GRAMMER Aktiengesellschaft
Grammer Group with the highest EBIT in its history – substantial improvement in profitability confirms successful corporate strategy:
DGAP-News: Grammer AG / Key word(s): Preliminary Results Grammer Group with the highest EBIT in its history – substantial improvement in profitability confirms successful corporate strategy – 19 percent increase in Group revenue to EUR 1.69 billion – 70 percent increase in EBIT to EUR 72 million – Global growth trajectory with improved profitability continuing – Potential risks for future orders cannot be excluded in the event of a change of control in Grammer AG’s governance bodies Amberg, February 7, 2017 – Grammer AG has today released its preliminary figures for 2016. With Group revenue of EUR 1.69 billion, the leading supplier of interior components for passenger cars and seating systems for commercial vehicles recorded a 19 percent increase over the previous year (2015: 1.43 billion), marking the sixth consecutive record. At the same time, the Group’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose by a disproportionately strong 70 percent to EUR 72 million (2015: 42.7 million). The Group substantially improved its profitability thanks to the positive effects from the systematic implementation of cost-cutting and process-optimization measures. Despite continued weak demand in the global agricultural machinery segment and the contraction of the Brazilian commercial vehicle market, the Group’s EBIT margin rose substantially as expected due to the planned reduction in footprint costs and the improvement in operating performance, rising to 4.3 percent (2015: 3.0). This substantial improvement of 1.3 percentage points in the margin over the previous year confirms the Group’s successful strategy, under which it has evolved into a leading global supplier over the last few years thanks to high spending on production facilities and technology. Today’s figures demonstrate the success of the growth trajectory that has been adopted, forming a solid basis for the further sustained increase in profitability and enterprise value. Both divisions contributed to the Group’s very encouraging performance and not only posted an increase in revenue but were also able to improve their profitability substantially as expected. This is particularly encouraging in the commercial vehicle segment as demand in key core markets such as agricultural machinery and the truck market in Brazil continued to deteriorate last year. The substantial improvement in profitability in this division was primarily driven by the successfully implemented cost-optimization measures. Revenue in the Seating Systems division rose slightly. Revenue rose by 3.3 percent to around EUR 473 million (2015: EUR 458 million) in contrast to the previous year and despite the still challenging market conditions. As expected, the Automotive division was again the main driving force for revenue, reporting a 26 percent increase to EUR 1.27 billion (2015: EUR 1.01 billion). The division particularly benefited from persistently strong growth in console business, the successful integration of the former Reum Group and its outstanding international position. Profitability in this division was also well up on the previous year in line with plans. “We performed very successfully last year in a persistently challenging and volatile market environment, significantly exceeding our ambitious goals. In particular, the substantial improvement in EBIT to EUR 72 million and, related to this, the sizeable increase in the operating margin testify to the success of the optimization measures that we have implemented and provide a good basis for a further improvement in operating profitability. The successful implementation of our long-term strategy is also reflected in the performance of Grammer’s shares,” says Hartmut Müller, Chief Executive Officer of Grammer AG. “Over the last few years, Grammer has spent heavily to turn the company into a globally active reliable partner to the automotive and commercial vehicle industry and to make it a technological market leader. As expected, this strategy is now paying off, offering high potential for a further increase in enterprise value.” Despite the volatile economic and political environment, Grammer expects further business growth this year, accompanied by moderately higher revenue. The operating EBIT margin is expected to come to around 5 percent, thus confirming the positive trend. Minority shareholder Cascade International Investment GmbH is seeking a change of control in Grammer AG’s currently independent governance bodies which could result in noticeable strain on customer relations. In this case the company cannot exclude the possibility of potential risks to future customer orders. Grammer AG’s Executive Board and Supervisory Board remain unequivocally committed to the continuation of the successful corporate strategy and independent corporate governance in the interests of all shareholders and stakeholders and therefore reject Cascade International Investment GmbH’s demands. If these demands were to be accepted, this would ultimately result in a minority shareholder assuming control to the detriment of all other shareholders.
In the Automotive Division, we supply headrests, armrests, center console systems and high-quality interior components and operating systems to premium automakers and automotive system suppliers. The Seating Systems Division comprises seats for the truck and offroad seat segments (tractors, construction machinery, forklifts) as well as train and bus seats. With over 12,000 employees, Grammer operates in 20 countries around the world. Grammer shares are listed in the SDAX and traded on the Frankfurt and Munich stock exchanges via the electronic trading system Xetra. Contact: GRAMMER AG Ralf Hoppe Phone: 0049 9621 66 2200 investor-relations@grammer.com
07.02.2017 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP – a service of EQS Group AG. |
Language: | English |
Company: | Grammer AG |
Georg-Grammer-Str. 2 | |
92224 Amberg | |
Germany | |
Phone: | +49 (0)9621 66-0 |
Fax: | +49 (0)9621 66-1000 |
E-mail: | investor-relations@grammer.com |
Internet: | www.grammer.com |
ISIN: | DE0005895403, DE0005895403 |
WKN: | 589540, 589540 |
Indices: | SDAX |
Listed: | Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Munich; Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange |
End of News | DGAP News Service |