Revenue of the RHI Group was down 8.0% on the comparative period of 2015 and amounted to € 830.2 million in the first half of 2016. In the Steel Division, revenue decreased by 5.6% especially due to a weaker business development in South America, Europe and China. In the Industrial Division, the decline in revenue by 14.4% compared with the first half of 2015 is among other things attributable to lower deliveries in the cement/lime, glass and environment, energy, chemicals business units.
The operating EBIT amounted to € 70.2 million in the first half of the year. Compared with the first half of 2015, at € 68.6 million, this is an increase by 2.3% despite the decrease in revenue. This development is primarily due to a highly satisfactory earnings situation in the Steel Division based on positive product mix effects, better utilization of the production capacities resulting from the increase in sales volume as well as savings in overhead costs. Moreover, the operating EBIT of the Raw Materials Division improved significantly as a result of good capacity utilization at the two Austrian raw material plants, Breitenau and Hochfilzen, which predominantly produce basic mixes for the steel industry, especially for the use in electric arc furnaces, and lower production costs at the plant in Porsgrunn, Norway. In contrast, the operating EBIT of the Industrial Division was lower than in the previous year due to a decline in revenue. The RHI Group’s operating EBIT margin rose from 7.6% in the first half of 2015 to 8.5% in the first half of 2016.
EBIT amounted to € 68.8 million in the first half of this year and includes a negative earnings effect of € 4.6 million from the deconsolidation of the US subsidiary RHI Monofrax, LLC resulting from the sale to the German private equity fund Callista. On the other hand, it also includes a positive net effect from the power supply contract in Norway. Based on own use, the sale at market prices and an increase in electricity future prices, financial liabilities of roughly € 3.0 million were reversed and recognized through profit or loss.
Q2/2016 In the second quarter of 2016, the RHI Group’s revenue rose to € 440.5 million, up 13.0% on the previous quarter. This increase is primarily attributable to significantly higher contributions to revenue from the Steel Division, especially in Europe, Africa and the CIS region, and from the environment, energy, chemicals and nonferrous metals business units.
The operating EBIT rose from € 30.3 million in the first quarter of 2016 to € 39.9 million in the past quarter, which was among other things due to better utilization of the production capacities resulting from the increase in sales volume. In addition, the operating EBIT of the second quarter of 2016 is influenced by positive currency effects resulting from the devaluation of the euro. The operating EBIT margin of the RHI Group thus improved from 7.8% in the first quarter of 2016 to 9.1% in the past quarter.
Working capital decreased for the fifth consecutive quarter and amounted to € 495.1 million at June 30, 2016 after € 532.6 million at the end of the year 2015. The decline by € 37.5 million is attributable to both lower inventories and lower trade receivables.
Net cash flow from operating activities amounted to € 76.7 million in the first half of 2016 after € 64.9 million in the same period of 2015. After the deduction of cash flow from investing activities of € (17.1) million in the first half of the year, free cash flow amounted to € 59.6 million after € 62.8 million in the first half of 2015. Net debt declined from € 397.9 million at the end of the year 2015 to € 373.9 million at June 30, 2016 despite the dividend payment of € 29.9 million.
Outlook Despite the challenging market environment, the Management Board of RHI AG is increasing the outlook due to the positive earnings development in the first half of the year. Consequently, an operating EBIT margin of roughly 8% is expected for the full year 2016, which corresponds to an increase by roughly one percentage point compared with the previous year.
Due to the development in the customer industries, RHI is currently working on further optimizing the plant structure, which could lead to an adjustment of production capacities in Europe in the current financial year. In addition, different cost measures have been defined in the sales and general administrative departments. The planned continuation of the reduction of working capital should support the generation of free cash flow and lead to a further reduction of net debt.
| in € million Revenue EBITDA EBITDA margin Operating EBIT 1) Operating EBIT margin EBIT EBIT margin Profit before income tax Profit after income tax | 1H/2016 830.2 100.6 12.1% 70.2 8.5% 68.6 8.3% 62.9 38.9 | 1H/2015 902.0 102.5 11.4% 68.6 7.6% 68.6 7.6% 63.0 44.6 | Delta (8.0)% (1.9)% 0.7pp 2.3% 0.9pp 0.0% 0.7pp (0.2)% (12.8)% | 2Q/2016 440.5 57.4 13.0% 39.9 9.1% 41.5 9.4% 39.1 24.1 | 1Q/2016 389.7 43.2 11.1% 30.3 7.8% 27.1 7.0% 23.8 14.8 | Delta 13.0% 32.9% 1.9pp 31.7% 1.3pp 53.1% 2.4pp 64.3% 62.8% |
1) EBIT before expenses from derivatives from supply contracts, impairment and restructuring effects