29.03.2018
BayWa AG DE0005194062
DGAP-News: BayWa brings 2017 to a successful conclusion and looks to raise dividend
DGAP-News: BayWa AG / Key word(s): Final Results
BayWa brings 2017 to a successful conclusion and looks to raise dividend
29.03.2018 / 10:00
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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BayWa brings 2017 to a successful conclusion and looks to raise dividend
The international trading and services group BayWa AG brought the financial
year 2017 to a successful conclusion with increased revenues and EBIT.
Revenues rose to EUR16.1 billion (2016: EUR15.4 billion), while earnings
before interest and tax (EBIT) increased to EUR171.3 million (2016: EUR144.7
million).
All operating segments improved their earnings year on year. A non-recurring
effect from the sale of BayWa Group headquarters in Munich, completed in the
past year, also contributed to the EBIT increase in 2017. The Energy Segment
set another record high compared to 2016, and the Building Materials Segment
continued to develop favourably. The Agriculture Segment also improved
significantly year on year. "This is due mainly to our successful turnaround
with BAST and the positive development concerning agricultural equipment,"
said Klaus Josef Lutz, Chief Executive Officer of BayWa. The Agri Supply &
Trade (BAST) business unit closed 2017 with EBIT firmly in the positive. In
2016, EBIT had been in the negative. Lutz emphasised that this is
particularly noteworthy considering the difficult challenges that German
agricultural traders had to contend with in 2017 as well. He also announced
that BayWa will propose a 5 cent dividend increase to 90 euro cents per
share to the Annual General Meeting in June 2018.
BayWa hopes to achieve EBIT in 2018 that is at least on a level similar to
2017. This means that earnings improvements will have to offset or even
slightly exceed the non-recurring effect from the 2017 sale of Group
headquarters. Lutz takes a highly positive view of the operating sections'
development in the current year. With regard to agricultural trade, for
example, he expects to see significantly higher EBIT than in 2017 due to
increases in profitability and the expansion of the higher-margin speciality
business. In New Zealand, the harvest and marketing expectations for pome
fruit are extremely high, and Lutz also anticipates further increases
regarding trade in tropical fruits. In addition, the first harvests from the
Greenhouse project in the United Arab Emirates are set to make positive
contributions to earnings in 2018.
Lutz expects the share of BayWa's total earnings accounted for by project
business from the Renewable Energies and Global Produce (formerly: Fruit)
business units to soar in the years ahead. "We have shown through the
construction and sale of wind and solar farms that this is a sustainably
growing and profitable business for us," Lutz said. The recently concluded
acquisition of the biggest solar PV project pipeline in the Netherlands will
further boost earnings in this business unit from 2019, he added. "In Global
Produce, we are targeting the expansion of our value creation through the
construction of greenhouses for specific vegetables, the sale of
installations to investors and subsequent marketing of the products by us.
We are planning more projects in this area in Australia and the United
States, beginning in 2019 at the latest," Lutz explained. BayWa will also
pursue further development of the building materials business in Germany. In
order to safeguard sales, it plans to step up collaboration with developers
in 2018 concerning the execution of projects. "By taking these steps, we
seek to strengthen the company overall against volatility risks, which
agricultural trade in particular entails, and put BayWa in a good position
for the future," the Chief Executive Officer explained.
Agriculture Segment sees substantial earnings improvement
The Agriculture Segment generated revenues of EUR10.8 billion in 2017 (2016:
EUR10.9 billion). EBIT improved significantly to EUR82.1 million (2016:
EUR70.1 million).
Even though 2017 was marked by a further drop in grain prices due to higher
harvest yields, particularly in the Black Sea area, BayWa's agricultural
trade in the BAST business unit showed strong improvement. As a result, BAST
- together with Agricultural Equipment - made substantial contributions to
the EBIT increase. Among other things, the expansion of the international
speciality business and continued structural optimisation of trading
activities in Southern and Eastern Europe made a positive impact. "The trade
business in Germany will continue to face pressure as long as harvests and
the supply situation remain so favourable," Lutz said, noting that he
expects to see stagnant global grain prices in 2018 as well. He explained
that BayWa will counter this development through efforts to optimise
processes and the network of locations, among other measures.
The fruit trade faced an altogether difficult year in 2017. In New Zealand
and above all in Germany, the effects of disastrous weather conditions in
some cases resulted in a significant loss in produce quality and quantity,
which ultimately led to lower EBIT than in 2016. Positive trends in the pome
fruit business in New Zealand and the full-year inclusion of the tropical
fruit trade in consolidated earnings were unable to offset this development.
In addition, earnings in Global Produce had benefited in 2016 from a
non-recurring effect from the sale of a logistics affiliate in New Zealand.
In contrast, the agricultural equipment business turned in a particularly
pleasing performance in 2017, especially in Germany. The greater willingness
among farmers to make investments enabled BayWa to increase its used
equipment business by almost 13 percent. Stables and stable equipment also
benefited from this development. Furthermore, business at the Group company
Agrimec in the Netherlands was so good that the Agricultural Equipment
business unit almost doubled EBIT in 2017.
Energy Segment sets new earnings record
Revenues in the Energy Segment increased to EUR3.6 billion in 2017 primarily
due to oil prices (2016: EUR3.0 billion). EBIT also rose year on year and
stood at EUR85.0 million (2016: EUR83.1 million).
EBIT increased with regard to conventional energy mainly due to improved
margins for fuels and volume growth for heating and lubricants. Renewable
energies also turned in an excellent performance and nearly matched the
exceptionally high level seen in 2016. The past financial year saw global
sales of wind turbines and solar installations with an output of 414.5
megawatts (MW). For most of the turbines and installations sold, BayWa r.e.
renewable energy, which handles BayWa AG's entire renewable energies
business, also took over operational management. As a result, BayWa r.e.
further strengthened its service activities in 2017, including through the
purchase of Energy Systems Services in Italy. The capacity of the turbines
and installations overseen by BayWa r.e. now stands at more than 3 gigawatts
(GW). In 2018, BayWa r.e. will enhance focus on the construction of turbines
and installations, which will then be sold beginning in 2019. This applies
in particular to the recently acquired rights regarding the construction of
solar PV systems with a capacity of 2 GW in the Netherlands.
Building Materials Segment sees positive earnings development
Despite continued price pressure in the industry, the Building Materials
Segment, which mainly comprises trade in building materials in Germany and
Austria, increased revenues due to volume factors to EUR1.6 billion (2016:
EUR1.5 billion) and raised EBIT to EUR30.1 million (2016: EUR28.5 million).
The positive trend came on the back of sustained good development in the
construction sector and the high-margin private brand concept, which was
successfully expanded. The establishment of special sales teams and the
ongoing optimisation of the network of locations also played a role in the
segment's favourable performance.
Innovation & Digitalisation Segment develops as planned
The Innovation & Digitalisation Segment pools all of the BayWa Group's
activities in the fields of digital farming and e-business. Its range
includes various software products such as NEXT Farming, digital map
material, analyses, advisory services and hardware components. E-business
encompasses BayWa's online activities. However, the revenues and income from
the activities are attributed to the respective business unit responsible
for the respective sold product. In line with expectations, the segment
recorded negative EBIT, which was due above all to the large investments
necessary for the development of digital farming solutions. This also
includes the development of an open machine data management software. Plans
call for the joint launch of this software in the current financial year
with six leading agricultural equipment manufacturers. The software is meant
to serve as a uniform basis for the cross-vendor implementation of digital
farming.
BayWa Group performance
Revenues* EBIT**
In EUR million 2017 2016 % 2017 2016 %
16,055.1 15,409.9 +4.2 171.3 144.7 +18.4
Development of the Agriculture Segment
Revenues EBIT
In EUR million 2017 2016 % 2017 2016 %
BAST+BAV 8,630.7 8,968.4 -3.8 32.7 17.2 +89.0
Fruit*** 805.5 659.3 +22.2 29.5 42.3 -30.3
Agricultural Equipment 1,400.3 1,256.8 +11.4 19.9 10.6 +87.7
Agriculture Segment 10,836.5 10,884.5 -0.4 82.1 70.1 +17.1
Development of the Energy Segment
Revenues EBIT
In EUR million 2017 2016 % 2017 2016 %
Conventional Energy 2,228.1 2,030.1 +9.7 18.5 15.8 +17.1
Renewable Energies 1,366.6 945.9 +44.5 66.5 67.3 -1.2
Energy Segment 3,594.7 2,976.0 +20.8 85.0 83.1 +2.3
Development of the Building Materials Segment
Revenues EBIT
In EUR million 2017 2016 % 2017 2016 %
Building Materials Segment 1,606.1 1,530.1 +5.0 30.1 28.5 +5.6
Development of the Innovation & Digitalisation Segment
Revenue- EBIT
s
In EUR million 2017 2016 % 2017 2016 %
Innovation & Digitalisation 6.9 6.0 +15.- -10.- -8.6 -25.-
Segment 0 8 6
* Includes the figures for the Agriculture, Energy, Building Materials,
Innovation & Digitalisation and Other Activities Segments.
** Includes the figures for the Agriculture, Energy, Building Materials,
Innovation & Digitalisation and Other Activities Segments as well as the
transition.
*** The Fruit business unit was renamed Global Produce effective 1 January
2018.
Contact:
Marion Danneboom, BayWa AG, Head of PR/Corporate Communications/Public
Affairs,
tel. +49 (0)89/92 22-36 80, Fax +49 (0)89/92 12-36 80,
e-mail: [email protected]
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29.03.2018 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
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Language: English
Company: BayWa AG
Arabellastraße 4
81925 München
Germany
Phone: 089/ 9222-3691
Fax: 089/ 9212-3680
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.baywa.de
ISIN: DE0005194062, DE0005194005,
WKN: 519406, 519400,
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Munich;
Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf,
Hamburg, Hanover, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
End of News DGAP News Service
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