VTG AG reports a stable first quarter of 2017 Logistics divisions on course for growth

VTG Aktiengesellschaft (WKN: VTG999), one of the leading wagon hire and rail logistics companies in Europe, continued to experience stable business development in the first quarter of 2017. Group revenue of EUR 243.8 million was on a par with the previous year (Q1 2016: EUR 243.8 million). Although EBITDA was slightly down year on year at EUR 76.6 million (Q1 2016: EUR 81.6 million), Group net profit improved further to EUR 12.7 million (Q1 2016: EUR 11.8 million). Earnings per share (EPS) likewise increased again from EUR 0.30 in the first quarter of 2016 to EUR 0.33 in the quarter under review.

"Our results for the first quarter of 2017 are solid and satisfactory. We once again increased Group net profit and EPS, as we wanted to do," says Dr. Heiko Fischer, Chairman of the Executive Board of VTG AG, explaining the figures. "Declining revenue and the accumulation of higher maintenance expenses in the European wagon hire business meant that our revenue and EBITDA expectations for the Group were not quite fulfilled. At the same time, we see positive development in our logistics divisions as a sign that the economy is gaining momentum. We think that the European rail business should also benefit from this trend in the months ahead."

Railcar: A softer start to the year – Revenue and EBITDA down slightly

The Railcar Division posted revenue of EUR 125.6 million in the first three months of 2017 (Q1 2016: EUR 129.0 million). The decline of 2.6 percent is attributable essentially to the fact that the rising momentum in the world trade has not yet arrived in our sector. This led to a lower number of hired wagons, especially in the intermodal and mineral oil tank car segments. Alongside the drop in revenue, which affected income, higher cumulative maintenance expenses and higher expenses for the preparation of previously unhired wagons prompted a decline in EBITDA, which was down 7.1 percent to EUR 76.2 million (Q1 2016: EUR 82.0 million). This development caused the revenue-based EBITDA margin to fall by 2.9 percentage points to 60.7 percent (Q1 2016: 63.6 percent). Capacity utilization across the entire fleet edged down slightly to 90.3 percent (Q1 2016: 90.6 percent).

Investments of EUR 31.7 million in the first quarter of 2017 was down on the previous year's figure of EUR 51.6 million. These were channeled exclusively into fixed assets, especially in the core European market, where the bulk of this total was spent on chemical and compressed gas wagons.

Rail Logistics: Strong growth – Tank Container Logistics: Increase in EBITDA

The Rail Logistics Division saw revenue climb 6.7 percent to EUR 79.2 million in the first quarter of 2017 (Q1 2016: EUR 74.2 million), continuing the positive trend experienced in recent months. This result was largely due to profits from high-margin business with new customers and a positive start to the year with agricultural business.

Thanks to this revenue development and stable structural costs, the division's EBITDA jumped sharply by 49.1 percent to EUR 1.6 million in the first quarter of 2017, up from EUR 1.1 million in the same period a year ago. The EBITDA margin for Rail Logistics, which is based on gross profit, thus improved by 6.7 percentage points to 22.8 percent (Q1 2016: 16.1 percent).

A higher transportation volume gave Tank Container Logistics a good start to 2017. Demand revived in both intra-European and overseas business. With freight rates lower in the first three months of the current financial year than in the same period of 2016, revenue nevertheless dropped by 3.9 percent from EUR 40.6 million to EUR 39.0 million. EBITDA for the division improved by 4.4 percent from EUR 2.3 million to EUR 2.4 million, largely because of new high-margin business. The gross profit-based EBITDA margin stood at 29.3 percent, slightly down on the previous year's figure of 33.2 percent.

VTG Executive Board confirms forecast for 2017

The Executive Board confirms the forecast for the current year published in April, according to which Group revenue and Group EBITDA are expected to be slightly higher than in the previous year.

Key figures for the VTG Group

About VTG:

VTG Aktiengesellschaft is one of Europe’s leading wagon hire and rail logistics companies, with a fleet consisting of more than 80,000 railcars. VTG offers a full-range service, providing tank cars, intermodal wagons, standard freight wagons and sliding wall wagons. In addition to the hiring of wagons, the Group offers comprehensive multi-modal logistics services, mainly around rail transport, and global tank container transports.

With the combination of its three interlinked divisions Railcar, Rail Logistics and Tank Container Logistics, VTG offers its customers a high-performance platform for international transport of their freight. The Group has many years of experience and specific expertise, in particular in the transport of liquid and sensitive goods. Its customers include numerous well-known companies from almost every industrial sector, for example the chemical, petroleum, automotive, paper and agricultural industries.

In the financial year 2016, VTG generated revenue of EUR 987 million and operating profit (EBITDA) of EUR 345 million. Via its subsidiaries and affiliates the company, which has its head office in Hamburg, is mainly present in Europe, North America, Russia and Asia. As at 31 December 2016, VTG had 1,443 employees worldwide in consolidated companies. VTG AG is listed on the official Prime Standard market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and also on the SDAX (WKN: VTG999).