Quarterly trading update on the current state of affairs of the main group companies
DREDGING, ENVIRONMENTAL AND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES
DEME continued to achieve a high level of activity with a nearly full occupation of its fleet, which resulted in a further increase of turnover and operational profit in line with the 1st half of the year. The order book was renewed at a record level of € 1,846 million (€ 1,811 million on 30/06/2007) partly as a result of new projects in (amongst others) Germany, Spain, Russia, Tunisia, Venezuela, Australia, Libya, Nigeria and the Emirates.
DEME confirms its general expectation of being able to continue the trend of the 1st half of 2007 over the whole year and to be able to further increase its order book based on the the assignment of important new projects.
ALGEMENE AANNEMINGEN VAN LAERE experienced a normal course of operations based on an order book that was successfully maintained at a reasonable level of activity.
REAL ESTATE
The real estate development projects of EXTENSA showed a further positive evolution, which should lead to the realisation of (portfolio) capital gains in the 4th quarter. The land development activities (amongst others, in Bergen and Wondelgem) contributed to the growth of the results in the 3rd quarter.
LEASINVEST REAL ESTATE realised a further growth in results arising from, amongst others, the capital gains (€ 2.2 million) from the sale of a building in Luxembourg and further positive fair value fluctuations of the real estate portfolio. The fair value of the real estate portfolio on 30/09/2007 amounted to € 439.8 million (€ 445.9 million on 30/06/2007) with a rental yield of 7.22% and an occupancy rate of 97.85%.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
The assets under management of BANK DELEN increased to € 12,188 million on 30/09/2007 (€ 9,491 million on 30/06/2007), of which € 2,729 million can be attributed to the acquisition of Capital & Finance (Capfi) last August. The cooperation between Bank Delen and Capfi is fully satisfactory, both internally and with respect to the clientele.
The results of Bank Delen continued to evolve positively over the first 9 months.
BANK J.VAN BREDA & C° realises a further growth of its franchise, both in terms of the number of clients as well as in terms of the assets under management and fee income. In line with the trend of the first 6 months, the results remain subject to the inverse yield curve leading to a decrease in the interest income. Meanwhile, Bank J.Van Breda & C° has made a small acquisition by taking over the customer portfolio of the self-employed inland shipping contractors of Ethias Bank. This customer portfolio represents about € 100 million in loans and € 45 million in deposits.
As indicated earlier, the pressure on the interest margin and the higher commercial charges are temporarily impacting the result of the current financial year.
Neither Bank Delen nor Bank J.Van Breda & C° have subprime loans or other derived risks (CDOs, conduits, etc.) in their portfolios.
PRIVATE EQUITY
The participation in Distriplus (37% beneficial AvH) is included for the first time in the 3rd quarter of 2007. The fair value of the private equity portfolio of both Sofinim and GIB evolved positively for almost all participations.
In addition, a capital gain of € 14.9 million (AvH part) was realised on the contribution of UBF in the EuroMediaGroup (EMG). Sofinim thus acquires a 22% stake in a group (78 studios and 45 outside broadcast units) which represents a turnover of approximately € 300 million for a (pro forma 2007) EBITDA of approximately € 50 million.
The sale of Corn Van Loocke to Umicore will lead to a capital gain of approximately € 3.5 million in the 4th quarter of 2007.
AvH & Subholdings
The net cash position of AvH on 30/09/2007 amounted to € 366.0 million (compared to € 423.0 million on 30/06/2007). This position takes into account the investment activity during the 3rd quarter (€ 67 million in private equity, € 60 million capital increase of Bank Delen) as well as cash proceeds and stock market fluctuations of the investment portfolio.
Prospects 2007
Except in case of unforeseen circumstances and based on the good operational progress of affairs of the group companies in the first nine months 2007, the Board of Directors confirms its expectation for a further strengthening of the current result of the group.
Calendar 2008
7 March 2008 announcement of the annual results 2007
26 May 2008 annual shareholders' meeting and quarterly update Q1 2008
28 August 2008 announcement of the semestrial results 2008
27 November 2008 quarterly update Q3 2008
Ackermans & van Haaren is a diversified group active in 4 key sectors: dredging, environmental and construction services (DEME, one of the largest dredging companies in the world - Algemene Aannemingen Van Laere, a leading contractor in Belgium), Real Estate and related services (Leasinvest Real Estate, a listed real-estate investment trust with real estate assets of approximately € 450 million - Extensa, an important land and real estate developer focused on Belgium, Luxemburg and Central Europe), private banking (Bank Delen, one of the largest independent private banks in Belgium - Bank J.Van Breda & C°, niche bank for entrepreneurs and liberal professions) and private equity (Sofinim, one of the largest private equity providers in Belgium, and GIB). The group concentrates on a limited number of strategic participations with an important potential for growth. Market capitalisation of AvH is approximately € 2.2 billion. Since March 2nd 2007, the AvH share has been included in the reference index BEL20 of Euronext Brussels.
All press releases issued by AvH and its main group companies as well as the 'Investor Presentation' can also be consulted on the AvH website: www.avh.be.
For further information please contact:
Luc Bertrand
CEO - President of the Executive Committee
tel: +32.3.231.87.70
e-mail : dirsec@avh.be
Jan Suykens
Member of the Executive Committee
tel: +32.3.897.92.36
e-mail : dirsec@avh.be
