In the third quarter of 2014 the RHI Group’s revenues declined by 4.9% compared with the second quarter of 2014 and amounted to € 415.6 million. This is primarily due to a lack of new construction business in the Industrial Division and postponements of planned installations to the fourth quarter of 2014.
As a result of weaker business in the Industrial Division, the operating result dropped from € 37.7 million in the preceding quarter to € 28.3 million in the third quarter of 2014. Consequently, the operating result margin decreased from 8.6% to 6.8% in the past quarter.
EBIT amounted to € 25.3 million in the third quarter of 2014 and includes restructuring costs of € 3.0 million, which resulted from the closure of the plant in Duisburg, Germany. Contrary to the original plans regarding the winding-up of the site, no appropriate utilization options have arisen for the use of existing plant and equipment.
9M/2014 – comparative period 2013 includes net income from termination of US Chapter 11 proceedings In the first nine months of the year 2014, revenues of the RHI Group were down 3.3% on the comparative period of 2013 and amounted to € 1,254.7 million. While revenues of the Steel Division decreased slightly by 0.4%, the Industrial Division recorded a drop in revenues of 9.9% year-on-year due to the weak development of new construction projects. Especially the contribution to revenues of the nonferrous metals business unit dropped sharply as a result of lower metal prices and that of the glass business unit due to low investment activities in the relevant customer industries.
The operating result of the RHI Group in the first nine months of this year totaled € 100.1 million and was thus 8.0% lower than in the comparative period of 2013, at € 108.8 million. While the Steel Division benefited from an improved product mix of higher-grade products and better utilization of fixed costs as a result of the closure of the site in Duisburg, Germany, at the beginning of the financial year, the operating result of the Industrial Division decreased as a result of low construction activities and the related lower capacity utilization in the production plants. The operating result margin declined from 8.4% in the first nine months of the year 2013 to 8.0% in the current financial year.
EBIT amounted to € 97.4 million in the first nine months of the current year and includes restructuring costs amounting to € 3.5 million, which result from the closure of the plant in Duisburg, Germany, and income from the reversal of provisions of € 0.8 million due to a reassessment of the scope of obligations in the context of the termination of the US Chapter 11 proceedings in the previous year. In the comparative period of 2013, EBIT included among other things restructuring provisions amounting to € 19.0 million, which were formed for the announced closure of the site in Duisburg, Germany, and net income of € 76.2 million from the termination of the US Chapter 11 proceedings.
At September 30, 2014, equity amounted to € 506.1 million, compared with € 485.5 million at December 31, 2013. The equity ratio consequently rose from 28.2% at the end of the financial year 2013 to 28.5% at September 30, 2014. Cash and cash equivalents decreased from € 112.4 million to € 90.5 million, which was among other things due to the dividend payment of € 29.9 million and the increase in working capital compared with December 31, 2013. Payment from the Schuldscheindarlehen of € 170 million was received in early October. Net debt rose from € 422.9 million at the beginning of the year to € 451.2 million.
Net cash flow from operating activities totaled € 40.1 million in the first nine months of 2014, after € 117.0 million in the comparative period of 2013. This is primarily attributable to a strong increase in working capital in the course of the year and payments of roughly € 12 million made in the context of the social plan related to the closure of the plant in Duisburg, Germany.
Outlook Provided that the macroeconomic environment and exchange rates remain stable, RHI expects similar revenues in the fourth quarter of 2014 as in the fourth quarter of 2013. In the Industrial Division, the fourth quarter should bring the highest revenues of the current financial year.
For the full year 2014, RHI expects revenues slightly below and an operating result slightly above the level of the previous year. Due to a decrease in production volume, RHI is currently evaluating the closure of a site in Europe as part of the plant concept. As a result, the reported EBIT margin may decline by 0.5 percentage points in the full year 2014 due to possible restructuring costs arising in this context.
| in € million | 9M/2014 | 9M/2013 | Delta | Q3/2014 | Q2/2014 | Delta | |
| Revenues | 1,254.7 | 1,298.1 | (3.3)% | 415.6 | 436.8 | (4.9)% | |
| EBITDA | 148.1 | 218.3 | (32.2)% | 43.1 | 54.8 | (21.4)% | |
| EBITDA margin | 11.8% | 16.8% | (5.0)pp | 10.4% | 12.5% | (2.1)pp | |
| Operating result 1) | 100.1 | 108.8 | (8.0)% | 28.3 | 37.7 | (24.9)% | |
| Operating result margin | 8.0% | 8.4% | (0.4)pp | 6.8% | 8.6% | (1.8)pp | |
| EBIT | 97.4 | 164.1 | (40.6)% | 25.3 | 38.5 | (34.3)% | |
| EBIT margin | 7.8% | 12.6% | (4.8)pp | 6.1% | 8.8% | (2.7)pp | |
| Profit before income taxes | 80.7 | 141.4 | (42.9)% | 18.1 | 33.8 | (46.4)% | |
| Profit | 51.6 | 101.2 | (49.0)% | 9.0 | 22.8 | (60.5)% |
1) EBIT before impairment and restructuring expenses and result from Chapter 11 proceeding