Palladius AG
Palladius AG presents consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year 2008 / Market position successfully expanded in turbulent environment
Palladius AG / Final Results Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Munich, June 24, 2009 - Palladius AG, an investment company listed at the Entry Standard (Open Market) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN DE000A0KPNJ9) today presented its consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year 2008. While the year 2007 had been dedicated to the creation of a suitable infrastructure, transparent processes, durable structures and the launch of operative business, the fiscal year 2008 was spent with the consistent development of the investment portfolio focusing on the automotive and real estate branches, already familiar to the company, and the expansion of acquisition activities into the new healthcare sector. In spite of insecure economic framework conditions, the company successfully enlarged its portfolio in the lapsed fiscal year, from 14 participations as per December 31, 2007 to 19 participations as per December 31, 2008. Palladius AG acquired minority and majority shareholdings in medium-sized companies in the German speaking countries and participated in management buy outs (MBO) of fast growing businesses - the company invested in businesses undergoing recapitalization or reconstruction on the one hand, as well as in companies already marked by earning power on the other hand. The investment company is purposely focusing on areas to which the Palladius team can contribute its special expertise. Therefore, the company prefers investments in the automotive, healthcare and real estate sectors. The portfolio companies benefit from the team's in-depth knowledge of the relevant branches and their driving forces and can tap considerable synergy effects created within the Group. From the very beginning the company has focused its investments on the automotive industry which particularly suffered from negative economic conditions in the lapsed fiscal year. Nevertheless, Palladius AG, through swift process optimization, predominantly succeeded in rendering the acquired companies operative again and leading them back to the path to success under a new, experienced management. The diversification of the investment portfolio by integration of the attractive healthcare sector reduced the overall risk of the Group. At the same time, positive effects on the earnings situation of the whole Group have already been recorded. By providing a widespread network and contributing long-standing experience, the Palladius management will be able to successfully identify new investment projects in this branch in the future. The 'placement' respectively sale of real estate to international investors is another core competence of Palladius AG, which will be pursued also in the future. Overview of the participations: In the automotive sector, Palladius AG acquired majority shareholdings in four new car dealers in the Oberland region through its 100 % subsidiary Palladius Automotive GmbH in the fiscal year 2008. Consequently, the company held participating interests in 13 car dealers all over Germany (exclusively BMW and MINI distributors with the exception of one sales place for Mitsubishi) as per the relevant date December 31, 2008. In May 2009, Palladius AG founded Unterberger Automobile GmbH in Lindau, Lake Constance, together with the Austrian Unterberger car dealer group, with the objective to effectively bundle the expertise of both enterprises and to create synergy effects in that region; Palladius AG holds 49 % of the shares. In the real estate sector, Palladius AG holds a 10 % participation in the Dutch real estate investment fund Winisk B.B. The fund is the owner of the premises of the individual car dealers. Furthermore, Palladius AG holds a 10 % participating interest in Bavaria Immobilien Wesel GmbH & Co. KG and its general partner Bavaria Immobilien Verwaltungs GmbH. This transaction gave the Palladius Group access to the real estate neighboring the sales place of the car dealer Böhm+Kelleners Dinslaken GmbH in Dinslaken which has already been integrated into the portfolio. In the healthcare sector, Palladius AG holds 100 % of H.E.A.L. Communication GmbH & Co. KG and Palladius Healthcare Verwaltungs GmbH through its 100 % subsidiary Palladius Healthcare GmbH. H.E.A.L. Communication GmbH & Co. KG has been successfully engaged in medical education (CME) for a long time, while Palladius Healthcare Verwaltungs GmbH mainly serves as the general partner of the participations held by Palladius Healthcare GmbH. Palladius AG also holds 15 % of the shares in Angela Liedler GmbH, a full service agency for pharma communications. In February 2009, Angela Liedler GmbH, Freiburg, was renamed GSW Europe GmbH. The seat was transferred to Munich and two new subsidiaries, Angela Liedler GmbH, Cologne, and inServ GmbH, Munich, were founded. In May 2009, Palladius AG increased its activities in the healthcare sector and acquired a majority shareholding in Precisis AG, a Heidelberg-based innovative medical technology company. Overview of the financial situation As regards the presentation of the economic situation and the development of the Palladius Group, it has to be noted that the first full fiscal year (January 1 through December 31, 2008) is not directly comparable to the previous year which was an abbreviated fiscal year (August 24 through December 31, 2007) due to the fact that the operative business was only commenced in August 2007. For the sake of better comparability, key ratios of the period under review were juxtaposed to the ratios of the previous abbreviated fiscal year (pro rata temporis) as well as the complete year (statistical figures). Furthermore, it should be emphasized that the key ratios of the Group almost exclusively reflect the developments in the automotive sector. The new healthcare segment was launched at the end of the reporting period 2008 (December 2008) and consequently had hardly any influence on the financial situation of the company. Development of sales In the fiscal year 2008, Palladius AG generated consolidated revenues in the amount of EUR 156.3m (2007 - pro rata temporis: EUR 36.3m; 2007 - statistical figure: EUR 107.7m). The portfolio car dealers accounted for the major percentage of these sales. Other operating income on group level amounted to EUR 19.4m (2007 - pro rata temporis: EUR 3.0m; 2007 - statistical figure: EUR 5.6m). Of this amount, EUR 12.6m were generated on the basis of restructuring activities within the scope of the take-over of the Oberland group. Earnings situation In the lapsed fiscal year, gross proceeds (gross income from automotive trade) of Palladius AG amounted to EUR 18.9m (2007 - pro rata temporis: EUR 5.3m; 2007 - statistical figure: EUR 15.9m). The gross margin was 12.1 %. (2007 - pro rata temporis: 14.7 %; 2007 - statistical figure: 14.8 %). The lower gross margin in comparison to the previous year is due to the fact that in the lapsed year sales dropped in relation to the cost of material as a result of increased price competition in the automotive industry. Gross profit of the Palladius Gruppe amounted to EUR 38.3m (2007 - pro rata temporis: EUR 8.4m; 2007 - statistical figure: EUR 21.5m) due to a rise in other operating income. Earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation (EBITDA) amounted to EUR 13.1m in the fiscal year 2008 (2007 - pro rata temporis: EUR 2.5m; 2007 - statistical figure: EUR 4.8m). Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were EUR 6.8m (2007 - pro rata temporis: EUR 2.0m; 2007 - statistical figure: EUR 3.7m). The financial result amounted to EUR -3.2m (2007 - pro rata temporis: EUR -0.6m; 2007 - statistical figure: EUR -1.7m). Earnings before taxes (EBT) amounted to EUR 3.6m (2007 - pro rata temporis: EUR 1.5m; 2007 - statistical figure: EUR 2.1m). All in all, the Palladius Group generated a net profit for the year of EUR 3.4m (2007 - pro rata temporis: EUR 1.4m; 2007 - statistical figure: EUR 1.9m). The net profit 2008 in the automotive sector including intermediate holdings amounted to EUR 2.9m (2007 - pro rata temporis: EUR 1.4m, 2007 - statistical figure: EUR 1.9m). Outlook In an environment marked by insecure economic framework conditions, Palladius AG is focusing on its own strengths; the company is confident that it will be able to benefit from the current situation and intends to grow in all its business sectors. Also new acquisitions of prospective enterprises in new branches may be considered as a useful addition to the Palladius strategy, provided that the investment team is equipped with sufficient branch know-how. There are no plans to sell majority shareholdings as the company pursues a long-term investment horizon. 'We proudly look back at our first complete fiscal year which was also our second operative year, and are pleased that our Group was able to continue its positive development also in a turbulent economic environment', Frank Döhring, CEO of Palladius AG stated. 'It is our foremost goal for the current fiscal year to further strengthen the good market position of the Palladius Group and to find useful additions to our investment portfolio. In the first half of 2009 we succeeded in expanding our highly promising healthcare sector which had been integrated into our portfolio in December 2008, and are looking forward to exciting developments and positive impulses for turnover and earning of the entire Group. The continuous optimization of the cost structure of the Palladius Group is another important goal. In this context we will use our best endeavors to decentralize our automotive sector to allow the individual car dealers to act independently in the market after the successful completion of the restructuring phase and the stage of close accompaniment by the Palladius Group; this will help to keep central administration costs low. All in all, we intend to grow with our Group organically and non-organically in the current fiscal year. We analyze approximately 20 to 30 take-over targets per year and expect to actually acquire three to five participations', Döhring continued. Key figures of the Group EURm Jan. 1, 2008 - Dec. 31, 2008 (Aug. 24, 2007 - Dec. 31, 2007) Revenues 156.3 (36.3) Gross profit 38.3 (8.4) Earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation (EBITDA) 13.1 (2.5) Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) 6.8 (2.0) Earnings before taxes (EBT) 3.6 (1.5) Net profit 3.4 (1.4) Detailed figures for the fiscal year 2008 will be published within the next few days. For more information about Palladius AG visit our website www.palladius.de. For additional information please directly contact our Public and Investor Relations Team: esVedra consulting GmbH t: +49. 89. 28 80 81 33 f: +49. 89. 28 80 81 49 info@esvedragroup.com www.esvedragroup.com About Palladius AG Palladius AG, an industrial investment company listed in the Entry Standard (Open Market) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, is engaged in supporting and accompanying enterprises of many branches in their future development and path to success but also invests in profitable companies with fast-growing business models. The company's investment portfolio includes automotive, healthcare and real estate participations. The company has majority or minority holdings in four German car dealers at a total of 13 locations through intermediate holdings. Furthermore, Palladius AG has participating majority or minority interests in four healthcare companies. Investments in the real estate sector include minority participations in a real estate investment fund and in two other small-size real estate companies. At present, approximately 500 employees work for the participations of Palladius AG. 24.06.2009 Financial News transmitted by DGAP ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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