MANNHEIM (dpa-AFX) – Good demand, mainly due to higher energy costs, gave the industrial service provider Bilfinger (Bilfinger SE) a boost in the second quarter. Sales and earnings increased significantly. CEO Thomas Schulz confirmed the annual targets for the year as a whole in a conference call on Thursday. In the early afternoon, the share lost around three percent to EUR 28.92 in a firmer overall market.
Bilfinger has started an internal process to further develop the corporate strategy, said Schulz. The business models are to be sharpened, innovation promoted in a targeted manner and the customer approach optimized. “Our claim is sustainable, profitable growth. We want to grow faster than the market and significantly improve our margin.”
In the second quarter, revenues climbed by ten percent year-on-year to EUR 1.08 billion, as announced by the SDax company in Mannheim. According to Schulz, industrial services in the chemical and petrochemical sectors are in particularly high demand. For the future, the company boss expects larger investments, especially in connection with renewable energies and batteries. Demand for green energy such as hydrogen and carbon capture is also developing well. In addition, nuclear power is reviving in some countries.
Day-to-day business was also better for the company. The operating result (Ebita) increased by more than half to 32 million euros. The Plant Construction and Maintenance business segment made a particular contribution to this. The bottom line was a profit of 19 million euros, after 13 million a year earlier.
According to analyst Gregor Kuglitsch from the major Swiss bank UBS, the second quarter of the construction service provider was somewhat disappointing. However, the company is well on the way to meeting expectations for the current year.
For the current year, Bilfinger continues to expect a significant increase in sales. The group is aiming for a significant increase in the operating result (EBITA) compared to the previous year’s figure of 121 million euros. On the other hand, consolidated profit is likely to decline significantly. In 2021, Bilfinger still benefited from the sale of real estate and tax refunds.
Since March 1, Bilfinger has had a new CEO in Schulz. Schulz was still with FLSmidth, a Danish service provider for the mining and cement industry, until the end of February.
Schulz’ British predecessor Thomas Blades had heralded in a far-reaching restructuring after the sale of the silverware, the real estate services. In addition, Blades introduced an extensive compliance and control system, since Bilfinger was under surveillance by the US Department of Justice until the end of 2018, among other things, because of a corruption case involving its former subsidiary Julius Berger in Nigeria./mne/men/jha/
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