First half year 2015 results
Bekaert reports continued strong growth, driven by acquisitions and currency effects
Highlights
Bekaert achieved strong sales growth in the first half of 2015. The company's consolidated top line increased by 18% to € 1.9 billion as a result of acquisitions and favorable currency movements. Compared with the first half of 2014, REBIT grew by 12% thanks to a significant improvement of profitability as from the second quarter of 2015 onwards.
Bekaert achieved excellent results in EMEA and increased the profitability of its Latin American activities significantly. While volumes in Asian tire markets have steadily increased since March 2015, profit margins in Asia Pacific have not yet reached the desired levels due to a very weak start of the year. The business in North America continued to be affected by subdued market conditions in various sectors and by the consequences of the fire at the Rome plant in the US, end of 2014.
- Consolidated sales of € 1.9 billion (+18%) and combined sales of € 2.3 billion (+14%)
- Currency impact : € +174 million (+11%) on consolidated sales; € +157 million (+8%) on combined sales
- M&A impact: € +162 million (+10%) on consolidated sales and € +153 million (+8%) on combined sales
- Gross profit of € 304 million (16% margin) compared with € 257 million (16% margin)
- REBIT of € 112 million (5.9% margin) compared with € 100 million (6.2% margin)
- Non-recurring items of € -2.5 million compared with € +16.6 million
- EBIT of € 110 million (5.8% margin) compared with € 117 million (7.3% margin)
- REBITDA of € 219 million (11.5% margin) compared with € 180 million (11.2% margin)
- EPS: € 0.94 compared with € 1.33
- Net debt of € 1 023 million, versus € 673 million as at 30 June 2014 and € 853 million as at year-end 2014