Publications

Financial and press releases

Bergisch Gladbach, 10 August 2023

INDUS achieves EBIT margin of 9.4% in the first half of the year

- Stable performance despite slowing market momentum
- Guidance confirmed – Sales expected at lower end and EBIT margin at the upper end of the forecast range

In the first six months of 2023, the portfolio companies of listed INDUS Holding AG slightly expanded their business compared with the previous year: Sales rose by 2.0% to EUR 904.1 million (previous year: EUR 886.3 million). Operating income (EBIT) amounted to EUR 84.9 million (previous year: EUR 87.4 million). The EBIT margin was 9.4% (previous year: 9.9%).

After the reporting date, contracts were signed for the sale of SCHÄFER and SELZER, the two remaining portfolio companies in the discontinued operations. As a result, INDUS has completely disposed of the automotive suppliers of the former Automotive Technology segment. The effects of the divestments, including the operating losses, are largely reflected in the financial statements for the first half of the year. The negative result from discontinued operations amounted to EUR -25.8 million in the first half of the year (previous year: EUR -36.2 million).

“Despite the slowdown in market momentum, our portfolio companies delivered a stable performance in the first six months of 2023,” says Dr. Johannes Schmidt, Chairman of the INDUS Board of Management. “The second half of the year will no longer be burdened by the discontinued operations. This clears the way for the Group’s real earnings power.”

At EUR 21.7 million, INDUS Group’s earnings after taxes were slightly up on the previous year (EUR 20.7 million). Thereof, earnings after taxes from continuing operations amounted to EUR 47.5 million (previous year: EUR 56.9 million). Earnings per share were EUR 1.76 for the continuing operations (previous year: EUR 2.10) and EUR -0.96 for the discontinued operations (previous year: EUR -1.34).

Engineering and Materials segments increase sales and EBIT

In the Engineering segment, the portfolio companies increased their sales by 4.0% to EUR 280.7 million (previous year: EUR 269.8 million). The companies acquired in 2022, HEIBER + SCHRÖDER and HELD, contributed 2.8% of this total through inorganic growth. The segment’s operating income (EBIT) also rose by 4.4% to EUR 25.9 million (previous year: EUR 24.8 million). Earnings increased in particular in the area of measuring technology and control engineering due to better availability of semiconductors. At 9.2%, the EBIT margin was at the previous year’s level and is expected to be between 9% and 11% for the full year.

The Infrastructure segment is feeling the effects of the significant slowdown in construction activity. Starting from a very high level, demand is weakening, especially in the new construction sector. At EUR 291.3 million, segment sales were almost on a par with the previous year (EUR 294.0 million). Operating income (EBIT) fell to EUR 25.1 million (previous year: EUR 35.4 million). The EBIT margin was 8.6% (previous year: 12.0%). For the full year, the Board of Management now expects an EBIT margin of between 9% and 11%. In January 2023, the segment was strengthened by the acquisition of QUICK Bauprodukte GmbH.

The Materials segment continued to perform very well, with purely organic sales growth of 2.9%. Sales increased to EUR 331.5 million (previous year: EUR 322.3 million) despite partly lower sales prices as a result of reduced material prices. Operating income (EBIT) grew by 15.1% to EUR 38.1 million (previous year: EUR 33.1 million). The EBIT margin increased to 11.5% (previous year: 10.3%). The overall slowdown in economic momentum and the expected imposition of an anti-dumping duty on imports of a key raw material will weigh on the segment’s EBIT in the second half of the year. However, the Board of Management now expects a slightly higher EBIT margin of between 7% and 9% for the full year.

Operating cash flow clearly above previous year

Cash flow from operating activities increased to EUR 39.2 million in the first half of the year (previous year: EUR -15.1 million). In the same period of the previous year, the portfolio companies had deliberately built up high inventories in view of the difficult supply situation. Against the background of more relaxed supply chains and slowly normalizing material prices, these inventories could now be reduced. Free cash flow, which was introduced as an additional performance indicator as part of the ‘PARKOUR perform’ strategy update, improved by around EUR 53 million to EUR 35.2 million (previous year: EUR -17.6 million). The equity ratio stood at 35.6% (31 December 2022: 36.3%).

Guidance confirmed despite economic slowdown

“Sentiment in the German economy is subdued. However, our portfolio companies have learned to react quickly to changes in a volatile environment,” says Dr. Johannes Schmidt. “They are actively tackling the current challenges, for example by continuously improving their operational excellence and through strict cost management. Following the swift sale of our discontinued operations, the Board is now focusing on the further development of our industrial technology portfolio. In particular, we are targeting acquisitions to strengthen our defined future fields.”

After the first six months of the financial year 2023, the Board of Management expects full-year sales to be at the lower end of the forecast range of EUR 1.9 billion to EUR 2.0 billion. Excluding possible impairment losses on goodwill, INDUS continues to project earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of between EUR 145 million and EUR 165 million. The EBIT margin is expected to be at the upper end of the forecast range of 7% to 8%. The Board of Management continues to forecast free cash flow above EUR 100 million for the full year.

The complete interim report is available here. An overview of the key performance indicators is available here.

Axel Meyer

COO Engineering
Axel Meyer (German citizen, born 1968) has been a member of the INDUS Board of Management since October 2017.

Until joining INDUS, he held various management positions at Schuler AG, most recently as Managing Director of Schuler Pressen and Head of the Service Division of the Schuler Group, Goeppingen, Germany.

Previously, Axel Meyer worked as a member of the Board of Management of the international management consultancy IMAGIN Prof. Bochmann AG, Eppstein im Taunus, Germany. He started his professional career in the Schuler Group's Solid Forming Division, initially in global sales and later as Division Manager.

Axel Meyer studied industrial engineering in Germany and the USA and earned a Master of Mergers & Acquisitions (LL.M.) at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management while working. 

Gudrun Degenhart

COO Materials Solutions
Gudrun Degenhart (German citizen, born 1970) has been a member of the Board of Management of INDUS since October 2023.

She has more than 20 years of experience in the management and development of portfolio companies in Europe, USA and the Asia-Pacific regions.

Before joining INDUS, Gudrun Degenhart was CEO for the German portfolio companies of the international service group ISS. She previously worked for the thyssenkrupp Group, including as CEO of the international business unit for special lifts and as CEO of Materials Western Europe and Asia-Pacific. She gained experience in medium-sized companies as a board member of the construction technology company Schöck.

A graduate in business administration, she began her career by building up the Central and Eastern European activities of the construction specialist Lindner Group. 

Dr. Jörn Großmann

COO Infrastructure
Dr. Jörn Großmann (German citizen, born 1968) has been a member of the INDUS Board of Management since January 2019.

Up until joining INDUS, he worked for the Dutch group Aalberts Industries, with his last position being the sole managing director of Impreglon, Lüneburg, Germany.

He previously held various positions at the Georgsmarienhütte Group, initially becoming managing director of Mannstaedt, Troisdorf, Germany and later managing director of GMH Edelstahl Service Center Burg and GMH Engineering. Before Dr. Großmann became the managing director of Buderus Feinguss, Moers, Germany, he worked as a development engineer and as a technical director for Doncasters Precision Castings, Bochum, Germany.

He studied material sciences and earned a doctorate in the field of natural sciences.

Dr. -Ing. Johannes Schmidt

CEO
Dr. -Ing. Johannes Schmidt (German citizen, born 1961) has been a member of the Board of Management of INDUS since January 2006. He has assumed the position of CEO since July 2018.

Dr. -Ing. Schmidt was previously the sole managing director of ebm-papst Landshut, Germany, a manufacturer of ventilation motors and fans. During his tenure there, his main achievements included advancing the development of new product platforms and the internationalization of production sites.

Dr. -Ing. Schmidt began his career at Richard Bergner, a manufacturer of electrical instruments from Schwabach, Germany. He initially led product development before rising to the position of managing director during his 12 years at the company.

Schmidt, who studied mathematics, gained an engineering doctorate in mechanics from the Technical University of Darmstadt. 

Rudolf Weichert

CFO
Rudolf Weichert (German citizen, born 1963) is the CFO of INDUS.

Before joining the INDUS Board of Management in June 2012, he was a Partner at KPMG for nine years. He spent three of these years in Detroit, Michigan, United States, where he worked mainly with companies in the engineering, and materials trading industries.

Mr. Weichert, who holds a masters degree in business administration, worked for KPMG for about 20 years, primarily in the firm’s Duesseldorf office, where he worked mainly with multinational manufacturing corporations.