Brunel International NV: H1 2017: Disappointing half year, first signs of recovery


Amsterdam, 18 August 2017

Key points Q2 2017

  • Revenue down by 18% to EUR 189 million
  • EBIT down to EUR -1 million

Key points H1 2017

  • Revenue down by 18% to EUR 385 million
  • EBIT down to EUR 5 million
 

Brunel International (unaudited)
 
P&L amounts in EUR million                  
  Q2 2017 Q2 2016 Change %     H1 2017 H1 2016 Change %  
Revenue   188.9   231.2 -18% a     385.3   469.6 -18% b
Gross Profit   39.7   47.7 -17%       86.9   95.6 -9%  
Gross margin 21.0% 20.6%       22.6% 20.4%    
Operating costs   40.8   40.2 2% c     82.4   79.0 4% d
EBIT   -1.2   7.5 -116%       4.6   16.6 -73%  
EBIT % -0.6% 3.2%       1.2% 3.5%    
                   
Average directs   9,201   9,336 -1%       9,093   9,629 -6%  
Average indirects   1,496   1,500 0%       1,478   1,526 -3%  
Ratio direct / indirect   6.2   6.2         6.2   6.3    
                     
a -19 % at constant currencies              
b -19 % at constant currencies              
c 2 % at constant currencies              
d 4 % at constant currencies              

   
H1 2017 results by division

Brunel Global Business (unaudited)  
P&L amounts in EUR million                  
  Q2 2017 Q2 2016 Change %     H1 2017 H1 2016 Change %  
Revenue   81.1   119.8 -32% a     163.2   248.3 -34% b
Gross Profit   9.2   13.3 -30%       18.7   27.3 -31%  
Gross margin 11.4% 11.1%       11.5% 11.1%    
Operating costs   11.3   12.7 -11% c     22.7   25.0 -9% d
EBIT   -2.0   0.6 -446%       -3.9   2.3 -270%  
EBIT % -2.5% 0.5%       -2.4% 0.9%    
                   
Average directs   4,418   4,656 -5%       4,351   4,911 -11%  
Average indirects   510   598 -15%       507   613 -17%  
Ratio direct / Indirect   8.7   7.8         8.6   8.0    
                     
a -33 % at constant currencies              
b -36 % at constant currencies              
c- 12 % at constant currencies              
d -12 % at constant currencies              

  
Key points Q2 2017

  • Revenue down by 32% to EUR 81 million
  • Gross margin 11.4%, up from 11.1% last year
  • EBIT down by 446% to EUR -2 million

                                                                                                                  
Key points H1 2017

  • Revenue down by 34% to EUR 163 millionGross margin 11.5%, up from 11.1% last year
  • EBIT down by 270% to EUR -4 million

Revenue
Revenue in Q2 decreased by 32% year on year, and 1% compared to Q1. The regions Americas, Middle East and Russia achieved growth compared to Q1, offset by a decline in Australia and South East Asia. In Australia and South East Asia, significant projects were largely completed in the course of Q2. We are working on several initiatives to speed up our diversification. We expect that some of these initiatives will start contributing in the second half of the year.

Gross profit
The gross margin increased slightly as a result of a change in the mix, both across the globe and between activities.

Operating costs
Cost savings in our existing business are partly offset by investments in new initiatives, as a result operating costs in Q2 decreased by 11%.

Brunel Europe (unaudited)
P&L amounts in EUR million              
  Q2 2017 Q2 2016 Change %     H1 2017 H1 2016 Change %
Revenue   107.8   111.4 -3%       222.1   221.3 0%
Gross Profit   30.4   34.4 -11%       68.2   68.4 0%
Gross margin 28.2% 30.9%       30.7% 30.9%  
Operating costs   27.3   24.8 10%       54.9   49.3 11%
EBIT   3.2   9.6 -67%       13.3   19.1 -30%
EBIT % 3.0% 8.6%       6.0% 8.6%  
                 
Average directs   4,783   4,680 2%       4,742   4,718 1%
Average indirects   934   859 9%       921   870 6%
Ratio direct / Indirect   5.1   5.4         5.1   5.4  

  
Brunel Europe consists of Brunel Germany, Brunel Netherlands, Brunel Belgium, Brunel Czech Republic, Brunel Switzerland and Brunel Austria.

Key points Q2 2017

  • Revenue down by 3% to EUR 108 million
  • Gross margin 28.2%, down from 30.9% last year
  • EBIT down by 67% to EUR 3 million

Key points H1 2017

  • Revenue up by 1 million to 222 million
  • Gross margin 30.7%, down from 30.9% last year
  • EBIT down by 30% to EUR 13 million 
 

Brunel Germany (unaudited)
P&L amounts in EUR million              
  Q2 2017 Q2 2016 Change %     H1 2017 H1 2016 Change %
Revenue   52.0   52.9 -2%       108.3   102.5 6%
Gross Profit   16.4   18.9 -13%       37.3   35.8 4%
Gross margin 31.5% 35.7%       34.4% 34.9%  
Operating costs   13.5   12.6 6%       27.2   24.5 11%
EBIT   2.9   6.3 -54%       10.1   11.3 -11%
EBIT % 5.6% 11.9%       9.3% 11.0%  
                 
Average directs   2,274   2,174 5%       2,265   2,160 5%
Average indirects   423   405 4%       412   416 -1%
Ratio direct / Indirect   5.4   5.4         5.5   5.2  

 Revenue
On 1 April, the new law came into effect and to comply we had to renew our union trade agreement. Some of our customers have suspended us as supplier until we had our new union trade agreement in place, what caused a temporary hiccup in the growth. We finalized the renewal at the end of July. This renewed agreement offers us a strong competitive advantage. Revenue per working day increased by 3%. Headcount at 30 June 2017 is 3% above last year's headcount.

 
     

Working days

  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 FY
2017 65 59 65 60 249
2016 62 62 66 62 252

Gross Profit
Gross margin adjusted for working days is 34.8% (2016: 35.7%). Additional price pressure is mainly due to volumetric customers.

Operating costs
Operating costs in H1 increased with 11% mainly driven by strengthening the commercial organization to facilitate further growth.
  

Brunel Netherlands (unaudited)
P&L amounts in EUR million              
  Q2 2017 Q2 2016 Change %     H1 2017 H1 2016 Change %
Revenue   46.6   49.2 -5%       94.5   100.9 -6%
Gross Profit   12.3   13.4 -9%       26.6   28.5 -6%
Gross margin 26.3% 27.3%       28.2% 28.2%  
Operating costs   11.6   10.2 14%       23.5   20.7 13%
EBIT   0.6   3.2 -81%       3.2   7.7 -59%
EBIT % 1.3% 6.5%       3.3% 7.6%  
                 
Average directs   2,181   2,173 0%       2,153   2,224 -3%
Average indirects   437   381 15%       437   381 15%
Ratio direct / Indirect   5.0   5.7         4.9   5.8  

 Revenue
The revenue development is a mix of a decline in freelancers (impact -10%) and growth in own employees (impact +5%). Q2 2017 had one less working day compared to last year. Revenue per working day decreased by 4%. The growth in Engineering and Legal is more than offset by the decline in the other business lines. Headcount at 30 June 2017 is 2% above last year's headcount.

 
     

Working days

  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 FY
2017 65 61 65 63 254
2016 63 62 66 64 255

Gross Profit
The gross margin adjusted for working days is 27.5% (2016: 27.3%). The increase in gross margin due to the change in mix is largely offset by a lower productivity.

Operating costs
The operating costs increased due to continuous investment in sales force and technology.
  
Effective tax rate
The effective tax rate in the first half year of 2017 is 75.6%. Due to the seasonality in Europe our tax rate is higher in the first half of the year. For the full year, we project the effective tax rate to come down significantly.

Risk profile
Reference is made to our 2016 Annual Report (pages 57 - 75). Reassessment of our earlier identified risks and the potential impact on occurrence has not resulted in required changes in our internal risk management and control systems.

Cash position
Brunel's cash position decreased to EUR 127 million, due to the seasonality and the dividend payment in June.

Outlook for 2017
The Netherlands will return to revenue growth from Q3 onwards, and Germany will continue to grow. For Global Business we expect revenue to remain flat for the next couple of months until the impact of our initiatives becomes visible. There is some uncertainty around the timing of the first revenues from these initiatives, but we expect to achieve an EBIT of at least EUR 15 million for the full year.

Jan Arie van Barneveld, CEO of Brunel International N.V.: "We knew the first half year would be tough, but we have reached the bottom of the trough sooner than expected. Our actual performance has been improving day by day. With Europe on a growth track, and all the initiatives in Global Business, I'm confident that we will return to sustainable growth pretty quickly"

Statement of the Board of Directors
The Board of Directors of Brunel International N.V. hereby declares that, to the best of its knowledge, the interim financial statements give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and result of Brunel International N.V. and the companies jointly included in the consolidation, and that the interim report gives a true and fair view of the information referred to in the eighth and, insofar as applicable, the ninth subsection of Section 5:25d of the Dutch Act on Financial Supervision and with reference to the section on related parties in the interim financial statements.

Amsterdam, 18 August 2017
Brunel International N.V.

Jan Arie van Barneveld (CEO)
Peter de Laat (CFO)


Pièces jointes

Brunel Q2 and H1 2017 appendix Brunel Q2 and H1 2017 results