Earnings

EBIT and EBITDA

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increased by 22.1 per cent year on year to reach €290.2 million (Q1 – Q3 2014: €237.7 million), although the prior-year figure had included a €32.0 million impairment charge on the stake held in Linde Hydraulics. Like-for-like adjusted EBIT excluding non-recurring items and KION acquisition items improved by 7.2 per cent to €331.0 million (Q1 – Q3 2014: €308.7 million). Overall, the marked improvement in gross profit (up by 9.6 per cent) was partly cancelled out by increased selling expenses, administrative expenses and development costs. At 9.1 per cent, the adjusted EBIT margin remained at almost the same level as in the prior-year period (Q1 – Q3 2014: 9.2 per cent). > TABLE 05

EBIT

 

 

 

 

 

05

in € million

Q3 2015

Q3 2014

Change

Q1 – Q3 2015

Q1 – Q3 2014

Change

Net income for the period

49.5

58.0

–14.7%

143.8

118.6

21.2%

Income taxes

–34.3

–29.8

–15.2%

–78.2

–57.2

–36.8%

Net financial expenses

–24.9

18.7

<–100%

–68.2

–61.8

–10.3%

EBIT

108.8

69.1

57.3%

290.2

237.7

22.1%

+ Non-recurring items

5.9

37.5

–84.4%

20.5

47.0

–56.4%

+ KION acquisition items

6.6

5.2

26.8%

20.3

24.1

–15.8%

Adjusted EBIT

121.2

111.8

8.4%

331.0

308.7

7.2%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted EBIT margin

9.8%

9.8%

9.1%

9.2%

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) reached €581.6 million, compared with €507.4 million in the prioryear period. Adjusted EBITDA rose to €599.9 million (Q1 – Q3 2014: €560.8 million). This equates to an adjusted EBITDA margin of 16.4 per cent (Q1 – Q3 2014: 16.6 per cent). > TABLE 06

EBITDA

 

 

 

 

 

06

in € million

Q3 2015

Q3 2014

Change

Q1 – Q3 2015

Q1 – Q3 2014

Change

EBIT

108.8

69.1

57.3%

290.2

237.7

22.1%

Amortisation and depreciation

98.3

90.0

9.3%

291.3

269.7

8.0%

EBITDA

207.1

159.1

30.2%

581.6

507.4

14.6%

+ Non-recurring items

4.9

37.0

–86.6%

18.4

46.1

–60.1%

+ KION acquisition items

–0.0

0.0

<–100%

0.0

7.4

–99.6%

Adjusted EBITDA

212.0

196.0

8.1%

599.9

560.8

7.0%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA margin

17.1%

17.2%

16.4%

16.6%

Key influencing factors for earnings

The cost of sales increased by 8.0 per cent to €2,580.2 million (Q1 – Q3 2014: €2,390.0 million), slightly below the rate of growth in revenue. Gross profit totalled €1,077.1 million (Q1 – Q3 2014: €982.3 million). Selling expenses grew by 5.3 per cent to €443.2 million (Q1 – Q3 2014: €421.0 million) and thus rose to a lesser extent than revenue. The sharp increase in development costs to €106.1 million (Q1 – Q3 2014: €87.8 million) was a clear indication of the higher expenses required to implement the Strategy 2020, particularly with regard to innovations in drive technology and the global platform strategies. Administrative expenses were also affected by the Strategy 2020, climbing by 10.3 per cent to €261.0 million (Q1 – Q3 2014: €236.6 million). In addition, currency effects and changes to collective bargaining agreements contributed to a rise in the individual functional divisions. The ‘Other’ item was higher than in the first nine months of 2014 at a positive €23.4 million (Q1 – Q3 2014: €0.8 million). This included the share of profit (loss) of equity-accounted investments, which amounted to a profit of €7.8 million (Q1 – Q3 2014: loss of €31.5 million). The prior-year figure had contained an impairment charge of €32.0 million on the stake held in Linde Hydraulics. Furthermore, the negative contribution to earnings from Linde Hydraulics was lower than in the first nine months of the previous year. > TABLE 07

(Condensed) income statement

07

in € million

Q3 2015

Q3 2014

Change

Q1 – Q3 2015

Q1 – Q3 2014

Change

Revenue

1,236.5

1,139.0

8.6%

3,657.2

3,372.3

8.4%

Cost of sales

–867.5

–800.4

–8.4%

–2,580.2

–2,390.0

–8.0%

Gross profit

369.0

338.6

9.0%

1,077.1

982.3

9.6%

Selling expenses

–148.5

–138.3

–7.3%

–443.2

–421.0

–5.3%

Research and development costs

–35.4

–29.7

–19.3%

–106.1

–87.8

–20.8%

Administrative expenses

–82.9

–80.8

–2.6%

–261.0

–236.6

–10.3%

Other

6.6

–20.6

>100%

23.4

0.8

>100%

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT)

108.8

69.1

57.3%

290.2

237.7

22.1%

Net financial expenses

–24.9

18.7

<–100%

–68.2

–61.8

–10.3%

Earnings before taxes

83.8

87.8

–4.6%

222.0

175.8

26.3%

Income taxes

–34.3

–29.8

–15.2%

–78.2

–57.2

–36.8%

Net income for the period

49.5

58.0

–14.7%

143.8

118.6

21.2%

Net financial income/expenses

There was a significant improvement in the balance of financial income and financial expenses, leading to net financial expenses of €68.2 million compared with a prior-year figure (adjusted for nonrecurring items) of €81.6 million. The main factor here was the optimisation of the funding structure in 2014. The net financial expenses of €61.8 million reported for the first nine months of last year had included financial income from the remeasurement of options in connection with Linde Hydraulics (€43.0 million) and financial expenses of €23.2 million incurred by the early repayment of two tranches of the corporate bonds.

Income taxes

Income tax expenses totalled €78.2 million (Q1 – Q3 2014: €57.2 million). This increase was primarily due to the rise in earnings. The tax rate was 35.2 per cent (Q1 – Q3 2014: 32.5 per cent).

Net income for the period

The KION Group’s net income after taxes reached €143.8 million, a year-on-year increase of 21.2 per cent (Q1 – Q3 2014: €118.6 million). Diluted and basic earnings per share for the reporting period rose to €1.44 (Q1 – Q3 2014: €1.19).