Emmen, Switzerland, February 23, 2018ALSO is reporting
record earnings in 2017, which is the seventh year in a row it has
achieved this feat. Group net sales improved year-over-year by 11.4
percent to 8.9 billion euros. In the past year, ALSO has thus
nearly reached the lower end of its medium-term Group net sales
target of nine to twelve billion euros which it announced in 2017.
In the same period, Group net profit increased by 11.2 percent to
92.5 million euros. Earnings before taxes (EBT) rose by 9.0 percent
to 124.2 million euros. In 2017, EBITDA increased by 7.7 percent to
157.3 million euros. "We have exceeded our goals for 2017. Our MORE
strategy is working and we continue to implement it consistently,"
said Gustavo Möller-Hergt, CEO of ALSO Holding AG (SIX: ALSN). The
Board of Directors has proposed a dividend of 2.75 Swiss francs per
share, which represents an increase of 22.2 percent compared to the
previous year.
The transactional Supply business increased by 11.7 percent from
6 232 to 6 964 million euros, comprising 78.3 percent of Group net
sales. Solutions revenues in 2017 grew by 5.9 percent from 1 513 to
1 602 million euros, representing 18.0 percent of Group net sales.
With "as-a-Service", ALSO increased its revenues by 35.4 percent
from 240 to 325 million euros, contributing 3.7 percent to Group
net sales.
All 15 countries within the ALSO Group emerged stronger from the
2017 financial year and the integration of the acquired companies
is proceeding according to plan. "ALSO is successfully transforming
into an end-to-end solutions provider. We are pushing forward on
our path," said Gustavo Möller-Hergt.
In 2017, ALSO consistently worked on its five levers to increase
results: In the business model mix, Solutions and as-a-Service were
further developed. New Logistics-as-a-Service contracts with Media
Markt, Swisscom and Sunrise, as well as the agreement to assume
responsibility for all reverse logistics for Fujitsu in Finland,
are a good basis for the further expansion of this offer. ALSO is
making good progress in the "Consumptional Business" segment. ALSO
currently serves 1.3 million seats in the IT-as-a-Service sector.
This higher-margin business is being continuously expanded.
The vendor mix grew from more than 500 to 525 vendors. As part
of the as-a-Service business model, ALSO reached agreements with
almost 40 additional independent service vendors to offer over 200
new services on the ALSO Cloud Marketplace.
In optimizing the buyer mix, the focus was on increasing the
share of wallet (share of a customer's total expenditure for a
certain product group at ALSO); for example, sales to small and
medium-sized businesses (SMBs) were increased by 5.9 percent.
In the product mix, the number of products increased from 188
000 to 250 000. In existing product categories, new products such
as the HP A3 product range were added to the portfolio. In
addition, ALSO has built up new product categories such as 3D
printing, Managed Print Services, Internet of Things and
Security.
Moreover, ALSO has optimized structures and processes across the
Group and successfully implemented SAP. "We see the benefits
already on a daily basis. Looking forward we will be able to scale
our business even better and make it more efficient," said Gustavo
Möller-Hergt.
Central Europe market Segment
In the Central Europe market segment (Germany, France, Austria
and Switzerland), ALSO recorded a revenue increase of 8.9 percent
to 5 436 million euros (previous year: 4 992 million euros). EBT
decreased by 4.4 percent to 86.7 million euros (previous year: 90.7
million euros). The result was impacted most notably by investments
in personnel. In France, the team was expanded to increase market
share in the SMB-segment, to strengthen LAFI (Logiciels Application
Formation Information, an ALSO subsidiary), and due to the
acquisition of BEIP. In Germany, the Cloud back office capability
was expanded and capacity in the area of reverse logistics was
strengthened. As part of the SAP implementation in ALSO
Switzerland, best practice was adopted in the Group SAP system so
that other country-level companies can also improve their
efficiency. The central development team was strengthened to
further develop the ALSO Cloud Marketplace platform.
Northern/Eastern Europe market segment
In the Northern/Eastern Europe market segment (Belgium, Denmark,
Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Sweden and Slovenia), revenues grew by 16.2 percent to 3
878 million euros (previous year: 3 337 million euros). EBT
increased by 49.1 percent to 34.6 million euros (previous year:
23.2 million euros). The improvement in Poland in particular was a
key driver of the result. At the same time, investments were made
to improve our competitiveness in the area of logistics. The
Competence Center Supplies in the Netherlands also improved its
results. Earnings in Finland also continued to improve.
Employees
In the past fiscal year 2017, ALSO employed an average of 4 058
people from 44 countries, 266 more employees than in the previous
year. Personnel expenses amounted to 219.3 million euros in the
reporting period. This represents an increase of 4.7 percent over
the previous year.Dividend distribution to shareholders of 2.75
Swiss francs per share proposed
For 2018, the Board of Directors proposes a dividend
distribution from the reserve from capital contributions in the
amount of 2.75 Swiss francs per share (previous year: 2.25 Swiss
francs). This represents an increase of 22.2 percent and is the
sixth consecutive increase. The proposal will be submitted to
shareholders for approval at the Annual General Meeting on March
27, 2018. The Board of Directors continues to pursue a stable
dividend policy and aims for a payout ratio of 25 to 35
percent.
Outlook
ALSO's management is increasing its medium-term goals compared
to the previous year: The Group is targeting an increase in net
sales to between ten and fourteen billion euros and an EBITDA
margin between 2.1 and 2.6 percent. The share of Solutions is
expected to be around 30 percent while 10 percent is targeted in
the as-a-Service area. These shares will also depend on the
weighting of potential acquisitions. ALSO expects future
acquisitions to be focused on the areas of Solutions and
as-a-Service. In the area of as-a-Service, the focus is on
expanding usage-based business models such as Platform-,
Infrastructure-, Workplace-, and Software-as-a-Service. In the area
of Supply, the aim is to optimize the provider and buyer
composition, product categories, and automated processes. Combined
with the optimization of the structure of the business models, this
will contribute to an increase in profitability.
Despite ongoing uncertainties with regard to economic
conditions, ALSO is therefore confident that the targeted measures
will take full effect and that an attractive return can be
generated in the future, too. In 2018, business opportunities will
also arise for ALSO as a result of changes in the competitive
structure. Net sales increase for the full year is therefore
anticipated to be above the market growth of 1.5 percent forecasted
by Gartner. With regard to consolidated net profit, the increase is
once again expected to be higher than forecasted sales growth.
Direct link to the media release:
https://also.com/goto/20180223en
Direct link to the Annual Report 2017:
http://also.com/goto/20180223ar
Contact person: Brunswick Group GmbHSimon Hertwig Phone:
+49 89 80 99 025 25E-mail:
shertwig@brunswickgroup.com
ALSO Holding AG (Emmen/Switzerland) brings
providers and buyers of the ICT industry together. The company
offers services at all levels of the ICT value chain from a single
source. In the European B2B marketplace, ALSO bundles logistics
services, financial services, supply services, solution services,
digital services, and IT services together into individual service
packages. ALSO's portfolio contains more than 250 000 articles from
some 525 vendors. The Group has 4 058 employees throughout Europe.
In fiscal year 2017 (closing on December 31), the company generated
net sales of 8.9 billion euros. The majority shareholder of ALSO
Holding AG is the Droege Group, Düsseldorf, Germany. Further
information is available at http://www.also.com
Droege Group (Major
shareholder)Droege Group (founded in 1988) is an
independent advisory and investment company entirely family-owned.
The company acts as a specialist for tailor-made transformation
programs aiming to enhance corporate value. Droege Group combines
its corporate family-run structure and capital strength into a
family-equity business model. The group carries out direct
investments with own equity in corporate subsidiaries and
medium-sized companies in "special situations". With the guiding
principle "Implementation - following all the rules of art," the
group is a pioneer of implementation-oriented corporate
development. Droege Group proves its implementation excellence
daily within its own portfolio. The entrepreneurial platforms of
the Droege Group are aligned to current megatrends (knowledge,
connectivity, prevention, demography, shopping 4.0, future work).
Enthusiasm for quality, innovation and speed determines the
company's development. As a result the Droege Group has
successfully positioned itself within the market, both nationally
and internationally and operates in 30 countries. More information:
https://www.droege-group.com
DisclaimerThis press release contains
forward-looking statements which are based on current assumptions
and forecasts of the ALSO management. Known and unknown risks,
uncertainties, and other factors could lead to material differences
between the forward-looking statements made here and the actual
development, in particular the results, financial situation, and
performance of our Group. The Group accepts no responsibility for
updating these forward-looking statements or adapting them to
future events or developments.
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