HELMA Eigenheimbau AG reports 10th consecutive new order intake record: 2016 new order intake up 6.5 % to EUR 286.8 million

HELMA Eigenheimbau AG reports 10th consecutive new order intake record: 2016 new order intake up 6.5 % to EUR 286.8 million

Lehrte, January 12, 2017 - In the 2016 financial year, HELMA Eigenheimbau AG - the specialist for individual solid construction houses and sustainable energy concepts - achieved significant year-on-year new order intake growth for the tenth consecutive year. Following an expected strong final quarter, consolidated new order intake was up by 6.5 %, growing from EUR 269.4 million to EUR 286.8 million. It should be noted in this context that the previous year was extraordinarily strong with a 40 % increase in new orders received. In terms of the five-year period between 2011 and 2016, consolidated new order intake was consequently up from EUR 106.8 million to EUR 286.8 million, representing an average annual growth rate of around 22 %. In consequence, the HELMA Group commands a very good starting position to continue tangible revenue and earnings growth in the 2017 financial year.

New order intake by companies:
After around 36 % new order intake growth in the previous year, HELMA Eigenheimbau AG did not fully match the previous year's very good figures. New order intake of EUR 99.0 million in 2016 was down by EUR 12.1 million. This reduction especially reflected the tightening of the German Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV) at the start of year as well as the late announcement of specific subsidy modalities for the KfW Efficiency House 55, which fed through to more moderate than expected demand in the building services business especially in the first six months of the year. This setback was also not fully offset by a strong second half of the year, which proved better than the previous year's second half. Uncertainty among potential customers - which became evident in the market during the course of the year and derived from a residential property lending directive that became effective from March 2016 - had only a minor effect on business progress, as such uncertainty was successfully counteracted by the building finance expertise the Hausbau Finanz GmbH subsidiary offers.

The subsidiaries operating in the property development business continued the past years' significant growth, by contrast. The new order intake of HELMA Wohnungsbau GmbH in 2016 increased by around 9 % from EUR 138.6 million to EUR 150.8 million. Due to focusing on the metropolitan regions of Berlin/Brandenburg, Hamburg, Hannover and Munich, as well as Leipzig since the start of the year, the residential property offerings of HELMA Wohnungsbau GmbH have enjoyed consistently high demand for many years. Such demand particularly reflects the continued securing of attractive land plots as well as the marked growth of major cities, which recent studies suggest will continue in the future. The highest rate of new order intake growth in 2016 was achieved by HELMA Ferienimmobilien GmbH, where new order intake was up from EUR 19.6 million to EUR 37.0 million. This represents a growth rate of around 89 %, especially reflecting very good order intake figures at the Baltic Sea resort project in Olpenitz.

Planned switch to Deutsche Börse's new SME listing segment:
Deutsche Börse will launch a new market listing segment prospectively on March 1, 2017 with the aim of further improving access to investors and growth capital for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs, in German: KMUs). The Management Board of HELMA Eigenheimbau AG has passed a resolution to implement a switch to this new market segment ('KMU Segment'), which is to replace the Entry Standard, on its start date.

Financial calendar:
The financial calendar for the 2017 financial year is available at the following link:
www.ir.helma.de/websites/helma/English/800/financial-calendar.html

About HELMA Eigenheimbau AG:
HELMA Eigenheimbau AG is a customer-oriented building services-provider offering a full range of services. The focus is on the development, planning, sale, and construction management of turnkey or partially completed detached and semi-detached houses using the solid construction method. Particularly the option of individual planning and individualisation without extra costs, as well as the company's outstanding know-how in the area of energy-efficient construction methods, are perceived on the markets as HELMA Eigenheimbau AG's unique selling propositions. With its persuasive sustainable energy concepts, the company has established itself as one of the leading providers of solar energy-saving homes, and is one of the most experienced companies in the solid construction house sector, having constructed several thousand owner-occupier homes. As a property development company, holiday home builder, and finance broker respectively, HELMA Wohnungsbau GmbH, HELMA Ferienimmobilien GmbH and Hausbau Finanz GmbH round out HELMA Group's product range.

Investor Relations contact:
Gerrit Janssen, Management Board member/CFO
Tel.: +49 (0)5132 8850 345
E-mail: ir@helma.de