H1 2016: Continued impact of declining Oil & Gas market partly offset by strong performance in Europe

Amsterdam, 19 August 2016

Key points Q2 2016

  • Revenue down by 27% to EUR 231 million
  • Gross margin at 20.6%, up from 17.1%
  • EBIT down by 19% to EUR 8 million

Key points H1 2016

  • Revenue down by 28% to EUR 470 million
  • Gross margin at 20.4%, up from 17.5%
  • EBIT down by 29% to EUR 17 million

Brunel International (unaudited)

P&L amounts in EUR million

Q2 2016

Q2 2015

Change %

H1 2016

H1 2015

Change %

Revenue

231.2

317.1

-27%

469.6

650.8

-28%

Gross Profit

47.7

54.3

-12%

95.6

113.6

-16%

Gross Margin

20.6%

17.1%

20.4%

17.5%

Operating costs

40.2

45.1

-11%

79.0

90.1

-12%

EBIT

7.5

9.2

-19%

16.6

23.5

-29%

EBIT %

3.2%

2.9%

3.5%

3.6%

Average directs

9,336

10,983

-15%

9,629

11,171

-14%

Average indirects

1,500

1,677

-11%

1,526

1,648

-7%

Ratio direct/indirect

6.2

6.5

-5%

6.3

6.8

-7%

-25% in constant currency (cc)

-26% in cc

-10% in cc

-11% in cc

H1 2016 results by division

Brunel Energy (unaudited)

P&L amounts in EUR million

Q2 2016

Q2 2015

Change %

H1 2016

H1 2015

Change %

Revenue

119.8

220.8

-46%

248.3

452.5

-45%

Gross Profit

13.3

26.6

-50%

27.3

53.0

-48%

Gross Margin

11.1%

12.1%

11.1%

11.7%

Operating costs

12.7

17.0

-25%

25.0

35.5

-30%

EBIT

0.6

9.6

-94%

2.3

17.5

-87%

EBIT %

0.5%

4.3%

0.9%

3.9%

Average directs

4,656

6,544

-29%

4,911

6,739

-27%

Average indirects

598

778

-23%

613

752

-18%

Ratio direct/indirect

7.8

8.4

8.0

9.0

-43% in cc

-42% in cc

-22% in cc

-27% in cc

Key points Q2 2016

  • Revenue down by 46% to EUR 120 million
  • Gross margin 11.1%, down from 12.1% last year
  • EBIT down by 94% to EUR 1 million

Key points H1 2016

  • Revenue down by 45% to EUR 248 million
  • Gross margin 11.1%, down from 11.7% last year
  • EBIT down by 87% to EUR 2 million

Revenue

Revenue in Q2 decreased by 46% year on year, and 7% compared to Q1. Our clients continue to delay and terminate projects and to reduce the number of staff. The focus in the industry on capex cuts and cost savings keeps influencing our business significantly. Consequently our headcount decreased by 29%. The decline in revenue is also affected by reductions of our contractors' rates.

Gross profit

Due to the nature of our contracts, the increased price pressure so far only has had limited effect on our rates, resulting in a decline in gross margin. Adjusted for negative currency effects (mainly by the appreciating Ruble), the gross margin for Q2 is 11.3%. In combination with the lower top line, gross profit dropped by 50% to EUR 13 million. The impact of the price pressure on our existing business is likely to increase in the near future.

Operating costs

We continue to right size our organisation. Overhead decreased by 25%, mainly driven by the reduction of internal staff costs, following the ongoing efficiency programme and investments in operating efficiencies. Q2's overhead expenses included EUR 1 million of one off expenses for redundancies and doubtful debt.

EBIT

As a consequence of the decrease in activities, EBIT declined to EUR 0.6 million for Q2.

Brunel Europe (unaudited)

P&L amounts in EUR million

Q2 2016

Q2 2015

Change %

H1 2016

H1 2015

Change %

Revenue

111.4

96.2

16%

221.3

198.3

12%

Gross Profit

34.4

27.7

24%

68.4

60.7

13%

Gross Margin

30.9%

28.8%

30.9%

30.6%

Operating costs

24.8

25.6

-3%

49.3

50.1

-2%

EBIT

9.6

2.1

362%

19.1

10.6

80%

EBIT %

8.6%

2.2%

8.6%

5.4%

Average directs

4,680

4,439

5%

4,718

4,432

5%

Average indirects

859

884

-3%

870

896

-3%

Ratio direct/indirect

5.4

5.0

5.4

5.0

Brunel Europe consists of Brunel Germany, Brunel Netherlands, Brunel Belgium, Brunel Czech Republic, Brunel Switzerland and Brunel Austria.

Key points Q2 2016

  • Revenue up by 16% to EUR 111 million
  • Gross margin 30.9%, up from 28.8% last year
  • EBIT up by 362% to EUR 10 million
  • Revenue Germany up 15%, revenue Netherlands up 14%

    Key points H1 2016

  • Revenue up by 12% to EUR 221 million
  • Gross margin 30.9%, up from 30.6% last year
  • EBIT up by 80% to EUR 19 million

Brunel Germany (unaudited)

P&L amounts in EUR million

Q2 2016

Q2 2015

Change %

H1 2016

H1 2015

Change %

Revenue

52.9

45.9

15%

102.5

94.5

8%

Gross Profit

18.9

14.9

27%

35.8

31.9

12%

Gross Margin

35.7%

32.5%

34.9%

33.7%

Operating costs

12.6

13.0

-3%

24.5

25.6

-4%

EBIT

6.3

1.9

232%

11.3

6.3

79%

EBIT %

11.9%

4.1%

11.0%

6.7%

Average directs

2,174

2,012

8%

2,160

2,035

6%

Average indirects

405

447

-9%

416

449

-7%

Ratio direct/indirect

5.4

4.5

5.2

4.5

Revenue

The limited growth in Q1 accelerated as projected in Q2 to double digit growth, helped by 2.7 additional working days. Revenue per working day increased by 10%. Our workforce continued to grow during the second quarter. June showed the strongest growth so far in this year.

Gross Profit

Gross profit increased by 27% following the revenue growth and higher gross margin. Adjusted for working days, the gross margin remained flat.

EBIT

The strong gross profit improvements combined with a limited overhead reduction increased EBIT to over EUR 6 million in Q2.

Brunel Netherlands (unaudited)

P&L amounts in EUR million

Q2 2016

Q2 2015

Change %

H1 2016

H1 2015

Change %

Revenue

49.2

43.1

14%

100.9

88.4

14%

Gross Profit

13.4

11.2

20%

28.5

25.0

14%

Gross Margin

27.3%

25.9%

28.2%

28.3%

Operating costs

10.2

10.5

-3%

20.7

20.3

2%

EBIT

3.2

0.7

360%

7.7

4.7

64%

EBIT %

6.5%

1.6%

7.6%

5.4%

Average directs

2,173

2,078

5%

2,224

2,047

9%

Average indirects

381

367

4%

381

362

5%

Ratio direct/indirect

5.7

5.7

5.8

5.7

Revenue

The growth in Q2 was helped by two additional working days. Revenue per working day increased by 10%. The business line IT was again a very strong performer comparing Q2 year on year, followed by the business line Marketing & Communications. Engineering and Finance remained flat. Finance is affected by the current state of affairs with some of the main players in the financial industry.

In Q2 we have also seen the first effect of the implementation of new legislation for freelancers with the start of the transition period. The uncertainty around this transition period has lead to different interpretations in our industry, where we appear to be more stringent. As a result, we have seen a considerable number of freelancers transferring to our competitors.

Gross Profit

Gross margin improved mainly as a result of the additional working days, partly offset by lower productivity due to training initiatives. In combination with the revenue growth, gross profit grew by 20%.

EBIT

The gross profit improvement drove the strong EBIT expansion, helped by a limited decrease of overhead.

Effective tax rate

The effective tax rate in the first half year of 2016 is 37.9%, at the same level as the same period last year. For the full year we project the effective tax rate to come down.

Risk profile

Reference is made to our 2015 Annual Report (pages 63 - 81). Reassessment of our earlier identified risks and the potential impact on occurrence has not resulted in required changes in our internal risk management and control systems.

Cash position

Brunel's cash position remained strong compared to December 2015 at EUR 137 million, despite the dividend and super dividend payment in June 2016.

Outlook for 2016

The difficult circumstances in the Energy market still cause uncertainty around the developments for the rest of the year, and will continue to impact our results. Our organisation continues to win new clients and projects, also outside Oil & Gas. However, these developments are not yet sufficient to compensate the decline in our existing business. We are adjusting our organisation and business model to the changing market circumstances.

In The Netherlands, our growth will be temporarily affected by the reduction in freelancers following the recent change in labour law, and we expect limited growth in the remainder of the year. We will continue to invest in our organisation by strengthening our sales force, but also by further improving our online sourcing capabilities.

In Germany we foresee continued strong growth.

For the full year, we expect revenue between EUR 850 million and EUR 900 million and EBIT between EUR 30 million and EUR 35 million.

Jan Arie van Barneveld, CEO of Brunel International N.V.: 'Our business in the Oil & Gas market remains very challenging, and at this moment we feel that this market will not improve in the coming twelve months. We continue to improve our operational performance and processes in Energy to remain profitable in this challenging environment. In the past Brunel has shown the capability to use difficult circumstances to make the company stronger, with Germany and The Netherlands being the most recent examples. I am very proud of our achievements in the German organisation, where we found the growth path again and I am confident we will stay on this track.'

Statement of the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of Brunel International N.V. hereby declares that, to the best of its knowledge, the interim financial statements give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and result of Brunel International N.V. and the companies jointly included in the consolidation, and that the interim report gives a true and fair view of the information referred to in the eighth and, insofar as applicable, the ninth subsection of Section 5:25d of the Dutch Act on Financial Supervision and with reference to the section on related parties in the interim financial statements.

Amsterdam, 19 August 2016

Brunel International N.V.

Jan Arie van Barneveld (CEO)

Peter de Laat (CFO)

Arjan de Vries (COO Energy)

Brunel International NV published this content on 19 August 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
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