Bechtle AG
ISIN: DE0005158703
WKN: 515870
08 May 2024 07:29AM

EQS-News: Bechtle Affirms Forecast for the Year As a Whole

Bechtle AG · ISIN: DE0005158703 · EQS - Company News
Country: Germany · Primary market: Germany · EQS NID: 1897721

EQS-News: Bechtle AG / Key word(s): Quarterly / Interim Statement/Quarter Results
Bechtle Affirms Forecast for the Year As a Whole

08.05.2024 / 07:29 CET/CEST
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.


Bechtle Affirms Forecast for the Year As a Whole

 

  • Business volume up by 3.4 per cent
  • Strong software business as a key driver
  • EBT increases by 2.8 per cent to €82.0 million
  • Operating cash flow of €45.3 million clearly above previous year
  • Outlook for the year as a whole remains optimistic

 

Neckarsulm, 8 May 2024 - Bechtle AG delivered solid performance in the first quarter of 2024. Despite the high comparative figures from the previous year, the business volume increased by 3.4 per cent to €1,951.0 million. The software business was the main growth driver. Accordingly, revenue fell slightly by 2.3 per cent. Due mainly to the positive development of gross earnings, earnings before taxes (EBT) increased by 2.8 per cent to €82.0 million. The EBT margin thus rose from 5.2 per cent to 5.5 per cent.

 

"We have made a solid start to our fiscal year and see the signs of increasing growth momentum in the coming quarters", says Dr. Thomas Olemotz, Chairman of the Executive Board of Bechtle AG. In Germany especially, the delayed release of the budget has led to a postponement of government contracts. However, this should resolve itself as the year progresses. In addition, our SME customers in particular continue to be reluctant to invest, although we were able to compensate for this to some extent thanks to our broad international presence. The business volume has developed very differently across Europe. While Bechtle was able to grow internationally by 14.3 per cent, the business volume in Germany declined by 4.1 per cent.

 

Growth areas for the future

The software business showed particularly strong growth in the first quarter. This development was driven in particular by major software projects in January. Momentum slowed over the course of the quarter. Strategically, Bechtle is focussing on the expansion of multi-cloud and managed cloud services as well as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. "The digital transformation is a strong business driver for us - in the public sector and in industry alike. We believe that our portfolio of solutions puts us in an excellent position here", says Dr. Thomas Olemotz.

 

Pleasing earnings performance

With an increase of 4.2 per cent, gross earnings laid the foundation for the pleasing earnings growth. In particular, the development of material costs had a positive impact due to the high proportion of software. This more than compensated for the increases in personnel expenses as well as depreciation and amortisation. In addition to an increase in EBT of 2.8 per cent, the margin also climbed.

 

Moderate increase in employees

The number of employees at more than 120 locations across Europe increased by 921 people or 6.4 per cent as of 31 March 2024. Almost 60 per cent of the new colleagues came to Bechtle via acquisitions. Without acquisitions, the increase in the number of employees would have been just 2.6 per cent. The rather restrained pace of staff recruitment is still an expression of entrepreneurial prudence in view of the challenging economic conditions.

 

Operating cash flow with pleasing development

Operating cash flow in the first quarter of 2024 was €45.3 million (previous year: -€20.2 million) and thus improved by €65.6 million. The reduction in trade receivables remained at a very high level. The lower cash outflow for inventories and trade payables also had a positive effect in the reporting period. At €27.1 million, free cash flow also showed a remarkable positive trend (previous year: -€91.1 million).

 

Executive Board affirms forecast and positive outlook

The Executive Board remains positive about the prospects for Bechtle AG's business development in the current year. The digital transformation in general and a variety of technological topics such as security or the development and expansion of the multi-cloud are key drivers in the IT market. Demand for hardware should also increase again in the second half of the year, not least as a result of impending technological advances. In addition to the increasingly urgent need to replace outdated infrastructures, the discontinuation of support for Windows 10 is also likely to boost demand. Overall, despite the challenging conditions for 2024, the Executive Board once again anticipates a disproportionately positive business performance compared to the market as a whole. The business volume, revenue and earnings are expected to undergo a significant increase, and the EBT margin is to remain at a level similar to that of the prior year. "The first quarter was a good start, but not yet a benchmark for the year as a whole in terms of our aspirations. We want to and can pick up speed over the course of the year. The second half of the year will be decisive for our success", says Dr. Thomas Olemotz.

 

 

Bechtle key indicators 1st quarter 2024

 

    Q1 2024 Q1 2023 +/-
Business volume €k 1,950,994 1,886,004 +3.4%
Revenue €k 1,503,415 1,538,499 -2.3%
  Germany €k 871,242 931,573 -6.5%
  International €k 632,173 606,926 +4.2%
  IT System House & Managed Services €k 932,338 968,6901 -3.8%
  IT E-Commerce €k 571,077 569,8091 +0.2%
EBIT €k 84,148 80,967 +3.9%
  IT System House & Managed Services €k 54,309 57,7641 -6.0%
  IT E-Commerce €k 29,839 23,2031 +28.6%
EBIT margin % 5.6 5.3  
EBT €k 81,957 79,694 +2.8%
EBT margin % 5.5 5.2  
Earnings after taxes €k 58,503 56,909 +2.8%
Earnings per share 0.46 0.45 +2.8%
Cash flow from operating activities €k 45,328 -20,234  
Employees (as of 31 March)   15,245 14,324 +6.4%

1 Figure adjusted

 

    31.03.2024 31.12.2023 +/-
Liquidity2 €k 477,267 465,756 +2.5%
Equity ratio % 47.9 45.8  

2 Including time deposits and securities

***

The interim statement for the first quarter of 2024 is available for download at bechtle.com/financial-reports.

 

 

About Bechtle:

With over 100 IT system houses, Bechtle is close to its customers and, with IT E-Commerce companies in 14 countries, is one of the leading IT companies in Europe. Moreover, Bechtle boasts a worldwide network of partners that caters to the needs of customers that operate around the globe.

Founded in 1983, the Bechtle Group, headquartered in Neckarsulm, Germany, currently employs over 15,000 people. We support more than 70,000 customers from trade and industry, the public sector and the financial market on their digital transformation journey and offer a comprehensive, cross-vendor portfolio of IT infrastructure and IT operation solutions. Bechtle is listed in the MDAX and TecDAX indexes. In 2023, revenue totalled €6.42 billion. More at: bechtle.com

 

Contact

Investor Relations Corporate Communications/Press
Martin Link Sabine Brand
martin.link@bechtle.com sabine.brand@bechtle.com
Phone: +49 7132 981-4149 Phone: +49 7132 981-4115

 



08.05.2024 CET/CEST Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Archive at www.eqs-news.com


Language: English
Company: Bechtle AG
Bechtle Platz 1
74172 Neckarsulm
Germany
Phone: +49 7132 981-0
Fax: +49 7132 981-8000
E-mail: ir@bechtle.com
Internet: bechtle.com
ISIN: DE0005158703
WKN: 515870
Indices: MDAX, TecDAX
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
EQS News ID: 1897721

 
End of News EQS News Service

1897721  08.05.2024 CET/CEST

fncls.ssp?fn=show_t_gif&application_id=1897721&application_name=news&site_id=boersengefluester~~~ace3d64b-2049-452a-8d18-fbc8044c4b5f

Boersengefluester.de (BGFL) provides an overview of the key figures on sales, earnings, cash flow and dividends to help you better assess the fundamental development of the respective companies. All information is entered manually in our database - the source is the respective annual reports. All estimates for future figures are provided by BGFL.

The most important financial data at a glance
  2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024e
Sales1 4.323,32 5.374,45 5.050,27 5.305,49 6.028,18 6.422,74 6.400,00
EBITDA1,2 237,06 325,98 375,09 428,72 467,49 508,92 470,00
EBITDA-Margin3 5,48 6,07 7,43 8,08 7,76 7,92 7,34
EBIT1,4 195,08 241,37 276,96 325,72 355,43 382,30 340,00
EBIT-Margin5 4,51 4,49 5,48 6,14 5,90 5,95 5,31
Net Profit (Loss)1 137,14 170,48 192,55 231,45 251,12 265,51 230,00
Net-Margin6 3,17 3,17 3,81 4,36 4,17 4,13 3,59
Cashflow1,7 140,53 185,97 316,25 284,49 116,65 459,03 0,00
Earnings per share8 1,09 1,35 1,53 1,84 1,99 2,10 1,82
Dividend per share8 0,33 0,40 0,45 0,55 0,65 0,70 0,70
Quelle: boersengefluester.de and Company information
Explanation

1 in Mio. Euro; 2 EBITDA = Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation; 3 EBITDA in relation to sales; 4 EBIT = Earnings before interest and taxes; 5 EBIT in relation to sales; 6 Net profit (-loss) in relation to sales; 7 Cashflow from operations; 8 in Euro; Source: boersengefluester.de

Auditor: Deloitte

All relevant valuation ratios, dates and other investor information on your share at a glance. Good to know: All data comes from boersengefluester.de and is updated daily. This means you are always up to date. You can get brief explanations of the key figures by moving the cursor or mouse over the relevant field.

INVESTOR-INFORMATION
©boersengefluester.de
Bechtle
WKN ISIN Legal Type Marketcap IPO Recommendation Plus Code
515870 DE0005158703 AG 3.870,72 Mio € 30.03.2000 Kaufen 8FXF56GJ+X2
* * *
PE 2025e PE 10Y-Ø BGFL-Ratio Shiller-PE PB PCF KUV
14,91 24,52 0,61 23,59 2,59 8,43 0,60
Dividends
Dividend '2022
in €
Dividend '2023
in €
Dividend '2024e
in €
Div.-Yield '2024e
in %
0,65 0,70 0,70 2,28%
Financial calendar
Annual General Meeting Q1-figures Q2-figures Q3-figures Annual press conference
27.05.2025 09.05.2025 08.08.2025 08.11.2024 14.03.2025
Performance
Distance 60-days-line Distance 200-days-line Performance YtD Performance 52 weeks IPO
Last Price (EoD)
+1,19%
30,72 €
ATH 69,56 €
-8,88% -23,89% -32,32% -32,20% +241,33%

Advertising is an important revenue channel for us. But we understand, that sometimes it becomes annoying. If you want to reduce the number of shown ADs just simply login to your useraccount and manage the settings from there. As registered user you get even more benefits.
          Qualitätsjournalismus · Made in Germany © 2024          
The news manufactory

Good luck with all your investments

Founded in 2013 by Gereon Kruse, the financial portal boersengefluester.de is all about German shares - with a clear focus on second-line stocks. In addition to traditional editorial articles, the site stands out in particular thanks to a large number of self-developed analysis tools. All tools are based on a completely self-maintained database for more than 650 shares. As a result, boersengefluester.de produces Germany's largest profit and dividend forecast.

Contact

Idea & concept: 3R Technologies   
boersengefluester.de GmbH Copyright © 2024 by Gereon Kruse #BGFL