Q3/2014: PORR publishes first quarterly report fully conformant to IFRS – EBT doubles against previous year (Kopie 1)

Vienna, 27 November 2014 - Commitment to the capital market – PORR expands reporting
As a clear signal to the capital market, PORR has published a quarterly report fully conformant with IFRS for the first time. In addition to the measures to increase the liquidity of the PORR shares, this also marks a sign of transparency towards investors and in the direction of the prime market.
 
Increase in production output and earnings
Despite a significant economic slowdown in the course of 2014, PORR once again managed to in-crease production output by 17% to EUR 2,674m. This growth was helped by the early start to the construction season due to the weather. However, another success factor was the consistent focus on the home markets (Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Poland and Czech Republic) – where around 93% of production output is generated – as well as concentrating on the core competencies of housing, private building construction and infrastructure. With a plus of EUR 229m or 55.4%, Business Unit 4-Infrastructure achieved the sharpest output growth in the reporting period. This was generated by tunnelling – particularly the projects under construction such as Doha Metro (Qatar), Koralm Tunnel KAT 3 (Austria), Albaufstieg and Stuttgart 21 (Germany).
 
The positive output growth was also reflected in earnings. With EBT of 12.9m, PORR managed to double earnings before tax against the previous year. The profit for the third quarter 2014 stood at EUR 12.2m. The company succeeded in cutting net debt to EUR 434m, 36% below the comparable period of the previous year.
 
Positive order situation continues
At the end of September 2014 the order backlog stood at EUR 4,659m, only slightly below the high level of the previous year. Order bookings fell by 25% to EUR 2,742m; this decline was the result of the one-off impact of the major Doha Metro order acquired in the previous year. After adjusting for this effect, the order bookings in the first three quarters 2014 were at the same high level as the previous year. The most important order bookings in the first three quarters 2014 included Smart Campus, currently one of the largest building construction projects in Vienna, the Marbach viaduct in Germany and the elevated works in Qatar – the extension of an underground railway line for the Green Line of the Doha Metro.
 
Further steps taken towards the reorganisation of the real estate business
Further steps towards realising the new real estate strategy were also taken in the reporting period. The purchase of a majority stake in UBM Realitätenentwicklung Aktiengesellschaft (UBM) enables PORR to reorganise the real estate business and ultimately facilitate an even clearer focus on business activities. As a first step there will be two “pure”, independent companies: a construction group – PORR AG, and a real estate company – PIAG/UBM. The requisite resolutions were passed, after the end of the reporting period, at the general meeting on October 29th 2014.
 
Positive full-year outlook
In addition to the high order backlog, the planned spinoff of the real estate business out of the PORR Group and the consistent focus on working capital management will have a positive impact on PORR’s liquidity and earnings. The Executive Board thereby expects a renewed increase in earnings for the full year 2014.
 
“We are consistently pursuing the course PORR has embarked on, along with our strategy of intelligent growth. This is enabling us to achieve solid business results even against a difficult market backdrop”, said Karl-Heinz Strauss, CEO of PORR AG.
 
The interim report on the 3rd quarter may be downloaded from here: Investor Relations