BAUER : increases operating result in the first quarter

Schrobenhausen - The BAUER Group showed a significant increase in EBIT for the first quarter. This was mainly a result of the Equipment segment, while the Resources segment recorded earnings below the previous year's level.

As expected, the total Group revenues of EUR 370.8 million were 17.3% below the unusually good figure for the previous year (EUR 448.2 million). Sales revenues decreased by 16.0% to EUR 318.4 million. EBIT improved from EUR 8.5 million to EUR 11.1 million. Earnings after tax totaled EUR -5.8 million after EUR -3.9 million in the previous year, mainly due to negative currency effects. The order backlog for the period decreased by 0.8% year over year, and increased by 6.0% to EUR 1,036.0 million compared to the year-end 2017. Order intake decreased by 11.4% from EUR 484.4 million to EUR 429.0 million.

Business segments

With its three segments - Construction, Equipment and Resources - and its broadly diversified business model, the Group operates in more than 110 subsidiaries in some 70 countries around the world.

In the Construction segment, there were slightly fewer large projects and the market in the Middle East developed moderately. Therefore, total Group revenues of EUR 150.9 million were 28.5% below the unusually high figure for the previous year (EUR 211.1 million). Nevertheless, EBIT increased from EUR 1.0 million to EUR 2.7 million. The order backlog decreased from EUR 578.3 million to EUR 511.3 million; it did however increase in comparison to the end of the year. The order intake in the segment decreased by 17.0% from EUR 204.1 million to EUR 169.5 million.

Once again, the Equipment segment benefited further from continued growth in global construction markets. After the first three months, the total Group revenues were at a high level of EUR 180.9 million as in the previous year (EUR 186.7 million). Sales revenues increased slightly by 1.5% from EUR 126.7 million to EUR 128.6 million. EBIT increased significantly: it climbed from EUR 7.9 million in the previous year to EUR 14.2 million. These results are attributed to high sales levels and continued good delivery figures for equipment. The order intake increased again by 7.1% from EUR 211.5 million to EUR 226.6 million and led to a growth of the order backlog from EUR 168.8 million to EUR 195.1 million.

The Resources segment started off moderately like the Construction segment with major projects expected to lead to a recovery in the course of the year. At EUR 51.7 million, the total Group revenues were 18.1% lower than the previous year (EUR 63.1 million). EBIT decreased from EUR -0.1 million to EUR -5.7 million. The segment is still in a phase of stabilization after many reorganization measures. At EUR 45.5 million, order intake was significantly lower than the previous year's intake of EUR 81.5 million. Nevertheless, the order backlog developed positively. It grew by 10.9 % to EUR 329.6 million. This is mainly attributable to the large-scale project for the expansion of the reed bed treatment plant in Oman. This contract is worth about EUR 160 million and is not fully included in the order backlog due to the long duration of the project.

Outlook

The company confirms its full-year forecast provided at the annual press conference in April. This forecasts total Group revenues of about EUR 1.8 billion and EBIT of around EUR 90 million. Earnings after tax are expected to be significantly higher than in the previous year. "We intend to sustainably strengthen the success of our operating business from the previous year", said Prof. Thomas Bauer, Chairman of the Management Board of BAUER Aktiengesellschaft. "In addition, we are working on implementing further improvement measures and further increasing our earnings figures on that basis."

The full quarterly statement is available online at http://www.bauer.de.


About Bauer

The BAUER Group is a leading provider of services, equipment and products related to ground and groundwater. With over 110 subsidiaries, Bauer operates a worldwide network on all continents.

The operations of the Group are divided into three future-oriented segments with high synergy potential: Construction, Equipment and Resources. The Construction segment offers new and innovative specialist foundation engineering services alongside the established ones, and it carries out foundation and excavation work including cut-off walls and ground improvements on a worldwide basis. Bauer is a global market leader in the Equipment segment and provides a full range of equipment for specialist foundation engineering as well as for the exploration, mining and extraction of natural resources. In the Resources segment, Bauer focuses on highly innovative products and services in the areas of water, environment and mineral reserves.

Bauer benefits greatly from the collaboration between its three separate segments, enabling the Group to position itself as an innovative, highly specialized provider of products and services for demanding projects in specialist foundation engineering and related markets. Bauer therefore offers appropriate solutions for the world's major challenges, such as urbanization, growing infrastructure needs, the environment, and water, oil and gas.

The BAUER Group was founded in 1790 and is based in Schrobenhausen, Bavaria. In 2017 it employed some 11,000 people in around 70 countries and achieved total Group revenues of EUR 1.8 billion. BAUER Aktiengesellschaft is listed in the Prime Standard of the German stock market.

More information can be found at http://www.bauer.de.

GROUP KEY FIGURES January - March 2018 (IFRS)

* The previous year's figures were adjusted; see 2017 Annual Report, page 93.