Financial key performance indicators

At EUR 2,593.0 million, the revenue of the Metal Engineering Division in the business year 2014/15 was 3.0% lower than the previous year’s figure of EUR 2,673.2 million with two factors playing a crucial role in this development. Against the background of a deflationary environment with regard to raw materials, the price level in the processing segments softened on one hand, and on the other, rail deliveries by the division were significantly reduced due to the closure of the standard rail production in Duisburg as of the end of the 2013 calendar year. In contrast, the Turnout Systems business segment expanded its business and made a positive contribution to revenue. The Wire Technology business segment increased its delivery volumes substantially due to the new acquisition Trafilerie Industriali S.p.A., which was newly consolidated in the third quarter, and to the very good economic environment in the automotive industry.

At EUR 419.8 million, the division’s operating result (EBITDA) was slightly higher than last year’s figure (EUR 418.3 million). Due to the lower revenue basis, the EBITDA margin rose from 15.6% to 16.2%. With regard to profit from operations (EBIT), in the business year 2014/15, the ambitious goals articulated in the previous business year could not be achieved fully due to impairment losses in the Wire Technology business segment; nevertheless, the key figures are still at a very good level. The decline was quite moderate with a minus of 4.2%, which amounts to a decrease from EUR 304.9 million to EUR 292.1 million. The EBIT margin fell negligibly from 11.4% to 11.3%.

Quarterly development of the Metal Engineering Division

In millions of euros
Business year 2014/15

A comparison of the fourth quarter of 2014/15 with the immediately preceding quarter shows that revenue was stable, with earnings increasing markedly. While revenue in the Wire Technology and Welding Technology business segments improved in the fourth quarter, it slipped slightly in the Turnout Systems business segment, albeit from a high level. In the fourth quarter, revenue was at EUR 632.7 million, practically at the same level as in the immediately preceding quarter (EUR 630.5 million). EBITDA rose by almost a third from EUR 92.2 million to EUR 123.9 million due to the substantial upward trend in the Welding Technology business segment in the fourth quarter, but also because of the excellent performance of all other business segments as well. Accordingly, the operating margin (EBITDA margin) increased significantly from 14.6% in the third quarter to 19.6% in the fourth quarter. As a result of impairment losses in the Wire Technology business segment in the last quarter, at 20.2% going from EUR 65.0 million to EUR 78.1 million, the increase in EBIT was somewhat more moderate than the rise in EBITDA. The EBIT margin rose clearly from 10.3% to 12.3%.

As of March 31, 2015, the Metal Engineering Division had 11,685 employees (FTE); the number rose by 4.2%, partly due to acquisitions, compared to the same reporting date in the previous year (11,217 employees).