BAUER AG records high order backlog after nine months but weaker operating result

Total Group revenues rose by 13.7% compared to the same period of the previous year, from EUR 1,149.6 million to EUR 1,306.9 million
EBIT fell compared to the previous year, from EUR 24.1 million to EUR 19.5 million
Order backlog increased significantly by 22.9%, from EUR 1,270.9 million to EUR 1,561.4 million
Extraordinary General Meeting with proposal for a resolution
on a regular capital increase on November 18, 2022

Schrobenhausen, Germany – At the end of the third quarter of 2022, the total Group revenues of the BAUER Group increased by 13.7%, from EUR 1,149.6 million to EUR 1,306.9 million, compared to the same period of the previous year. This was primarily attributable to the Equipment segment. At EUR 19.5 million, EBIT was below the previous year’s value of EUR 24.1 million. This figure includes a negative contribution to earnings in the amount of EUR 11.3 million due to unscheduled depreciations carried out in the Construction and Equipment segments for companies based in Russia. This became necessary due to the increasing tightening of sanctions by the European Union and resulting customer reticence.

The Group's earnings after taxes improved considerably to EUR 15.9 million (previous year: EUR -5.9 million). This was due, on the one hand, to a noticeable increase in the Equipment segment, and on the other hand to the Group's financial result increasing considerably. In this context, interest rate hedging transactions had a significantly positive influence, as these are valued in the balance sheet according to the development of market interest rates that have increased very markedly compared to the end of 2021, which created a significant positive effect of EUR 26.3 million on earnings after taxes after the third quarter (same period of the previous year: positive effect of EUR 1.9 million).

The order backlog in the Group increased by 22.9% compared with the same period of the previous year, from EUR 1,270.9 million to EUR 1,561.4 million, due to good order intake, and is therefore once again above the record figure of EUR 1,508.4 million reported at the end of the first half of the year. Here, the order backlogs in all three segments increased considerably. The order intake rose by 19.5% from EUR 1,258.0 million to EUR 1,503.9 million.

“The course of business was widely varied in the individual segments,” remarks the CEO of BAUER AG, Michael Stomberg. “While the Equipment segment continued the positive trend with regard to revenue, earnings and order intake in the third quarter of the year, the earnings performance in the Construction segment was significantly below expectations. For this reason, we plan to further intensify our restructuring of this segment.”

Business segments

With its three segments – Construction, Equipment and Resources – and a broadly diversified business model, Bauer address major global trends such as rapidly progressing urbanization, infrastructure expansion, water extraction and treatment as well as increasing environmental awareness.

At EUR 565.7 million, total Group revenues in the Construction segment were up significantly by 9.3% compared to the previous year’s value of EUR 517.6 million. EBIT was significantly in the negative range at EUR -13.4 million compared to the same period in the previous year at EUR -1.8 million.

Overall, the Construction segment recorded a challenging business situation in 2022. Although the revenue increase was in line with the planned levels, the earnings remained significantly behind the expectations. Overall, the operative performance in most markets was rather subdued. In addition, particularly the subsidiaries in Canada, Qatar, Malaysia and the USA burdened the earnings due to a considerable underutilization of capacities or a poor operative performance. Due to these developments, rigorous and even more intensive work is underway to optimize the international position and earnings growth.

Order backlog in the Construction segment grew considerably by 18.6%, from EUR 799.2 million in the previous year to EUR 948.1 million. The increase is mainly attributable to new projects in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. At EUR 668.3 million, the order intake rose very significantly compared to the previous year’s EUR 595.5 million.

The Equipment segment has recorded a positive course of business so far in 2022 and was able to maintain the positive trend regarding revenue, earnings, and order intake that began in the fourth quarter of 2021. In the first nine months of the year, total Group revenues increased considerably by 18.8%, from EUR 485.2 million to EUR 576.2 million, when compared to the previous year. EBIT increased considerably compared to the previous year, from EUR 17.8 million to EUR 30.8 million.

Overall, the sales markets were very stable as a whole. One exception continues to be China, where the sales figures remain at a very low level so far.

Order backlog increased very significantly by 79.6%, from EUR 139.4 million in the previous year to EUR 250.5 million. At EUR 648.9 million, the order intake rose by 28.3% compared to the previous year’s EUR 505.7 million.

At EUR 222.2 million, total Group revenues in the Resources segment were down by 6.7% after the first nine months, compared to the previous year’s EUR 208.2 million. EBIT decreased from EUR 8.1 million to EUR 4.8 million.

The Resources segment is behind expectations after nine months. The earnings performance is influenced above all by the area of drilling services, where two large-scale projects were postponed until next year due to a lack of funding. In addition, the local presence in South Africa was abandoned because the market opportunities there have weakened considerably. In the other business areas of water well construction, environmental services, constructed wetlands, mining and rehabilitation, there has been good performance with very good results in some places.

In the first nine months of the year, order backlog increased by 9.2% compared to the previous year, from EUR 332.3 million to EUR 362.9 million, which was primarily attributable to the area of mining. The order intake rose by 11.8% from EUR 218.1 million to EUR 243.9 million.

Capital increase

In order to further reinforce the equity base, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board resolved and published an ad-hoc announcement on October 10, 2022 to call an Extraordinary General Meeting and propose a resolution regarding a regular capital increase to the Extraordinary General Meeting. This is planned for November 18, 2022.