Earnings

EBIT and EBITDA

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) amounted to €89.0 million, which was more than in the same period of the previous year (Q1 2015: €82.1 million).

Although there was a volume-related improvement in gross profit of 5.6 per cent, selling expenses, administrative expenses and development costs also increased. Adjusted EBIT excluding non-recurring items and KION acquisition items amounted to €98.6 million (Q1 2015: €93.4 million). The adjusted EBIT margin was 8.1 per cent (Q1 2015: 8.0 per cent). > TABLE 05

EBIT

 

 

05

in € million

Q1 2016

Q1 2015

Change

Net income for the period

33.0

41.9

–21.0%

Income taxes

–15.5

–19.6

20.9%

Net financial expenses

–40.4

–20.6

–95.9%

EBIT

89.0

82.1

8.4%

+ Non-recurring items

2.9

4.5

–36.0%

+ KION acquisition items

6.7

6.8

–1.1%

Adjusted EBIT

98.6

93.4

5.6%

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) improved to €190.0 million, compared with €177.6 million in the corresponding quarter of 2015. Adjusted EBITDA rose to €191.7 million (Q1 2015: €181.4 million). This equates to an adjusted EBITDA margin of 15.7 per cent (Q1 2015: 15.6 per cent). > TABLE 06

EBITDA

 

 

06

in € million

Q1 2016

Q1 2015

Change

EBIT

89.0

82.1

8.4%

Amortisation and depreciation

101.0

95.5

5.7%

EBITDA

190.0

177.6

7.0%

+ Non-recurring items

1.8

3.8

–52.9%

+ KION acquisition items

0.0

0.0

Adjusted EBITDA

191.7

181.4

5.7%

Key influencing factors for earnings

The cost of sales increased by 4.5 per cent to €860.2 million (Q1 2015: €823.5 million), slightly below the rate of growth in revenue. Gross profit improved to €360.4 million (Q1 2015: €341.3 million) while the gross margin advanced from 29.3 per cent to 29.5 per cent.

Selling expenses grew by 5.9 per cent to €157.3 million (Q1 2015: €148.5 million) as a result of the stepping up of sales activities. Development costs totalled €37.0 million (Q1 2015: €34.0 million). Administrative expenses came to €86.0 million in the quarter under review, compared with €84.3 million in the prior-year period. The ‘other’ item of €8.8 million was up by €1.2 million on the prior-year figure (Q1 2015: €7.7 million). This included the share of profit (loss) of equity-accounted investments, which amounted to a profit of €0.2 million; the prior-year figure had been a loss of €1.6 million as it was still affected by the loss contributed by Linde Hydraulics. > TABLE 07

(Condensed) income statement

07

in € million

Q1 2016

Q1 2015

Change

Revenue

1,220.6

1,164.8

4.8%

Cost of sales

–860.2

–823.5

–4.5%

Gross profit

360.4

341.3

5.6%

Selling expenses

–157.3

–148.5

–5.9%

Research and development costs

–37.0

–34.0

–8.8%

Administrative expenses

–86.0

–84.3

–1.9%

Other

8.8

7.7

15.0%

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT)

89.0

82.1

8.4%

Net financial expenses

–40.4

–20.6

–95.9%

Earnings before taxes

48.5

61.4

–21.0%

Income taxes

–15.5

–19.6

20.9%

Net income for the period

33.0

41.9

–21.0%

Net financial income/expenses

There was a significant decline in the balance of financial income and financial expenses, leading to net financial expenses of €40.4 million (Q1 2015: net financial expenses of €20.6 million). This was mainly attributable to the renewing of the Group’s funding in February 2016. As part of this, early repayment charges of €15.2 million were paid due to the repayment ahead of schedule of the corporate bond. Net financial income and expenses were also adversely affected by an amount of €10.5 million representing a reversal of the deferred borrowing costs for the corporate bond and the previous syndicated loan. This amount did not have an impact on cash flow. The renewing of the funding resulted in total non-recurring financial expenses of €25.7 million in the quarter under review.

Income taxes

Income tax expenses amounted to €15.5 million (Q1 2015: €19.6 million). Current income taxes came to €15.3 million (Q1 2015: €22.6 million). The tax rate was unchanged year on year at 31.9 per cent.

Net income

The KION Group’s net income after taxes was €33.0 million (Q1 2015: €41.9 million). Diluted and basic earnings per share for the reporting period came to €0.33 (Q1 2015: €0.41).