ATB Austria Antriebstechnik AG: ATB Group presents results for the 2014 financial year

Vienna (pta044/21.04.2015/18:15 UTC+2) Revenues of EUR 335.7 million almost at prior-year level
EBITDA decreased to EUR 20.2 million
Order backlog up by 10.5% as at 31 December
Investing activities increased further by 8.6%

Vienna, 21 April 2015 - ATB Austria Antriebstechnik AG, based in Vienna and listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange, had to face a number of challenges in several sales markets in the 2014 financial year. On the one hand, the global and European economy did not recover as much as forecast. On the other hand, the crises in Russia, the Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as the ever-persistent downward trend in the mining segment impacted the Group's business activities. Despite extensive countermeasures, the ATB Group was unable to completely cushion the unfavourable business trend in 2014.

New orders and order backlog

Germany, with a share of 39.9% of revenues, remains the ATB Group's most important sales market. However, in the German electrical industry, domestic orders stagnated completely in the past year, while orders from abroad increased slightly*. The ATB Group's new orders in the past financial year were EUR 347.4 million and thus 2.6% below the prior-year comparative (EUR 356.6 million). At EUR 128.4 million, the order backlog at the 2014 year end far exceeded the prior-year level (EUR 116.1 million). In the Low Voltage segment, new orders rose by 2.5%** to EUR 119.8 million (previous year**: EUR 116.9 million). At EUR 20.2 million (previous year**: EUR 17.1 million), order backlog in this segment was an impressive 18.2%** above the prior-year level. In the High Voltage division, new orders in the past financial year fell by 8.2%** to EUR 178.1 million (previous year**: EUR 194.1 million) while order backlog as at the year end had increased by 7.2%** to EUR 100.4 million (previous year**: EUR 93.6 million).

Revenues and result

The tense macroeconomic situation in the ATB Group's key markets had a negative effect on the Company's revenues and results of operations in the past financial year. In the 2014 financial year, the ATB Group was not quite able to hold its revenues at the prior-year level. At EUR 335.7 million, it was 1.3% below the prior-year comparative (EUR 340.1 million). There was a demonstrable difference between the performance of the two segments: while Low Voltage division revenues only declined by 0.4%** to EUR 130.7 million (previous year**: EUR 131.2 million), High Voltage division revenues fell by 2.9%** to EUR 178.5 million (previous year**: EUR 184.0 million.).
EBITDA declined by 30.5% in the past financial year, from EUR 29.1 million in the previous year to EUR 20.2 million in the 2014 financial year. In the same period, the Low Voltage division generated EBITDA of EUR 7.7 million, while the High Voltage division contributed EUR 9.7 million to consolidated EBITDA. Direct comparison with previous years is not always possible as the new breakdown does not entirely correspond to the previous structure. However, as an approximation, it can be said that the Low Voltage segment performed better compared to earlier results for this product group than the High Voltage segment.
In terms of operating profit (EBIT), the ATB Group suffered a decline of 62.0% to EUR 9.5 million (previous year: EUR 25.1 million). In the 2014 financial year, the EBIT margin adjusted for special/one-off effects from restructuring expenses was 3.0% (previous year: 5.7%). Profit before tax (EBT) fell to EUR 3.0 million and was thus 83.7% below the prior-year amount. Over the same period of time, profit for the period was EUR 11.9 million, which corresponds to a reduction of 54.6% (2013: EUR 26.2 million).

Asset and capital structure

The asset and capital structure of the ATB Group was stable as at the balance sheet date of 31 December 2014. At the 31 December 2014 balance sheet date, total assets increased compared to the prior-year balance sheet date by EUR 59.6 million, or 18.2%, to EUR 386.2 million (previous year: EUR 326.7 million). The equity ratio, which reflects equity as a percentage of total capital, decreased to 33.9% as at the 2014 balance sheet date (previous year: 35.1%). Return on equity reflects profit or loss before tax as a percentage of average equity. While this was 18.1% at the 2013 balance sheet date, it amounted to 2.5% at 31 December 2014. Return on total capital (profit or loss for the period before tax and interest as a percentage of average total capital) decreased from 8.1% at 31 December 2013 to 2.7% at the 2014 balance sheet date.

Investments

In the 2014 reporting year, the ATB Group incurred capital expenditure in the amount of EUR 21.3 million (previous year: EUR 19.7 million), of which EUR 13.9 million (previous year: EUR 12.5 million) was attributable to property, plant and equipment and EUR 7.4 million (previous year: EUR 7.2 million) to intangible assets. This corresponds to an increase in capital expenditure of 8.6%. There were no business acquisitions in 2014.

Employees

The ATB Group employed a total of 3,708 people as at the 31 December 2014 reporting date (31 December 2013: 3,542).

Outlook

After a difficult year in terms of the economy and challenges in many sales markets, the ATB Group still managed to commence 2015 with optimistic prospects. On the one hand, appropriate steps were taken to reverse the slump in revenues; on the other hand, comprehensive optimisation measures were initiated via the Group-wide "World Class Business" project and investments were made in targeted sales actions that together provide the ATB Group with a good starting point for future growth. For the coming year, the European Commission is also forecasting a gradual increase in economic growth to 1.5% in the EU.*** According to an assessment by the IMF (International Monetary Fund), the global economy should even grow by 3.5% due to the low price of oil.****

Hitting the mark with innovation and customer service is necessary for continued success in the market. In 2015, the ATB Group will therefore again keep its main focus on developing energy-efficient drives and the associated inverter technology. Cost efficiency of existing solutions and designs must be constantly examined and improved to remain competitive in the future. We invested several hundred thousand euros in the completion of the IE3 product series in the past year with the aim of reducing energy consumption and thus the CO2 emissions of our motors, and to meet the statutory requirements. The obligatory introduction of premium efficiency motors for performances from 7.5 kW to 375 kW and of the IE2 motors plus frequency converters are opening up new sales opportunities for our Company. As far as sales are concerned, we will once again organise an international sales conference during which the timetable for the new sales strategy, which is broken down into the Low Voltage and High Voltage divisions, will be finalised and translated into plans of action for the current year, 2015.

For 2015, ATB management has great expectations for the "World Class Business" (WCB) programme whose objective is to expand our market share in an increasingly competitive market, to grow sustainably, to constantly increase our profitability, to discharge our corporate social responsibility and to contribute to a clean environment. A number of activities to bundle purchasing volumes are also planned for 2015 as part of the Lead Buyer programme. We continue to focus on improving the flexibility and adaptation of human resources. For 2015, capital expenditure of around EUR 7.9 million for renewing machines and EUR 5.9 million for product enhancements has also again been budgeted for.

ATB Group management is assuming that the optimisation measures initiated and the focus on core tasks will provide a solid foundation for the continued successful development of the Group.

ATB Austria Antriebstechnik AG - selected key figures
in TEUR	2014	2013	% change
Revenues	335,675	340,094	-1.3%
EBITDA	20,222	29,094	-30.5%
Operating profit (EBIT)	9,543	25,129	-62.0%
Profit/loss before tax (EBT)	3,031	18,579	-83.7%
Profit/loss for the period	11,863	26,158	-54.6%
New orders	347,443	356,642	-2.6%
Order backlog (as at 31 December)	128,397	116,144	10.5%
Capital expenditure	21,383	19,697	8.6%
Employees (including apprentices)	3,708	3,542	4.7%

The complete 2014 annual report will be available for download at http://www.atb-motors.com/EN/Investor%20Relations/Financial%20Reports/Financial+Reports.aspx from 21 April 2015.

* See German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (ZVEI): Economic Indicators for the Electrical Industry, February 2015
** Approximate values. Direct comparison with previous years is not possible due to new segment structure.
*** See European Commission: Autumn Forecast, 4 November 2014
**** See International Monetary Fund: World Economic Outlook, Update 19 January 2015

Note
This disclosure includes statements about possible future events. These statements have been prepared based on information currently available. They reflect the Managing Board's current assessment of future events and should not be taken as guarantees of future performance; they include risks and uncertainties which are difficult to predict. A wide variety of reasons could cause actual results or circumstances to differ fundamentally from the assumptions made in the statements.

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