HÖRMANN Industries GmbH (corporate bond, German Securities Code Number (WKN): A2AAZG) today published its 2016 Annual Report in which it confirms the preliminary figures announced in late April. In the 2016 financial year, sales increased from EUR 435.4 million to EUR 464.6 million and EBIT improved from EUR 11.9 million to EUR 16.9 million. The pro rata first-time consolidation of Funkwerk AG and VacuTec Messtechnik GmbH in the fourth quarter of 2016 in particular delivered sales and earnings contributions that were higher than predicted. The company also recorded higher than expected organic growth. Consolidated net income after taxes increased from EUR 6.2 million to EUR 11.2 million.

Thanks to favourable market conditions, the Automotive division exceeded its forecast with segment sales of EUR 343.4 million (previous year: EUR 344.9 million). The company recognised provisions of around EUR 4.0 million in connection with the adjustment of staff capacity at sites in Germany, which was necessary due to the expansion of automation. Taking these non-recurring expenses into account, EBIT for 2016 totalled EUR 6.0 million (previous year: EUR 7.3 million). The objective of the planned increase in automation and the relocation of labour-intensive products to the new factory in Slovakia is to make the company more competitive on the basis of more flexible and efficient production.

With sales of EUR 51.8 million (previous year: EUR 61.9 million), 2016 was, as expected, a year of consolidation for the Engineering division, albeit one in which new and mostly multi-year projects were capitalised. At EUR 3.9 million, EBIT surpassed the previous year’s mark of EUR 3.5 million. This was due to a number of factors, including the integration of VacuTec Messtechnik GmbH into the Engineering division as part of the Group’s diversification strategy.

The pronounced upturn in sales to EUR 69.8 million (previous year: EUR 28.5 million) in the Communication division can be attributed primarily to the initial consolidation on 1 October 2016 of Funkwerk AG, which contributed sales of approximately EUR 37.0 million. This integration was also reflected in earnings before interest and taxes, which rose by EUR 4.7 million to EUR 6.9 million.

The financial result amounted to EUR -4.5 million, down from the previous year’s EUR -2.6 million. Among the reasons for this was the premium of EUR 1.0 million payable for the early repayment of the EUR 50 million bond. The initial consolidation of Funkwerk AG also meant that its pro rata contribution to earnings from associated companies (previous year: EUR 1.5 million) did not apply.

Total assets at HÖRMANN Industries GmbH increased from EUR 226.9 million to EUR 262.5 million, due primarily to the initial consolidations. In this context, a capital increase through contributions in kind was carried out in 2016. This, combined with the upward trend in the results of operations, resulted in equity increasing to EUR 98.3 million (previous year: EUR 75.9 million). The equity ratio was thus 37.4%, up from the previous year’s 33.4%. Net cash and cash equivalents totalled EUR 69.3 million as at the reporting date (previous year: EUR 77.6 million). Net of liabilities from the new bond issued in December 2016, the company had liquidity of EUR 39.1 million as at 31 December 2016, compared to previous year’s EUR 27.6 million.

The company is expecting consolidated sales of between EUR 480 million and EUR 490 million and operating earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of around EUR 13 million in the 2017 financial year.

You can download the complete annual financial statements here: https://www.hoermann-gruppe.com/en/investor-relations/financial-reports/financial-reports

The PDF contains selected key figures for HÖRMANN Industries GmbH.