Having completed the first nine months of its current fiscal year, Wincor Nixdorf AG remains on a clear path of growth and is reaping the rewards of its restructuring program more rapidly than originally projected.
Having completed the first nine months of its current fiscal year, Wincor Nixdorf AG remains on a clear path of growth and is reaping the rewards of its restructuring program more rapidly than originally projected. Net sales increased by 10%, taking the figure to €1,938 million (previous year: €1,768 million). Operating profit (EBITA) before non-recurring items amounted to €155 million (€75 million). After non-recurring items EBITDA was up at €146 million (€40 million). Profit for the period, which takes into account transaction costs incurred to date in respect of the business combination between Diebold and Wincor Nixdorf, stood at €89 million (€25 million). In presenting its results for the third quarter, Wincor Nixdorf also set out in more concrete terms its guidance for the full fiscal year 2015/2016. Net sales are expected to grow by approximately 6%. Operating profit (EBITA) before non-recurring items is likely to total €190 million. Non-recurring items are expected to amount to between €0 and plus 30 million, consisting of restructuring expenses on the one hand and positive effects from M&A activities on the other. "Overall, we can look forward with confidence," said CEO & President Eckard Heidloff. "Wincor Nixdorf has done its homework, and plans for the business combination with Diebold are progressing well," he went on to explain. "Together, we are looking to create a powerful new IT company that is an innovative and reliable partner to both retail banks and retailers in these dynamic times."
Having exceeded the minimum acceptance threshold as part of its takeover bid for Wincor Nixdorf shares, Diebold requires regulatory approval from antitrust authorities in eleven countries before the transaction can be successfully concluded. By the end of the third quarter it had received official authorizations from ten countries; regulatory approval from the anti-cartel authority in Poland was still outstanding. Wincor Nixdorf and its US counterpart Diebold remain confident that the business combination will be concluded during the summer months of 2016. Integration planning is already underway at all levels within the two companies to ensure smooth assimilation as soon as the business combination has been finalized.
Net sales: slight increase in Banking, strong growth in Retail
The Banking segment saw net sales increase by 1% to €1,164 million in the first nine months of the fiscal year (€1,149 million). After non-recurring items, Banking segment EBITA reached €99 million; this figure includes €9 million in expenses from non-recurring items. Excluding expenses from non-recurring items, Banking segment EBITA rose by €56 million to €108 million (€52 million). This corresponds to growth of 108%. Net sales generated in the Retail segment were lifted by 25%, taking the figure to €774 million (€619 million) for the reporting period. EBITA recorded by the Retail segment, which includes non-recurring items that offset each other, rose by €24 million year on year to €47 million in the reporting period (€23 million). This corresponds to growth of 104% in the Retail segment.
Growth in all regions after first nine months
In Germany, net sales for the first nine months of the fiscal year were 5% higher year on year at €425 million (€404 million). Germany contributed 22% (23%) to total net sales at Group level. In the third quarter of the fiscal year, net sales generated in Germany increased by 13% year on year to €143 million (€127 million). Net sales generated in Europe (excluding Germany) over the first nine months of the fiscal year were up 11% at €906 million (€817 million). This region contributed the largest part of total net sales for the Group at 47% (46%). In the third quarter, net sales in the region covering Europe (excluding Germany) stood at €293 million (€263 million), which corresponds to a year-on-year increase of 11%.
Asia/Pacific/Africa saw net sales rise by 3% to €355 million in the first nine months of the current fiscal year (€346 million). Thus, the Asia/Pacific/Africa region contributed a share of 18% (20%) to total net sales for the Group. Third-quarter net sales in Asia/Pacific/Africa rose by 4% to €116 million (€112 million). The region encompassing the Americas saw net sales increase by 25% in the first nine months of the fiscal year, taking the total to €252 million (€201 million). As a result, the proportion of Group net sales generated in the Americas was 13% (11%). In the third quarter, net sales in the region were up 33% at €77 million (€58 million).
Net sales up for Hardware and Software/Services
In the first nine months of the fiscal year, net sales attributable to the Hardware business rose by 17% to €851 million (€726 million). Net sales from Software/Services increased by 4% to €1,087 million (€1,042 million).
The share of total net sales generated by the Hardware business was lifted to 44% in the period under review (41%). Correspondingly, the proportion of total net sales from Software/Services fell to 56% (59%).