BECHTLE AG
DGAP-News: Bechtle AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results/Interim Report
Bechtle: Business Performance Remains High
2021-08-12 / 07:30
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Bechtle: Business Performance Remains High
- Revenue in Q2 up 9.3 per cent to ?1.43 billion
- EBT grows almost 40 per cent
- Cash flow significantly above prior year
- Forecast increased
Neckarsulm, 12 August 2021 - Bechtle AG completed the second quarter of the 2021 fiscal year with very strong figures.
Despite the global supply bottlenecks in the IT market and the ongoing restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the
IT company was able to step up the revenue in the second quarter of 2021 by 9.3 per cent to ?1,432.8 million. Earnings
before taxes (EBT) underwent disproportionately high growth of 39.8 per cent to ?81.2 million. The EBT margin thus
improved to an outstanding 5.7 per cent. As of 30 June 2021, Bechtle had 12,421 employees, a year-on-year increase of
466.
EBT also included a positive one-time effect in the amount of ?9.5 million. In previous quarters, Bechtle AG had
recognised risk provisions, some of which the company was able to reverse in the second quarter. However, even without
this effect, EBT would have grown by an excellent 23.5 per cent, with a margin of 5.0 per cent. "Despite the difficult
framework conditions, we have continued to propel the business. Customer demand for powerful IT solutions and services
remains high throughout all business segments," says Dr. Thomas Olemotz, Chairman of the Executive Board of Bechtle AG.
Extremely Positive Earnings Performance in System House Segment
From April to June 2021, Bechtle increased the revenue in the IT System House & Managed Services by 1.2 per cent to
?904.3 million. This item was affected by the outstanding business performance in the corresponding prior-year quarter.
Moreover, the supply bottlenecks had a more noticeable effect in this segment, especially where large framework
agreements were concerned. It is encouraging that Bechtle was able to expand its service share, also driven by the
surging demand from industrial customers. EBIT went up 33.3 per cent to ?53.6 million. The EBIT margin rose from 4.5
per cent to 5.9 per cent. Without the said one-time effect, EBIT would have grown by 14.8 per cent, and the margin
would have increased to 5.1 per cent.
E-Commerce Significantly Above Prior Year
In the second quarter of 2021, the revenue in the IT E-Commerce segment increased by 26.9 per cent to ?528.5 million.
Almost all companies contributed to this development with significant two-digit growth rates. France - the most
prominent national market in this segment - also reported a very strong performance. EBIT climbed 50.1 per cent to
?29.1 million. The margin improved from 4.6 per cent to 5.5 per cent. From a purely operational perspective, EBIT went
up by 39.4 per cent, with a margin of 5.1 per cent.
Free Cash Flow Undergoes Positive Development
In the first half of 2021, the cash flow from operating activities increased to ?47.3 million (prior year: ?40.5
million). The free cash flow, too, underwent a positive development, increasing from -?31.6 million to ?23.3 million.
As of the reporting date, the total liquidity remained at a comfortable level of ?286.6 million.
Annual Forecast Increased
Despite the difficult framework conditions in the IT market, Bechtle's performance in the first six months was very
good. From an operating perspective, the revenue, earnings and margin as of the end of the first six months were
already above the target corridor of our expectations for the year as a whole. The Executive Board has therefore raised
its forecast for the year and now expects a very significant increase in earnings and a higher EBT margin than in the
prior year. "Customers' willingness to invest is high. We can see this from the continuous two-digit increase in our
incoming orders. On the other hand, however, we are faced with the known supply bottlenecks, which are likely to
continue into the year 2022. Nevertheless, the outlook for Bechtle remains excellent," says Dr. Thomas Olemotz.
Bechtle KPIs for the Second Quarter and First Half of 2021
Q2/2021 Q2/2020 +/- H1/2021 H1/2020 +/-
Revenue ?k 1,432,793 1,310,516 +9.3% 2,942,995 2,666,190 +10.4%
Domestic ?k 879,846 840,749 +4.7% 1,811,388 1,669,497 +8.5%
Abroad ?k 552,947 469,767 +17.7% 1,131,607 996,693 +13.5%
IT System House ?k 904,302 893,943 +1.2% 1,875,605 1,753,059 +7.0%
IT E-Commerce ?k 528,491 416,573 +26.9% 1,067,390 913,131 +16.9%
EBIT ?k 82,613 59,540 +38.8% 144,747 112,167 +29.0%
IT System House ?k 53,551 40,173 +33.3% 94,617 72,662 +30.2%
IT E-Commerce ?k 29,062 19,367 +50.1% 50,130 39,505 +26.9%
EBIT margin % 5.8 4.5 4.9 4.2
EBT ?k 81,191 58,059 +39.8% 142,179 109,114 +30.3%
EBT margin % 5.7 4.4 4.8 4.1
Earnings after taxes ?k 57,433 40,800 +40.8% 101,057 77,268 +30.8%
Earnings per share ? 1.37 0.97 +40.8% 2.41 1.84 +30.8%
Cash flow from operating activities^1 ?k 26,771 17,070 +56.8% 47,344 40,526 +16.8%
Employees (as of 30 June) 12,421 11,955 +3.9% ^1 Prior year adjusted
30.06.2021 31.12.2020 +/-
Liquidity^* ?k 286,617 403,173 -28.9%
Equity ratio % 45.7 43.2 ^* Including time deposits and securities ***
The half-year report 2021 is available for download at bechtle.com/reports.
About Bechtle: Bechtle AG has about 80 IT system houses in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. With its 24 e-commerce companies in 14 countries, Bechtle is one of Europe's leading IT enterprises. Founded in 1983, the group is headquartered in Neckarsulm, Germany, and currently has more than 12,000 employees. Bechtle offers its 70,000+ customers from the fields of industry and trade, the public sector and the financial market a comprehensive, cross-vendor portfolio of IT infrastructure and IT operation solutions. Bechtle is listed on the MDAX and TecDAX indexes. In 2020, its revenue amounted to ?5.82 billion. For more information, see bechtle.com.
Contact
Investor Relations Corporate Communications/Press Martin Link Sabine Brand martin.link@bechtle.com sabine.brand@bechtle.com Phone: +49 7132 981-4149 Phone: +49 7132 981-4115 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021-08-12 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Language: English
Company: Bechtle AG
Bechtle Platz 1
74172 Neckarsulm
Germany
Phone: +49 7132 981-0
Fax: +49 7132 981-8000
E-mail: ir@bechtle.com
Internet: bechtle.com
ISIN: DE0005158703
WKN: 515870
Indices: MDAX, TecDAX
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf,
Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
EQS News ID: 1225633
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August 12, 2021 01:30 ET (05:30 GMT)
