Key points Q4 2013
- Revenue up 4% to EUR 340 million
- Gross margin at 18.7%, up from 17.9%
- EBIT up by 46% to EUR 22.8 million
Key points FY 2013
- Revenue up 4% to EUR 1,283 million and gross profit up by 3% to EUR 231 million
- Gross margin stable at 18%
- EBIT up 3% to EUR 72 million
- Net profit up 12% to EUR 49.9 million
- Proposed dividend EUR 1.10 per share (2012: EUR 1.00 per share)
- New board members proposed
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Brunel International (unaudited) |
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P&L amounts x EUR million |
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Q4 2013
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Q4 2012 (restated) |
Change % |
FY 2013
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FY 2012
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Change % |
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Revenue |
339.6 |
326.1 |
4%** |
1,283.4 |
1,236.5 |
4%* |
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Gross Profit |
63.6 |
58.4 |
9% |
230.7 |
223.4 |
3% |
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Gross margin |
18.7% |
17.9% |
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18.0% |
18.1% |
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Ebit |
22.8 |
15.6 |
46% |
72.3 |
70.0 |
3% |
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Ebit % |
6.7% |
4.8% |
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5.6% |
5.7% |
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Average directs |
11,927 |
10,458 |
14% |
11,573 |
9,869 |
17% |
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Average indirects |
1,513 |
1,375 |
10% |
1,500 |
1,350 |
11% |
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Ratio direct / indirect |
7.9 |
7.6 |
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7.7 |
7.3 |
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* In constant currency 8%
** In constant currency 11%
Q4 2013 results
Revenue
In Q4 2013 Brunel achieved EUR 340 million revenue, an increase of 4% compared to Q4 2012. The main revenue driver is the Energy Division which achieved a 24% revenue increase compared to the same period last year. Driven by a strong quarter for the Finance business line, revenue in The Netherlands increased by 8%, whereas Brunel Germany increased by 4%. As expected as a result of the completion of some major projects in Australia in Q1 2013, revenue in the Projects division decreased by 46%.
Compared to 2012, full year 2013 revenue increased by 4% to EUR 1,283 million. The Energy Division is the key contributor to this revenue increase, with a growth of 28%, a true global growth. Germany increased its revenue by 10%, whereas The Netherlands’ revenue decreased by 1% despite a growth in average headcount of 1%. Following the completed projects, the Projects’ Division decreased its full year revenue by 49%.
Due to a depreciating Australian and US dollar against the Euro, the growth in constant currency is 8% year-on-year.
Gross Profit
Q4 2013 gross profit increased driven by the 0.8ppt gross margin increase and the revenue increase to EUR 64 million, an increase of 9%, again mainly driven by the growth in the Energy Division and a higher gross margin in all divisions except The Netherlands. The gross margin increase is mainly due to a change in the mix.
Year-on-year the gross margin development is relatively flat with a slight decrease of 0.1ppt, driving the gross profit to increase by 3% to EUR 231 million.
Operating Costs
Full year operating costs have increased by 3% to EUR 158 million in 2013, mainly as a result of continued investments in our organisation to fuel our growth, leading to increased staff costs.
EBIT
The Q-on-Q EBIT development increased by 46% to EUR 23 million. This is mainly driven by the leveraging effect of the growing revenue in the Energy Division and the decreased overhead costs compared to Q4 2012. The decrease in overhead costs is partly due to the absence of one offs in Q4 2013.
Full 2013 EBIT increased by 3% to EUR 72 million at a relatively stable EBIT margin of 5.6%, driven by the full year revenue increase.
Effective tax rate
In 2013 the effective tax rate reduced to 31.1% (2012: 35.9%) mainly driven by the reduced profitability of the Projects division in Australia, with its relatively high tax rate, and restructuring of operations.
Cash position
The December 2013 cash balance reduced to EUR 90 million compared to EUR 99 million at the end of 2012, mainly as a result of relatively high project completion payments relating to the Projects Division at the start of 2013. The balance at 31 December 2013 relating to completion payments amounts to approximately EUR 20 million, to be paid out on the completion of projects in Q1 and Q2 of 2014. Driven by the growth in the business, especially Energy, working capital levels have increased compared to last year.
Dividend
Brunel proposes to increase the dividend by 10% to EUR 1.10 per share.
New Board Members
The growth in recent years, as well as the expectation of continued growth, has created a need to expand the Board of Directors. The Supervisory Board proposes to the General Meeting of Shareholders to appoint three new board members: Jeroen Ekkel as COO for Europe, Peter de Laat as CFO and Arjan de Vries as COO for Energy.
Outlook for 2014
We expect continued growth in revenue and profitability. We will provide a more detailed outlook with the presentation of our Q1 results.
Jan Arie van Barneveld, CEO of Brunel International N.V.: "In 2013 Brunel has reached again a record year in terms of revenue and profitability. Both in the global Energy business as well as in the difficult European market we were able to grow. Also in The Netherlands we achieved a nice growth in Q4. We have been able to strengthen our organisation and continued to build our global IT platform, fuelling the growth and enabling further future development. I am delighted that we were able to expand our Board of Directors entirely from within our own ranks. The performance in this transitional year, especially Q3 and Q4, is very promising for the near future