HÖRMANN Group publishes 2016 consolidated interim report

In the first half of 2016, HÖRMANN Finance GmbH increased its consolidated sales by almost 5% to EUR 207.2 million (previous year: EUR 198.1 million). Growth was achieved in both the Automotive and Service Communication segments. Net income after taxes for the first half of the year improved from EUR -1.4 million to EUR 0.3 million.

Sales in the Automotive division increased slightly to EUR 175.1 million (previous year: EUR 172.0 million) in the first six months of 2016 on the back of business in the truck segment beating expectations. EBIT rose from EUR 2.8 million to EUR 4.1 million thanks to the cost-cutting measures taken last year. That stands the Automotive division in good stead for the relocation work to come in the second half of 2016. In addition to one customer’s plans to resume in-house manufacturing of certain products, the production of labour-intensive components will be moved from the Penzberg site to a new factory in Slovakia as of the fourth quarter. Furthermore, several major new projects were secured in the period under review, including strategically important contracts for new customer Scania and an order for car body parts for the Audi A1.

At EUR 16.5 million, sales at the Engineering division between January and June 2016 were at roughly the same level as they were in 2015 (EUR 16.6 million). Following strong growth in recent years, the period under review was, as expected, a phase of consolidation in which loose ends were tied up in relation to completed major projects and work began on new, mostly multi-year orders. Accordingly, gross revenue declined year-on-year from EUR 22.0 million to EUR 11.4 million as at the end of June 2016. By contrast, optimised cost structures had a positive impact in the same area. At EUR -0.2 million, EBIT was thus well above the forecast, but below the previous year’s figure of EUR 1.8 million as expected.

Sales in Service Communication increased from EUR 9.6 million to EUR 15.7 million in the period under review, while EBIT improved from EUR -0.3 million to EUR 0.4 million. Against a backdrop of growing interest in mass notification systems, the sirens business in particular showed good progress. Gross revenue at HÖRMANN Finance GmbH fell to EUR 199.4 million (previous year: EUR 211.0 million) following a reduction in inventories in the first half of 2016 and particularly in the Engineering division, whereas they had been built up during the same period of 2015. At EUR 6.7 million (previous year: EUR 6.8 million), EBITDA was slightly below the equivalent 2015 figure, as was EBIT at EUR 3.4 million (previous year: EUR 3.8 million), although the material cost items decreased. The financial result improved from EUR -4.6 million to EUR -2.8 million, due chiefly to lower interest expenses and the good performance of Funkwerk AG, which was incorporated at equity into the interim financial statements. Because tax charges were also reduced, net income after taxes was EUR 0.3 million (previous year: EUR -1.4 million).

As at the end of June 2016, total assets at HÖRMANN Finance GmbH had increased slightly to EUR 229.6 million (31 December 2015: EUR 226.9 million), while equity was up to EUR 76.0 million (31 December 2015: EUR 75.9 million). That meant that the equity ratio was 33.1% at the half-year point (31 December 2015: 33.5%). Net cash and cash equivalents experienced a seasonal decline to EUR 70.6 million (31 December 2015: EUR 77.6 million) owing to the build-up of working capital during the year, and cash and cash equivalents overall to EUR 71.0 million (31 December 2015: EUR 78.7 million).

In the first half of 2016, the HÖRMANN Finance Group employed 2,242 people, not including trainees (2015: 2,283).

Business performance in the first six months of 2016 confirmed HÖRMANN Finance GmbH’s forecast for the course of business over the year as a whole. The current expectation is that consolidated sales for 2016 will amount to between EUR 405.0 million and EUR 411.0 million (previous year: EUR 435.4 million), while operating earnings before interest and taxes will be somewhere in the region of EUR 10.0 million (previous year: EUR 11.9 million). The focus in the coming months will be on the process of setting up the new Automotive factory in Slovakia, where the production of primarily labour-intensive items will be relocated as of the fourth quarter. HÖRMANN Automotive Slovakia s.r.o., situated in Bánovce nad Bebravou, was founded in August for that purpose. Meanwhile, the Penzberg site will be converted and made more automated. The relocation and re-alignment will result in a sustainable improvement to the company’s competitiveness in the automotive sector. As a result of the relocation project, roughly 100 to 150 jobs are expected to be lost in the Automotive division and around 50 new jobs created in Slovakia.

The PDF contains key figures for the HÖRMANN Finance Group.