Revenue up 74 percent to EUR 52.8 million / Organic growth of 24.3 percent / Net profit for period more than doubled

technotrans AG has made a better-than-expected start to the 2017 financial year: the group reported 74 percent revenue growth to EUR 52.8 million for the first quarter. This figure includes EUR 15.0 million in revenue contributions from the acquisitions completed last year. After stripping out this effect, revenue was up 24.3 percent or EUR 7.4 million. The operating result (EBIT) more than doubled to  EUR 4.3 million (+110 percent). The EBIT margin climbed from 6.8 percent to 8.2 percent.

“The first quarter of the new financial year progressed highly successfully,” commented Henry Brickenkamp, Chief Executive Officer of technotrans AG. He attributed this outstanding development to such factors as the acquisitions of GWK Gesellschaft Wärme Kältetechnik mbH and Ovidius GmbH in the previous year, as well as the strong organic performance. Disregarding the effects from the takeovers, revenue rose to EUR 37.8 million (previous year: EUR 30.4 million). The net profit for the first quarter of 2017 went up by 113.1 percent compared with the prior-year period, to EUR 3.1 million. This represents a return on sales of 5.9 percent (previous year: 4.8 percent).

“We made impressive headway with the strategic repositioning of technotrans in the period under review,” stressed Brickenkamp. In the first quarter, the company already drew 57.5 percent of total revenue from the newly tapped markets. The acquisition of gwk is instrumental in that regard, with its very healthy revenue performance in the plastics processing industry. The dynamic e-mobility business environment as well as growth in scanner technology and laser cooling also deserve mentioning. Revenue with customers from the printing industry grew by 10.7 percent compared with the first quarter of the previous year to more than EUR 22 million.

Profitability in Technology segment significantly increased
technotrans can look back on an extremely successful opening quarter for the Technology segment. Revenue rose 91.2 percent to EUR 38.1 million, giving the segment a 72.3 percent share of revenue. EUR 11.8 million of this amount was contributed by gwk, which has been consolidated since September 1, 2016 and the integration of which is progressing according to plan. The operating result (EBIT) increased five-fold to EUR 2.0 million. This was accompanied by a marked rise in profitability, and the EBIT margin improved from 1.8 to 5.2 percent.  

In the Services segment, revenue climbed by 40.1 percent to EUR 14.6 million. Within this area, follow-on business from the technology markets and Technical Documentation were the growth drivers. The increased scope of consolidation from the acquisitions gwk and Ovidius produced a revenue contribution of EUR 3.2 million. Organically, the Services segment grew by 9.6 percent. The result for the segment (EBIT) increased to EUR 2.3 million (previous year: EUR 1.7 million), driving up the corresponding margin to 16.0 percent.

Forecast for the full year confirmed 
“We rate the overall business outlook for the technotrans Group for the year in progress as very positive,” declared Brickenkamp. He went on to add that the very good start means the group is ahead of the benchmarks for its annual targets.  Its further business performance will depend substantially on the continuing development of the global economy as well as various project launches involving existing and new customers.

The Board of Management reiterates its expectation of revenue in the range of EUR 185 to 195 million for the year as a whole. The operating result of the technotrans Group at EBIT level is forecast to lie within a range of EUR 12.0 to 14.0 million. “On the basis of the continuing healthy orders level and capacity utilisation, we will reassess our targets for the current financial year in the light of further developments,” remarked the Board member. 

The next Annual General Meeting of technotrans AG takes place on May 12, 2017. At the meeting, the Board of Management and Supervisory Board will propose the distribution of a dividend of  EUR 0.55 per no par value share on the share capital bearing dividend entitlements. This compares with a profit participation of EUR 0.48 in the previous year. 

The full 3-month report 2017 is available to download from Investor Relations/Financial Reports section of the company website.