DGAP-News: VTG Aktiengesellschaft / Key word(s): Miscellaneous
VTG Aktiengesellschaft: VTG announces medium-term objectives for
growth and profitability
22.09.2015 / 08:00
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Press Release
VTG announces medium-term objectives for growth and profitability
- Period of development from 2010 to 2015 successfully concluded
- Executive and Supervisory Board establish measures to improve
competitiveness
- Transformation of Railcar Division in course of AAE integration
- Strengthening of logistics divisions
- Decreasing financing costs and leaner administrational structures also
deliver increase in profitability
- Earnings per share set to almost triple to EUR2.50 by 2018
Hamburg (Germany), 22nd September 2015. The Executive and Supervisory Board
of VTG Aktiengesellschaft (WKN: VTG999), of which new major shareholder
Andreas Goer has been a member since May 2015, established - during a
strategy meeting held last week - new medium-term growth and profitability
objectives for the coming years. With the period of development running
from 2010 to 2015 now successfully concluded, a previously deployed battery
of measures will now be used to reinforce VTG's competitiveness in the long
term. One part of this plan consists of further investment into the wagon
fleet. Another part envisages synergies resulting from the AAE takeover,
along with a simplification of the processes and structures of the European
wagon-hire business. VTG also expects current refinancing operations to
start reducing the company's financial costs significantly as early as next
year. Working on the basis of measures already being deployed up to 2018,
the Executive Board has set itself a goal of achieving earnings per share
(EPS) of EUR2.50, thereby almost tripling the 2014 value of EUR0.93.
"We have, with the takeover of AAE earlier this year, already laid the
foundations for our future success", declares Dr. Heiko Fischer, Chairman
of the Executive Board at VTG AG. "Our growth target involving an increase
in EBITDA in excess of 50% during the now-concluded development period
dubbed "VTG 3.0" has been well exceeded, thanks not least to the
acquisition of AAE. Our goal now, with "VTG 4.0", is to give the enlarged
VTG Group the greater agility and flexibility that it needs to tackle its
current challenges. Our declared objective is to ensure that VTG focuses on
customers' needs even more, while making the organization yet more
efficient. Currently low rates of interest mesh nicely with our plans in
this respect."
Our core business wagon-hire is remaining our key driving force for growth
and profitability in the next years. VTG plans to carry on expanding its
wagon fleet, which is the largest privately-owned one in Europe. Our
European hiring business is also being realigned in the course of the
integration of AAE. In future, Railcar Europe is set to become more
centralized in terms of procurement, operational management and
administration. This will involve incorporating the activities of many
nationally based businesses into VTG Rail Europe GmbH. Thereby our European
hiring operation will be uniformly controlled. This new organization, with
its focus on four strategic fleet segments, will align stronger with the
needs of the market in terms of sales activities, while making the
management of our now 75,000 wagon strong European fleet more efficient.
The potential that this supposes is set to improve VTG's profitability
significantly, from inside out, over the coming years.
As a result of a new financing of a large part of VTG's financial
liabilities the company should also benefit from improved terms in form of
a noticeable drop in interest costs. This new financing deal should be
concluded by the beginning of next year, allowing improved financial
results taking effect quickly.
The Executive Board also sees further potential in the stronger mutual
networking of logistics divisions and the Railcar Division. Certain
implemented projects are already delivering initial success in this
respect.
The targets that VTG has set itself in terms of growth and profitability
are designed to ensure that the company reinforces its market position in
the coming years, while establishing key milestones of future achievement.
About VTG:
VTG Aktiengesellschaft is one of Europe's leading wagon hire and rail
logistics companies, with a fleet consisting of more than 80,000 railcars.
VTG offers a full-range service, providing rail tank cars, intermodal
wagons, standard freight wagons and sliding wall wagons. In addition to the
hiring of wagons, the Group offers comprehensive multi-modal logistics
services, mainly around rail transport, and global tank container
transports.
With the combination of its three interlinked divisions Railcar, Rail
Logistics and Tank Container Logistics, VTG offers its customers a
high-performance platform for international transport of their freight. The
Group has many years of experience and specific expertise, in particular in
the transport of liquid and sensitive goods. Its customers include numerous
well-known companies from almost every industrial sector, for example the
chemical, petroleum, automotive, paper and agricultural industries.
In the financial year 2014, VTG generated revenue of EUR 818.3 million and
operating profit (EBITDA) of EUR 191.0 million. Via its subsidiaries and
affiliates the company, which has its head office in Hamburg, is mainly
present in Europe, Asia, Russia and North America. As at 31 December 2014,
VTG had 1,312 employees worldwide in consolidated companies. Since June
2007, VTG AG has been listed on the official Prime Standard market of the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange and also on the SDAX (WKN: VTG999).
Press contact:
Monika Gabler
Head of Corporate Communications
Telephone: +49 (0) 40 23 54-1341
Fax: +49 (0) 40 23 54-1340
E-mail: monika.gabler@vtg.com
Investor Relations contact:
Christoph Marx
Head of Investor Relations
Telephone: +49 (0) 40 23 54-1351
Fax: +49 (0) 40 23 54-1350
E-mail: christoph.marx@vtg.com
For more information visit www.vtg.de
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22.09.2015 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
service of EQS Group AG.
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Language: English
Company: VTG Aktiengesellschaft
Nagelsweg 34
20097 Hamburg
Germany
Phone: 040 2354 1351
Fax: 040 2354 1350
E-mail: ir@vtg.com
Internet: www.vtg.de
ISIN: DE000VTG9999
WKN: VTG999
Indices: SDAX
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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396475 22.09.2015
DGAP-News: VTG Aktiengesellschaft: VTG announces medium-term objectives for growth and profitability
| Source: EQS Group AG