ETTEPLAN OYJ, FINANCIAL STATEMENT RELEASE, FEBRUARY 11, 2016 AT 02.00 P.M.
ETTEPLAN IN 2015: A YEAR OF PROFITABLE GROWTH
Review period October-December 2015
- The Group’s revenue increased by 14.2% and was EUR 40.4 million (10-12/2014:
EUR 35.4 million). At comparable exchange rates revenue increased by 14.0%.
- EBIT from business operations was EUR 2.9 million (EUR 2.7 million), or 7.1% (7.5%)
of revenue. EBIT from business operations includes non-recurring costs of EUR 0.4 million.
- Operating profit (EBIT) was EUR 2.6 million (EUR 2.7 million), or 6.4% (7.6%) of revenue.
- The profit for the review period was EUR 1.8 million (EUR 2.2 million).
- Operating cash flow was EUR 7.8 million (EUR 6.9 million).
- Earnings per share were EUR 0.09 (EUR 0.11).
- The number of personnel increased and the Group had 2,074 employees at the end
of the period (1,859).
- Etteplan strengthened its position as a technical documentation service provider in the
Central European market and started business operations in Germany by signing a business
transfer agreement with the German arvato AG. The acquisition was completed on December
31, 2015, and the business operations and personnel of the companies were transferred to
Etteplan on January 1, 2016.
Review period January-December 2015
- The Group’s revenue increased by 7.0% and was EUR 141.1 million (1-12/2014:
EUR 131.9 million). At comparable exchange rates revenue increased by 7.4%.
- EBIT from business operations was EUR 9.5 million (EUR 7.4 million), or 6.8% (5.6%)
of revenue. EBIT from business operations includes non-recurring costs of EUR 1.0 million.
- Operating profit (EBIT) was EUR 8.6 million (EUR 7.9 million), or 6.1% (6.0%) of revenue.
- The profit for the review period was EUR 6.2 million (EUR 6.1 million).
- Operating cash flow was EUR 9.9 million (EUR 7.8 million).
- Earnings per share were EUR 0.31 (EUR 0.30).
- Etteplan strengthened its position in plant engineering by acquiring Suunnittelu ja Asennusten
Valvonta - SAV Oy’s business and its subsidiaries in August. The business operations of
SAV Oy and its subsidiaries were transferred to Etteplan on September 1, 2015.
- Etteplan revised its financial targets by replacing its operating profit target of 10% with
a new target, which is EBIT from business operations of 10%.
- The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of EUR 0.15 per share (EUR 0.15 per share).
Market Outlook 2016
The most important factor in the development of Etteplan’s business is the global development of the machinery and metal industry. In 2016, there are signs of improvement of European growth. Uncertainty has increased in the Finnish market, and the market situation is expected to remain weaker than in the rest of Europe. In spite of the slowing down of growth in Asian markets and increased uncertainty, the service market development is expected to continue. We expect that the good market situation in North America will continue. The demand for engineering services and technical documentation services got off to a slow start at the beginning of the year.
Financial Guidance 2016
We expect the revenue and operating profit for the year 2016 to grow clearly compared to 2015.
Key Figures
| (EUR 1,000) | 10-12/2015 | 10-12/2014 | 1-12/2015 | 1-12/2014 | |
| Revenue | 40,374 | 35,368 | 141,143 | 131,916 | |
| EBIT from business operations* | 2,884 | 2,653 | 9,540 | 7,394 | |
| EBIT from business operations, % | 7.1 | 7.5 | 6.8 | 5.6 | |
| Operating profit (EBIT) | 2,584 | 2,677 | 8,594 | 7,856 | |
| EBIT, % | 6.4 | 7.6 | 6.1 | 6.0 | |
| Basic earnings per share, EUR | 0.09 | 0.11 | 0.31 | 0.30 | |
| Equity ratio, % | 37.8 | 39.5 | 37.8 | 39.5 | |
| Operating cash flow | 7,817 | 6,935 | 9,932 | 7,754 | |
| ROCE, % | 21.3 | 24.8 | 17.4 | 17.8 | |
| Personnel at end of the period | 2,074 | 1,859 | 2,074 | 1,859 | |
| * EBIT excluding acquisition related items such as amortization on PPA allocations and earn out revaluations | |||||
President and CEO Juha Näkki:
“We achieved good success in the implementation of our strategy in 2015, and our business developed favorably. The share of revenue represented by high value-added Managed Services grew throughout the year, and we approached the target of 50 per cent set for 2016. Growth accelerated towards the end of the year, boosted by acquisitions in line with our growth strategy, and our cash flow was strong. Our EBIT from business operations improved significantly in spite of substantial non-recurring costs. The non-recurring costs were related to business reorganization and acquisitions. In the latter part of the year, we also invested in the development of the Etteplan brand to emphasize the company’s strengths better.
As expected, the demand situation became weaker in Finland in the fourth quarter. In Sweden, the demand situation remained good throughout the year, and demand in Central Europe showed positive signs. The uncertainty that afflicted the Chinese market continued throughout the year and slowed down customers’ decision-making.
In the area of engineering services, the SAV acquisition increased our revenue in the second half of the year. The integration of SAV into Etteplan has progressed according to plan, and our quotation base in plant engineering is at a record-high level in spite of the weakened market situation in Finland. A significant customer’s contract situation, which burdened our revenue earlier in the year, has now been resolved and we expect this to have a positive effect on our growth in 2016. In the Chinese market, uncertainty slowed down the development of our business. Nevertheless, our new Chinese accounts hold significant growth potential and Chinese offshoring as part of our service solutions was at a good level throughout the year.
Technical documentation achieved excellent development throughout the year. Organic growth in the latter three quarters of the year exceeded the Group’s growth target of 15 per cent. Profitability developed favorably and in the fourth quarter we exceeded the 10 per cent profitability target set for EBIT from business operations, as in the previous year. We achieved excellent success on the outsourcing front and carried out several outsourcing projects during the year as our customers focused on their core business. The business transfer agreement with arvato completed late in the year strengthened our position in Central Europe and started our business in Germany at the beginning of 2016. We are confident that our strong service offering will provide us with excellent growth opportunities in the German market going forward.
Business in 2016 got off to a slow start particularly in Finland. Nevertheless, the investments we made in 2015, combined with our strong market position and attractive service offering, create an excellent foundation for growth and the improvement of profitability.”
Disclosure procedure
Etteplan follows the disclosure procedure enabled by Disclosure obligation of the issuer (7/2013) published by the Finnish Financial Supervision Authority. This stock exchange release is a summary of Etteplan’s January-December 2015 financial statement release. The complete financial statement release is attached to this stock exchange release in pdf format and is also available on Etteplan’s website at www.etteplan.com. Investors are advised to review the complete financial statement release with tables.
Conference call and live webcast today, February 11, 2016
Etteplan’s President and CEO Juha Näkki will present Company’s results for 2015 in a conference call and a live webcast for analysts and investors, held in English language, on February 11, 2016 starting at 3.30 p.m. Finnish time (EET).
To participate in the conference call please dial 5-10 minutes prior to the start of the conference to +358 9 2319 5437, event password is Etteplan2016. Questions can be asked in English after President and CEO’s presentation only through conference call connection.
Juha Näkki’s presentation can be followed as a live webcast though a link at Etteplan’s homepage at www.etteplan.com/Investors. The live webcast starts at 3.30 p.m. Finnish time (EET).
A recording of the webcast will be later available at the same address.
Vantaa, February 11, 2016
Etteplan Oyj
Board of Directors
Additional information:
Juha Näkki, President and CEO, tel. +358 400 606 372
The information presented herein has not been audited.
Releases and other corporate information are available on Etteplan’s Web site at www.etteplan.com.
DISTRIBUTION:
Nasdaq Helsinki
Major media
www.etteplan.com
Etteplan provides engineering services and technical documentation solutions to the world's leading companies in the manufacturing industry. Our services are geared to improve the competitiveness of our customers' products and engineering processes throughout the product life cycle. The results of Etteplan's innovative engineering can be seen in numerous industrial solutions and everyday products.
In 2015, Etteplan had a turnover of EUR 141.1 million. The Company has approximately 2,100 professionals in Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands and China. Etteplan's shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd under the ticker ETT1V.
