main reason for
this improvement is the strong performance of the operating business.

Free cash flow rose by 8.8 per cent to EUR332.7 million (2014: EUR305.9
million). This improvement in free cash flow resulted in a reduction of net
financial debt to approximately EUR573.5 million, the lowest level in the
KION Group's history. The number of employees rose from 22,669 to 23,506 as
at the reporting date of 31 December 2015.

The preliminary, unaudited results show that the KION Group achieved
significant year-on-year improvements in the fourth quarter of 2015. Due to
seasonal factors, the final three months of the year are always the
strongest. While the total value of order intake grew by 8.8 per cent to
EUR1.397 billion, revenue rose by 10.3 per cent to EUR1.441 billion. At
EUR151.8 million, the KION Group's earnings before interest and tax
(EBIT[1]) had improved by 13.2 per cent. As a result, the EBIT[1] margin
increased from 10.3 per cent to 10.5 per cent, thus setting another record
for an individual quarter.

In the outlook for 2015 published in its 2014 group management report, the
KION Group had expected a slight year-on-year rise for order intake,
revenue and adjusted EBIT. It had also expected the adjusted EBIT margin to
remain at the record prior-year level due to costs in connection with
implementing the Strategy 2020. Free cash flow was expected to be slightly
below the very high level achieved in 2014.

The KION Group will publish its final results for 2015 and more detailed
information on 17 March 2016.

[1] EBIT adjusted for KION acquisition items and non-recurring items.

Website: kiongroup.com/mediasite 

Twitter: @kion_group


The Company

The KION Group - comprising the seven brands of Linde, STILL, Fenwick, OM
STILL, Baoli, Voltas and Egemin Automation - is the largest manufacturer of
industrial trucks in western and eastern Europe, the global number two in
the industry and the leading non-domestic supplier in China. The Linde and
STILL brands serve the premium segment worldwide. Fenwick is the largest
supplier of material handling products in France, while OM STILL is a
market leader in Italy. The Baoli brand focuses on the economy segment, and
Voltas is a leading provider of industrial trucks in India. Egemin
Automation is a leading Belgian logistics automation specialist.

The KION Group is present in more than 100 countries. KION GROUP AG is
listed on Deutsche Börse's Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the MDAX (the German
stock index for medium-sized companies) and the STOXX Europe 600 index,
which comprises the 600 largest companies in Europe.


Disclaimer

This document and the information contained herein are for information
purposes only and do not constitute a prospectus or an offer to sell or a
solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States or in
any other jurisdiction.

This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to
various risks and uncertainties. Future results could differ materially
from those described in these forward-looking statements due to certain
factors, e.g. changes in business, economic and competitive conditions,
regulatory reforms, results of technical studies, foreign exchange rate
fluctuations, uncertainties in litigation or investigative proceedings, and
the availability of financing. We do not undertake any responsibility to
update the forward-looking statements in this release.


Further information for the media

Michael Hauger
Head of Corporate Communications
Tel.: +49 (0)611 770 655
michael.hauger@kiongroup.com

Frank Brandmaier
Head of Corporate Media Relations
Tel.: +49 (0)611 770 752
frank.brandmaier@kiongroup.com

Further information for investors

Frank Herzog
Head of Corporate Finance
Tel.: +49 (0)611 770 303 
frank.herzog@kiongroup.com

Dr Karoline Jung-Senssfelder
Head of Investor Relations and M&A
Tel.: +49 (0)611 770 450
karoline.jung-senssfelder@kiongroup.com


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Additional features:

Document: http://n.eqs.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=GVNUCWBDVY
Document title: Download press release as PDF

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11.02.2016 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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   Language:    English                                                     
   Company:     KION GROUP AG                                               
                Abraham-Lincoln-Str. 21                                     
                65189 Wiesbaden                                             
                Germany                                                     
   Phone:       +49 (0)611 770-0                                            
   Fax:         +49 (0)611 770-690                                          
   E-mail:      info@kiongroup.com                                          
   Internet:    www.kiongroup.com                                           
   ISIN:        DE000KGX8881                                                
   WKN:         KGX888                                                      
   Indices:     MDAX                                                        
   Listed:      Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated   
                Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover,  
                Munich, Stuttgart                                           
 
 
   End of News    DGAP News Service  
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436401 11.02.2016