Dürr recorded a further increase in earnings in the first half of 2013 and is well on the way to achieving its full-year targets. Whereas the sales revenues of € 1,131.7 million matched the previous year’s level (€ 1,163.3 million), the EBIT margin widened to 7.3% (previous year 6.2%). At € 1,293.5 million, order intake fell slightly short of the previous year’s very high figure (€ 1,404.3 million) as planned. With demand from the automotive industry remaining strong, orders from the general mechanical engineering industry leveled off to some extent in line with expectations. Ralf W. Dieter, CEO of Dürr AG: “Dürr is fully on track and has maintained its upward earnings trajectory. The basis for this was provided by high capacity utilization, productivity gains and the quality of our order execution. We expect sales to gain substantial momentum in the second half of the year.” Valued at € 2,457.5 million, Dürr’s order backlog ensures capacity utilization until well into 2014.
58.4% of new orders came from the emerging markets, where the strong demand for production technology continued in the automotive industry. China alone, in which automobile sales rose by 21% in the first half of 2013, accounted for 37% or € 477 million of the order intake. Demand in North America picked up in the second quarter, while the automotive industry in Western Europe scaled back capital spending substantially.
Service revenues rose by 6.3% in the first half of the year, accounting for 21% of consolidated sales, up from 19% in the previous year.
Dürr raised its capital expenditure by 36% to € 21.8 million in order to continue bringing capacity into line with heightened market volume. Following investments in facilities in China, Mexico and the company’s headquarters in Bietigheim-Bissingen (new assembly hall, additions to testing center), the facilities in Ochtrup and Püttlingen (both Germany) as well as in Radom (Poland) are now to be enlarged. In addition, Dürr will be building its first testing center for painting technology in Japan so as to address this market more effectively. Research and development expense also rose by a substantial 18.3% to € 19.4 million. Selling and administrative expenses climbed only moderately by 5.7%. The financial result, which had included non-recurring costs in the previous year, improved by € 2.6 million to € -10.2 million. On this basis, earnings after tax rose by a disproportionately strong 19% to € 52.4 million.
Cash flow from operating activities came to € 12.1 million after the first six months of 2013. The net financial status improved by € 91.3 million over the middle of 2012, coming to € 43.0 million. Despite the dividend payout of € 38.9 million, equity rose again to € 438.0 million, resulting in an equity ratio of 23.8%. Ralph Heuwing, CFO: “Our main financial metrics are likely to continue improving through to the end of the year. Consequently, we are well positioned for the future.”
Dürr had 7,899 employees as of June 30, 2013. 585 new jobs (up 8%) have been created since the same date of the previous year, including 247 in the current year. In Germany, staff numbers have risen by 124 to 3,536 since the beginning of 2013.
Outlook
With business performance in line with expectations in the first half of the year, Dürr confirms its full-year guidance for 2013 subject to the proviso that there is no major slump in the economy. Accordingly, sales should come to € 2.4 – 2.6 billion, order intake to € 2.3 – 2.5 billion and the EBIT margin to 7.0 – 7.5%. Dürr has raised its capital spending forecast from € 35 – 40 million to € 45 – 50 million. The headcount is expected to rise to around 8,000 by the end of 2013.
