BAUER AG achieves an increase in total Group revenues for 2021 despite challenging market conditions

At EUR 1,537.6 million, total Group revenues were 5.8% above the previous year’s figure of EUR 1,453.6 million
EBIT decreased to EUR 36.0 million (previous year: EUR 55.5 million); earnings after tax in the positive range at EUR 4.0 million (previous year: EUR -8.2 million)
At EUR 1,364.4 million, order backlog was a very significant 17.4% above the previous year’s figure of EUR 1,162.5 million.
Equity ratio significantly improved at 29.3% due to successful capital increase and additional positive effects (previous year: 23.7%)
Cautious forecast for 2022: significant increase in total Group revenues and EBIT

Schrobenhausen, Germany – In the context of today’s annual press conference and publication of the 2021 Annual Report, BAUER AG provides information about developments in the past year as well as the expectations for 2022.

“2021 was a highly variable year for us,” remarks Michael Stomberg, CEO of BAUER AG about the highs and lows of the year gone by. "In hindsight, forecasts about the duration of the pandemic turned out to be incorrect for many parts of the world. In this regard, the consequences of COVID-19 continued to shape our business very markedly in the Construction and Equipment segments. Nevertheless, total Group revenues increased compared with the previous year and we were ultimately able to achieve our adjusted forecast. We are particularly pleased with the positive development of the Resources segment in this regard.”

In an ad-hoc announcement on November 2, 2021, the company had adjusted its forecast to total Group revenues of between EUR 1,530 million and EUR 1,570 million and EBIT of between EUR 35 million and EUR 45 million.

The BAUER Group achieved total Group revenues amounting to EUR 1,537.6 million in the 2021 financial year, 5.8% above the previous year's figure of EUR 1,453.6 million. EBIT decreased from EUR 55.5 million to EUR 36.0 million. This was due to the ongoing consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, which lasted longer and had a stronger effect than anticipated on business in the Construction and Equipment segments, particularly in the Asian countries. In addition, a considerable loss was recorded with a foundation project for an offshore wind park off the French coast.

On the other hand, earnings after taxes improved into the positive range at EUR 4.0 million (previous year: EUR -8.2 million). This was due to the development of exchange rates and the market interest rates favorable to the company in 2021 as well as a lower tax expense.

At EUR 1,364.4 million, order backlog of the Group at the end of the year was up 17.4%, significantly more than the previous year's already high figure of EUR 1,162.5 million. Here all three segments recorded an increase, but particularly Construction and Equipment. At EUR 1,739.5 million, the order intake rose by 9.5% compared to the previous year’s EUR 1,588.5 million.

Equity ratio and net debt

At 29.3%, the equity ratio increased significantly compared to the previous year's level of 23.7% and was thus already close to the set medium-term goal of greater than 30%. This was supported by the capital increase successfully carried out in the first half of 2021 as well as currency and interest rate developments with a positive effect on the equity. In order to further sustainably improve the equity ratio, no dividends will be distributed. In the medium term, however, Bauer continues to maintain its dividend policy, which plans for a dividend ratio of approximately 25 to 30% of reported earnings after taxes.

Net debt was EUR 497.2 million, representing a decrease from the previous year’s figure of EUR 528.8 million. After reaching its highest level in 2013, the net debt has thus already reduced by around 26%. The liabilities to banks were also further reduced. Irrespective of this, Bauer also intends to achieve a further reduction in the coming years.

Business segments

With its three segments Construction, Equipment and Resources, the Group operates on every continent around the world.

The Construction segment achieved total Group revenues of EUR 682.4 million in the 2021 financial year, representing an increase of 5.9% from the previous year’s EUR 644.7 million. EBIT was negative at EUR -8.6 million (previous year: EUR +23.1 million).

The revenue and earnings figures of the segment for 2021 were negatively influenced by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in Asia. Subsidiaries in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines recorded considerable losses due to curfews and travel restrictions as well as lockdowns, both ongoing and newly imposed in 2021. Delays with major projects in Europe prevented a better revenue performance. A considerable loss was recorded with the foundation project for an offshore wind park off the French coast, as, in particular, development costs for the use of a new technology were higher than expected.

Overall, these two negative developments overshadowed the positive course of business in other regions.

In 2021, the BAUER Group continued with global rollout of the BAUER Construction Process (BCP), i.e. the systematic introduction of structured lean management methods transferred to specialist foundation engineering. The company has already achieved good success here and improved the execution of projects in many areas while also standardizing processes and risk reduction measures for the long term.

Order backlog increased significantly in the Construction segment by 17.2%, from EUR 721.3 million in the previous year to EUR 845.5 million, and remains very high. This includes major projects in Europe, Jordan as well as in Egypt, but also in the USA. Accordingly, the order intake rose slightly by 3.5% to EUR 806.6 million, compared to EUR 779.2 million in the previous year.

In the Equipment segment, total Group revenues increased significantly by 11.6% from EUR 610.7 million in the previous financial year to EUR 681.5 million. Accordingly, EBIT increased from EUR 30.1 million to EUR 36.9 million.

The Equipment segment improved in 2021 compared to the previous year, but was nevertheless affected by the customers’ reluctance to invest due to the pandemic, particularly in Asia and China. The production and sales organization in this region was considerably below planned levels and recorded a loss for the first time after many strong previous years.

The other markets in Germany, Europe and the Americas, particularly the USA, as well as Africa, were considerably more active compared to the previous year. In the countries of the Middle East, the sales figures declined.

In 2021, an extensive project was launched to optimize supply chain management. The goal is to offer shorter standard delivery times for customers of specialist foundation engineering equipment and to improve the working capital with lower inventories of finished goods. The project is planned for a period of multiple years.

During the customer event BAU ERLEBEN held in 2021 in Schrobenhausen, Germany, visitors in the summer months were presented with two Bauer equipment innovations: the eBG 33, the first fully electric drilling rig from Bauer, and the BAUER Cube System, an innovative cutting system that opens up entirely new applications for the construction of diaphragm walls, particularly in urban areas.

The order intake in the Equipment segment performed significantly better than in the previous year and increased by 19.2%, from EUR 621.3 million to EUR 740.4 million. Order backlog at the end of 2021 was EUR 177.8 million, significantly above the previous year's level of EUR 118.9 million and increased particularly in the last weeks of 2021.

The Resources segment delivers innovative products and services in the areas of drilling services and water wells, environmental services, constructed wetlands, mining and rehabilitation. Total Group revenues decreased by 7.0%, from EUR 293.1 million in the previous year to EUR 272.5 million. EBIT improved very considerably from EUR 3.1 million to EUR 9.5 million, and earnings after taxes were up from EUR -6.4 million in the previous year to EUR 11.5 million. The latter figure includes a one-time positive tax effect amounting to EUR 4.9 million through the use of losses carried forward.

After the previous year was still shaped by the conclusion of the restructuring measures, the Resources segment recorded a positive course of business in the 2021 financial year. Apart from the anticipated decrease in revenues, the earnings performance reflects the positive development in the operating business.

The environmental services division performed encouragingly again, recording a positive business performance with good earnings in an intensely competitive market environment. As in the previous year, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented a more intensive development of new markets such as China or the USA and the acquisition of initial projects there. The water well construction division as well as the participation in Oman in the constructed wetlands division recorded a good financial year. Apart from the operation of facilities, the sale of CO2 certificates generated from the project also provides an additional contribution.

Thanks to the continuously good market, the mining division once again made a very positive contribution to revenue and earnings. The business division of rehabilitation was newly established in 2021. At the end of the year, a noticeable recovery was already recorded with significant order intake.

Order intake in the Resources segment increased by 3.0%, from EUR 282.9 million in the previous year to EUR 291.3 million, and order backlog increased by 5.8%, from EUR 322.3 million in the previous year to EUR 341.2 million. The majority of this, with a volume of EUR 125.1 million, was generated by the mining division. The constructed wetland in Oman contributes another significant share of the order backlog due to its long operating time.

Sustainability

In 2021, the BAUER Group newly combined and organized all the Group’s sustainability activities under the name B.sustainable. A next key step will be to develop a sustainability strategy for the Group and the segments. Due to the increasing importance of sustainability, with its various aspects for the individual business areas, it is an important goal for the Group to combine the understanding and activities, which for many years have shaped the cultural core of the family business, into a strategic organizational and operational structure. To this end, a comprehensive strategy process was initiated and a materiality analysis was carried out in the year gone by. Reporting on the further steps will follow in the course of the financial year.

With regard to sustainability, the operating segments concentrate on making specialist foundation engineering even more sustainable with the applied methods, considering a wide range of aspects such as noise, material consumption or CO2 emissions. In the Equipment segment, apart from the continual optimization of fuel consumption, the focus is on the development of alternative drive systems as well as the reduction of equipment noise and CO2 emissions. The Resources segment offers numerous products and services related to water and the environment. These include the rehabilitation of contaminated sites in soil and groundwater, well drilling and suitable well construction materials or constructed wetlands that clean contaminated waste water using a biological method.

Outlook

The outlook for the 2022 financial year is characterized by great uncertainty for the Group. Fundamental positive developments such as the further improvement of the construction and equipment markets, which are driven by the major trends of infrastructure, urbanization, environmental awareness and water, are opposed by numerous uncertainty and risk factors. These include potential ongoing consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the massive price increases for raw materials and continually increasing delivery bottlenecks.

Russia’s war against Ukraine is another factor of uncertainty for the course of business. This will have a direct impact on our business in Russia and Ukraine, however in recent years this was at a low level in the BAUER Group. At the present moment, the company cannot yet decisively estimate to what extent the sanctions will directly influence the business. In addition, the effects and consequences of the war on the entire global economy are still very difficult to predict at the moment.

Moreover, in the Construction segment, the focus is on further review of the regional position after considerable capacity reductions were already implemented in Asia in 2021. The plan is to adapt the position even more to the market potentials. A few branch offices in markets where a sufficiently profitable business is not anticipated will be closed. This should not in any way impact the capability to manage large international projects with the network structure.

For the Equipment segment, growth is anticipated in principle, and in the Resources segment a stable financial year is expected.

“We must assume that these numerous factors of uncertainty and risk will influence us this year. We are therefore approaching the 2022 financial year with due diligence and are issuing a correspondingly reserved forecast,” says Michael Stomberg.

Due to the low basis of comparison, the Executive Board nevertheless anticipates a significant increase in total Group revenues and EBIT for the 2022 financial year compared with the previous year.