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ad-hoc disclosure transmitted by euro adhoc with the aim of a Europe-wide
distribution. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this
announcement.
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annual result
23.01.2015
According to the preliminary, unaudited figures, the RHI Group concluded the
financial year 2014 with revenues of approximately EUR 1,720 million and an
operating result exceeding expectations and amounting to over EUR 140 million.
The operating result margin will thus amount to more than 8% after 7.2% in the
previous year. In the fourth quarter of 2014, revenues of roughly EUR 465
million and an operating result of over EUR 40 million were realized. In terms
of revenues, the fourth quarter thus exceeds the third quarter of 2014 by
approximately 12% and the fourth quarter of 2013 by roughly 2%.
In the business unit glass, no significant improvement of the results is to be
expected in the years to come due to difficult market conditions and worldwide
excess capacities for fused cast products. The management consequently
introduced sustainable savings of EUR 3.5 million in the year 2014. In addition,
raw materials for applications in the Industrial business, which were previously
purchased externally, will be produced at the American site starting in the year
2015 in order to improve capacity utilization. Despite these measures, which are
already being implemented, an impairment loss on existing assets of
approximately EUR 12 million has to be recorded at the end of the year 2014.
At the plant in Porsgrunn, Norway, significant progress was made in the
production process in the newly established fusion plant during the year 2014.
Nevertheless, further optimization measures are required in the upstream
production of caustic magnesia in order to achieve the targeted costs. Therefore
the Management Board of RHI AG adopted comprehensive measures which provide for
a temporary reduction of the production volume due to the low market prices of
fused magnesia. The premium-grade qualities for customers in the steel industry
will still be supplied with raw materials from Norway. These measures secure the
continued operation of the plant and will halve the negative contribution to
earnings in the year 2015. Nevertheless, an impairment of the assets of roughly
EUR 7 million is necessary in the year 2014.
In Europe, the RHI Group is optimizing raw material treatment. For this reason,
production at the site in Kretz, Germany, will be discontinued and assigned to
other RHI plants. This will result in sustainable annual savings of
approximately EUR 3.5 million, of which roughly EUR 0.7 million were already
realized in the past financial year due to a partial shift of volumes. The
optimization of raw material treatment leads to a one-off negative effect of
roughly EUR 10 million in the year 2014 and will have an effect on cash in the
coming years.
If the above-mentioned one-off effects are deducted from the operating result,
the EBIT for the financial year 2014 amounts to more than EUR 110 million.
The Management Board of RHI AG intends to propose a dividend of EUR 0.75 to the
Annual General Meeting on May 8, 2015.
Due to the positive development of incoming orders during the past months and
the measures taken by the management, RHI expects a year-on-year increase in
revenues by roughly 3% and an operating result margin of approximately 9% in the
current macroeconomic environment.If the US dollar continues to strengthen
against the euro, further positive effects on revenues and EBIT can be expected.
Further inquiry note:
RHI AG
Investor Relations
Mag. Simon Kuchelbacher
Tel: +43-1-50213-6676
Email: simon.kuchelbacher@rhi-ag.com
end of announcement euro adhoc
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issuer: RHI AG
Wienerbergstrasse 9
A-1100 Wien
phone: +43 (0)50213-6676
FAX: +43 (0)50213-6130
mail: rhi@rhi-ag.com
WWW: http://www.rhi-ag.com
sector: Refractories
ISIN: AT0000676903
indexes: ATX Prime, ATX
stockmarkets: official market: Wien
language: English