DGAP-News: ZhongDe Waste Technology AG / Key word(s): Final Results ZhongDe Waste Technology AG: Improved project progress in 2015 but earnings impacted by extraordinary effects 29.04.2016 / 11:16 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Results 2015 ZhongDe Group: Improved project progress in 2015 but earnings impacted by extraordinary effects - Revenue growth of 9.3 percent to 38.2 million Euros driven by foreign exchange rate effects - EBIT amounts to -13.2 million Euros - Significant progress for the largest BOT project in Lanzhou and increased average percentage-of-completion rate of all BOT and EPC projects - Revenue growth and positive EBIT expected for 2016 Frankfurt, 29 April 2016 - In the financial year 2015, ZhongDe Waste Technology AG achieved progress in almost all of its BOT and EPC projects. Particularly ZhongDe's biggest BOT project in Lanzhou advanced remarkably. Despite the increase in revenues, the Group's earnings could not be improved. With regard to the full-year 2016, ZhongDe expects a rapid growth in revenues and a positive EBIT. 2015 remained a challenging period for the Company. Nevertheless, ZhongDe managed to keep its business on track and to generate revenues of 38.2 million Euros, slightly above the previous year's level of 35.0 million Euros. ZhongDe's four current BOT projects contributed 30.9 million Euros to the Group's total revenues (2014: 23.7 million Euros), while the two EPC projects Zhucheng and Dingzhou generated 6.1 million Euros (2014: 10.1 million Euros). In 2015, ZhongDe sold one medium-sized incinerator, which contributed 1.2 million Euros to the total revenues of the Group. The revenue increase of 9.3 percent was due to foreign exchange rate effects. Applying the functional currency RMB, revenue decreased from RMB 286.3 million in the prior year to RMB 266.6 million in the year under review (-6.8%). Gross profit amounted to -1.7 million Euros (2014: 0.5 million Euros) corresponding to a gross profit margin of -4.5 percent (2014: 1.4 percent). Due to the IFRS zero-profit method applied for the BOT projects, the suspension of two EPC projects and also a non-recurring write-off of advance payments to subcontractors, the EBIT decreased significantly to -13.2 million Euros (2014: 3.0 million Euros). The net loss for 2015 reached -16.1 million Euros (2014: -1.0 million Euros). High order backlog and solid cash position With an order backlog of 135.6 million Euros at the end of 2015 (2014: 212.5 million Euros) ZhongDe has a good basis to generate revenues and profit in the future and to maintain a strong position in the Chinese waste-to-energy market. The Wuhai EPC project has been removed from the order backlog, since it is currently unclear when the work on the project will be resumed. ZhongDe's equity position amounted to 104.6 million Euros as of 31 December 2015 (31 December 2014: 112.9 million Euros) while the equity ratio came down to 37 per cent (2014: 45 percent). Cash and cash equivalents totalled up to 75.8 million Euros as at 31 December 2015 with a decrease of 13 per cent compared to 87.2 million Euros as at 31 December 2014. ZhongDe plans to invest the funds in its current BOT and EPC projects. BOT and EPC projects progressing Last year the construction of ZhongDe's biggest BOT project Lanzhou progressed significantly, reaching a percentage-of-completion rate of 39.2 percent at the end of 2015 (PoC as of 31 December 2014: 18.1 percent completed). The other three BOT projects Zhoukou, Xianning and Kunming were trial operation in 2015 and generated other operating income amounting to 3.1 million Euros. On average the completion of the BOT projects reached 64 percent (2014: 51 percent). The average percentage-of-completion rate in the EPC segment of the Group reached 67 percent (2014: 58 percent). Positive outlook for the full-year 2016 With regards to the further development of the company in 2016 and 2017, ZhongDe expects to further benefit from the increasingly favourable political and economic environment for eco-friendly waste disposal, as well as from the growing demand for waste-to-energy plants in China and throughout Asia. Nevertheless, ZhongDe's Management assumes that 2016 will remain a challenging period. The focus will lie on the completion of existing projects and especially on further progress of the project construction in Lanzhou. The Management Board is confident to complete the BOT projects in Zhoukou and Xianning and the Zhucheng EPC-project in the course of the year. Provided that the projects can progress as planned, the Management Board expects a rapid growth in revenues for the full-year 2016. EBITDA and EBIT are expected to follow that trend and turn positive. Please find the complete annual report 2015 of ZhongDe Waste Technology AG on the company's website under the following link: http://www.zhongde-ag.com/investor_relations/publikationen.html About ZhongDe Group ZhongDe Group designs, invests, constructs, finances and operates energy-from-waste plants generating electricity from the incineration of solid municipal and industrial waste. ZhongDe realizes either EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) or BOT (Build, Operate and Transfer) projects, focusing on large-scale plants with waste disposal capacities of around 1,000 tons per day. Since 1996, ZhongDe Group has installed approximately 200 waste incinerators in 13 provinces throughout China. ZhongDe is one of the leading players in the project development and operation of energy-from-waste plants in China. Contact ZhongDe Waste Technology AG William Jiuhua Wang Executive Director and CFO E-Mail: [email protected] Ying Sun Investor Relations Messeturm 25th floor Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage 49 60308 Frankfurt am Main T: +49 69 50956 5655 F: +49 69 50956 5520 E-Mail: [email protected] Kirchhoff Consult AG Nicole Schüttforth Investor Relations Consultant T: +49 40 60 91 86 64 F: +49 40 60 91 86 60 E-Mail: [email protected] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29.04.2016 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. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: ZhongDe Waste Technology AG Messeturm 25th floor 60308 Frankfurt Germany Phone: + 49 69 50956 5655 Fax: + 49 69 50956 5520 E-mail: [email protected],[email protected] Internet: www.zhongde-ag.de ISIN: DE000ZDWT018 WKN: ZDWT01 Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News Service --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 459171 29.04.2016