AURELIUS Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA
AURELIUS with a considerable increase in revenues and net operating income in the first half of the year
AURELIUS AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results AURELIUS with a considerable increase in revenues and net operating income in the first half of the year – Consolidated revenues up 33 percent, operating EBITDA up 36 percent – Already five acquisitions and one exit in the first half of 2013 – Considerable increase in AURELIUS’ liquidity – Good market for taking over companies in special situations Munich, August 14, 2013 – The Munich-based AURELIUS Group (ISIN DE000A0JK2A8) increased its consolidated revenues in the first half of 2013 (1/1 – 6/30/2013) by 33 percent to EUR758.7 million (H1 2012: EUR571.3 million). This increase can be attributed to the Group entities acquired in the last twelve months. Consolidated revenues were up 25 percent to EUR1,657.4 million (H1 2012: EUR1,334.8 million) on an annualized basis. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose by 10 percent to EUR47.4 million (H1 2012: EUR43.0 million). This includes a total of EUR13.6 million in income from the reversal of bargain purchase gains from the capital consolidation from the companies acquired in the first half of 2013 (H1 2012: EUR24.6 million) as well as restructuring and non-recurring expenses in the amount of EUR14.7 million (H1 2012: EUR17.3 million). Operating EBITDA rose correspondingly by 36 percent to EUR48.5 million (H1 2012: EUR35.7 million). Operating cash flow increased considerably to EUR29.0 million (H1 2012: EUR-1.0 million), while cash and cash equivalents amounted to EUR220.0 million at the end of the first half of 2013 (December 31, 2012: EUR244.7 million). Equity amounted to 26 percent of assets (December 31, 2012: 30%), which shows the AURELIUS Group’s solid positioning. First half-year characterized by numerous successful transactions AURELIUS had already acquired the Studienkreis Group, a professional provider of private lessons from elementary school to secondary school graduation, as of January 1, 2013. TDS HR Services & Solutions GmbH, a leading provider of personnel-related services for outsourcers, was acquired on May 10, 2013, and meanwhile renamed fidelis HR GmbH. The IT service provider brightONE (formerly: Tieto operations in Germany and the Netherlands) belongs to the AURELIUS Group as a subsidiary since June 30, 2013. With the acquisition of the ELWE(R) Technik product portfolio, we have already initiated the second add-on acquisition for our subsidiary LD Didactic and expanded our engagement in the educational area. In April, the AURELIUS subsidiary SECOP announced the acquisition of the Austrian compressor manufacturer ACC. The transaction is still subject to the approval of the responsible antitrust authorities and, with EUR150 million in revenues, is the largest add-on acquisition to date in the AURELIUS Group. In addition, AURELIUS announced its first exit in the current fiscal year with the sale of Schleicher Electronic in June. Liquidity and attractiveness of the AURELIUS share considerably improved The AURELIUS AG’s Executive Board and Supervisory Board recommended the issue of bonus shares to the annual shareholders’ meeting on May 16, 2013, in order to increase the AURELIUS share’s liquidity and attractiveness. This resolution was – as with all other resolutions – accepted by a large majority and implemented at the end of May by issuing two bonus shares. The share price was also adjusted accordingly with this stock split in the ratio of 1:2, whereby the number of shares issued by AURELIUS tripled from the previous 9.6 million shares to 28.8 million shares. Outlook for the full 2013 year ‘The figures presented show that we are on a very good path in the reorientation of our Group entities. The second half of the year is off to an encouraging start and we will also continue down our profitable growth course for the year as a whole,’ said AURELIUS’ Chairman of the Executive Board, Dr. Dirk. Markus. ‘The market for corporate takeovers in our niche – companies experiencing radical change and exceptional situations – is highly dynamic at the moment. We currently see very good opportunities here to acquire even larger companies.’ In order to take advantage of these opportunities, AURELIUS carried out a capital increase in July 2013 while disapplying shareholders’ pre-emptive rights. The subscribed capital was increased as a result by EUR2,880,000.00 or 10 percent to EUR31,680,000. At a placement price of EUR20.00 per share, gross issuing proceeds of EUR57.6 million flowed to the Company. Key figures (in EUR millions)
¹ The previous year’s figures were adjusted for the purpose of comparison based on the requirements of IFRS 5 ABOUT AURELIUS CONTACT End of Corporate News 14.08.2013 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP – a company of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. DGAP’s Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de |
225768 14.08.2013 |