KBA annual financial figures for 2016 show a growth in its revenue at 13.9 per cent from €1bn ($1.42bn) to €1.16bn, with the company saying it exceeded its medium-term targets.
EBIT and EBT came in at €62.9m and €56.8m, respectively. KBA says at 4.9 per cent the EBT margin guidance up to 5 per cent was achieved in full.
Earnings were driven by non-recurring income of €22.4m from the mandatory write-ups of property, plant and equipment and the recognition of deferred tax assets of €7.4m. Group net profit rose to €82.2m, compared to the 2015 result of €26.9m, equivalent to earnings per share of €4.98, in 2015 EPS was at €1.62.
Claus Bolza-Schünemann, CEO, KBA says, “The profitable growth was generated in existing and new packaging markets, from industrial applications in digital web printing and the continued expansion of service business – despite the absence of any macroeconomic support. With all segments operating profitably, we were able to achieve a further goal.”
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Dr Mathias Dähn, CFO, KBA says, “After a decade of declining revenue and unsatisfactory margins, we want our shareholders to receive a fair portion of this success. Accordingly, the management board and the supervisory board will be asking the shareholders to approve a dividend of €0.50 per share at the annual general meeting on 23 May 2017.”
Its order intake dipped from €1.18bn to €1.14bn whereas its order backlog grew from €574.9m to €557.5m.
The company’s export ratio just topped last year’s number from 85 per cent to 85.5 per cent. KBA says this result was driven by the growth in the rest of Europe, Northern and Latin America as well as Africa. The Asia Pacific was impacted by the softer economy in China.
Sheetfed grew 9.5 per cent to €615m. EBIT jumped from €25.5m to €31.3m, underpinned by the higher revenue in tandem with improved margins, strong capacity utilisation and the growth in service business. After the expected slowdown in post-Drupa business, Q4 had an order intake of €569.7m a drop compared to 2015 at €663m.
Digital & Web had an EBIT of €1.9m despite the strain caused by development expenses. With order intake up 28 per cent to €150.8m, revenue rose by 59 per cent to €156.5m.
KBA says it expects the partnership with HP in the corrugated packaging sector and its own RotaJET series to make a growing contribution to its digital printing business.
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Bolza-Schünemann says, “Despite the persistently challenging conditions in the global economy particularly in the light of recent political developments, we are facing 2017, the year of our company’s 200th anniversary, with confidence. Should conditions for our global business not significantly deteriorate, we target an organic growth of up to €1.25bn in group revenue and an EBIT margin of around 6 per cent in 2017.”
For the next five years, KBA aims to increase group revenue by four per cent, with most of it originating from packaging printing.
Dähn says, “Our declared aim is for all business units to contribute to growth in the future. As higher equipment revenue is not expected in security printing, we are exploring further options for growth including strategic partnerships in the banknote life cycle.”
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