STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Aug. 28, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Intrum Justitia:
-- Group revenues increased by 23 percent to SEK 675.4M (547.0)
-- Strong organic growth during the period: 16 percent
-- Adjusted EBITA increased by 15 percent to SEK 114.3M (99.4)
-- The number of collection cases in stock increased by 17 percent,
from 6.6 to 7.7 million
-- Stirling Park, one of Scotland's primary RMS businesses, with
revenues of SEK 56M, acquired after the end of the period
Intrum Justitia Group
Intrum Justitia is Europe's leading Receivables Management Service (RMS) Group, both in terms of revenues and gross collection value, serving more than 82,000 clients in 21 European countries. Intrum Justitia's objective is to be a leading provider of receivables management services in Europe through excellence in local client care, ledger administration and debt collection as well as by measurably improving clients' cash flow and long-term profitability. Intrum Justitia AB's shares have been trading on the O-list of Stockholmsborsen (the Stockholm Stock Exchange), ticker IJ.ST, since June 12, 2002, following an Initial Public Offering to institutional investors in and outside of Sweden and retail investors in Sweden. The offering price per share was set at SEK 47 and to raise net proceeds of SEK 1,370 million the company issued 30,638,298 new shares. After the listing the total number of outstanding shares is 84,985,604 shares.
Review April - June
Revenues for the period April - June 2002 amounted to SEK 675.4 million (547.0), an increase of 23 percent. Out of this increase, 1 percentage point came from currency movements, 6 percentage points came from acquisitions, mainly that of Dun & Bradstreet's RMS operations in Europe ("D&B RMS") undertaken in 2001. The remaining 16 percentage points came from organic growth. The revenue growth is primary attributable to growth in the Commercial & International Collection and Consumer Collection & Debt Surveillance service lines. . The adjusted profit before goodwill amortization (adjusted EBITA) for the second quarter 2002 increased by 15 percent to SEK 114.3 million (99.4). Adjusted for currency effects, the increase was 13 percent. The increase in EBITA for the period is primarily attributable to growth in Consumer Collection & Debt Surveillance, with an increased inflow of collection cases and improved collection efficiency. Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) for the period increased by 21 percent to SEK 84.5 million (69.6).
Review January - June
Revenues for the first six months 2002 amounted to SEK 1,331.8 million (1,013.5), an increase of 31 percent. Out of this increase, 3 percentage points came from currency movements, 14 percentage points came from acquisitions made in 2001, and 14 percentage points were organic growth. Adjusted EBITA for the first six months 2002 increased by 22 percent to SEK 213.6 million (175.2). Adjusted for currency effects, the increase was 19 percent. Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) for the first six months 2002 increased by 31 percent to SEK 151.0 million (114.9). The income before tax for the first six months amounted to SEK 73.3 million (69.0) and the net result amounted to SEK 39.8 million (42.2).
Business environment
The European Parliament has issued a directive (2000/35/EC) on combating late payment in commercial transactions, whether in the private or public sector. The directive will now be implemented by the EU member states before the end of 2003. In some markets Intrum Justitia experiences competitive price pressure with high volume clients, who are offered discounts, which in turn is affecting the profitability of the business. Changes in the regulation in some countries have had a negative impact on the collection performance. The statutory fee for collection has been reduced in Norway. Germany has introduced a law, which raises the minimum subsistence level for private individuals. This law is expected to impact on the amount Intrum Justitia can collect from outstanding claims.
Acquisitions
No businesses were acquired during the second quarter of 2002.
Service line highlights
The majority of the quarterly growth in revenue and EBITA is attributable to Consumer Collection & Debt Surveillance; the service line grew 20 percent in revenue compared to the second quarter 2001. Compared to the second quarter 2001, the increase in revenues and EBITA during the same period 2002 is predominantly generated by the two regions of Netherlands, Belgium & Germany and Sweden, Norway & Denmark. The growth in EBITA for Consumer & Debt Surveillance compared to the same period last year was 16 percent. The revenues of the service line Commercial & International Collection increased 29 percent during the second quarter. Integration costs and increased sales activities affected the EBITA (-5 percent) compared to the period April - June 2001. The increase in revenues is to a large extent attributable to the two regions of France, Spain & Portugal and the Netherlands, Belgium & Germany, which related to the acquired D&B RMS business. The service line Purchased Debt experienced an increase in revenues of 50 percent compared to the second quarter last year, and amounted to SEK 38.9 million. EBITA during the second quarter was SEK 22.0 million (14.6). The region comprising Poland, Czech Republic & Hungary generated the main part of the increase in both revenues and EBITA. The faster and shorter collection process, which is characteristic of some of the recently acquired portfolios, has generated a higher amortization and therefore slightly affected the profit margin. The return on these investments in Purchased Debts remains satisfactory. The second quarter revenues for the service line Sales Ledger were SEK 24.1 million (16.4). The loss of SEK -10 million for this period, is mainly due to the fact that the service line is still in its start-up phase and also the loss of a major client in Sweden. The service line Other experienced a modest growth in revenues during the second quarter 2002, compared to the same quarter last year. EBITA increased by SEK 5.7 million and amounted to SEK 16.1 million. The majority of the increase in both revenue and profit during the second quarter is attributable to the Credit Information services in the two regions Switzerland, Austria & Italy and Sweden, Norway & Denmark.
Regional highlights
The integration of D&B RMS is overall developing according to plan and is completed in most regions. The Sweden, Norway & Denmark and Finland, Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania regions have performed very well in the second quarter. Prices remain under some pressure, but these regions have managed to maintain a strong development in sales with high volumes and benefits of scale contributing to the profitability of the regions. The United Kingdom & Ireland region is experiencing the effects of price pressure as high volume clients in the banking and finance sector are increasingly seeking discounts. During the period measures were taken to balance off this reduction in sales. Costs for this have been taken as operation expenses during the second quarter. The second quarter has, like the first quarter of 2002, been somewhat demanding for the Netherlands, Belgium & Germany region. A strong dependence on clients in the telecom sector and focus on sales development in general together with integration work have all had an impact on the financial performance of the region. Initiatives to widen the client base into other sectors have been taken together with an overall intensified sales activity. The region comprising Switzerland, Austria & Italy has, together with the Finland, Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania region, had a very strong second quarter. The first region has performed well and the increase in revenue is partly due to successful development of the Credit Information services, which is using sophisticated and efficient techniques such as scoring methods. The latter region has implemented business concepts, aimed at selected target groups, which have been very successful in the Sweden, Norway & Denmark region. The region France, Spain & Portugal has increased its business substantially, with 70 percent higher revenues in the second quarter in 2002 compared to the same period last year. Much of this increase was due to acquired businesses. Besides the D&B RMS business, the acquired Spanish and Portuguese operations of Via Ejecutiva have been integrated. The region is profitable, but the effect on the operations and costs in relation to the integration activities has had a negative impact on the overall profit for the region. Each geographic region, in which Intrum Justitia Group operates, has separate seasonal characteristics, which have an effect on the total financial outcome. Generally the Group experiences lower revenues in the first and third quarters of the year and higher revenues in the second and fourth quarters of the year.
Joint venture with Credit Agricole Indosuez On June 4, 2002, Intrum Justitia and Credit Agricole Indosuez established a jointly owned company "Intrum CAI Debt Finance AB" in Sweden, in which the partners hold 50 percent each. 50 percent of the Joint Venture is consolidated into the Purchased Debt service line in the Group accounts from June 4, 2002. Intrum CAI Debt Finance AB has purchased a major bank loan portfolio originating from Finland, of which 40 percent is a new portfolio while 60 percent was acquired from Intrum Justitia's existing portfolio. The parties have agreed on evaluating further purchases together in the Nordic region and the possibilities of expanding this business model to other European markets where business synergies could be found. At the same time this joint venture will develop and enhance the growth potential in the service line Purchased Debt.
Expenses
Intensified sales activities targeting new market segments to compensate for the above mentioned situation in the Netherlands, Belgium & Germany region and the slowdown in some client sectors have generated an increase in the general expenses and expenses for sales and marketing. The gross integration costs for the second quarter were SEK 12.3 million. The Group profit has been charged with SEK 5.5 million; representing 0.8 percent points margin reduction, whereas the remaining SEK 6.8 million has been charged against the integration provision. The remaining total integration provision amounts to SEK 15 million.
Items affecting comparability
There have been no items affecting comparability reported during the period.
Cash flow
Operating cash flow changed to SEK 61.0 million for January - June 2002 from SEK 34.1 million for the corresponding period in 2001. There is a negative impact on the cash flow from the increase in working capital, amounting to SEK 86.1 million during the first-half year. It is the Group's experience that working capital increases during the first half- year and then decreases again during the second half of the year. In some markets, increased demands from large clients for more favourable payment terms, also lead to an increase in working capital during the first half-year. The former effect is clearly larger than the latter.
Financing
The balance sheet was affected by the appreciation of the SEK against the Euro by 2.5 percent from December 31, 2001 to June 30, 2002. Net debt, excluding the shareholders' mezzanine loan and the convertible loans, amounted to SEK 832.4 million as at June 2002, compared to SEK 1,142.5 million at year-end 2001. The shareholders' mezzanine loan and the convertible loans were repaid in connection with the IPO. Shareholders' equity amounted to SEK 1,411.0 million (515.0). Restricted shareholders' equity increased by SEK 1,382.6 million as a result of new issues of shares during the second quarter, mainly in connection with the IPO, which was successfully completed in June 2002. The money raised in the new issue of shares has mainly been used to repay loans to the main shareholders of SEK 1,053.9 million in total. Certain external loans were also repaid. As of June 30, 2002, the Group had liquid assets amounting to SEK 183.1 million (178.7). As of the same date, the Group had unutilized credit facilities of SEK 195.3 million. The result from financing items during the period may not be representative for the Group's financial position going forward. Financial items during the second quarter were subject to a negative impact from exchange rate differences and from capitalized set-up costs for loans, which were expensed in connection with the repayment of the loans..
Employees
The average number of employees during the period was 2,648 (2,325).
Parent company
The parent company, Intrum Justitia AB (publ), had revenues of SEK 9.6 million and a result before tax of SEK -7.6 million (n.a.).
Outlook
The trend for businesses to increase outsourcing of RMS activities continues to create new business opportunities for service providers such as Intrum Justitia. Intrum Justitia Group has a strong position in the European RMS market and will continue its focus on expanding its operations through continued organic growth. The organic growth during the second quarter of 2002 has been well above the Group's target of 10 percent over a full business cycle, a trend expected to continue for the full year. Synergy effects from the integration of acquired businesses are expected to positively affect operating margins for the current year.
Post closing events
On July 17, 2002, Intrum Justitia signed an agreement to acquire Stirling Park, one of Scotland's primary revenue collection management businesses for a purchase price set at a maximum of GBP 7.9 million (approximately SEK 115 million) which creates goodwill of approximately SEK 100 million. The acquired company has a 27 percent share of the Scottish local authorities market, with revenues in 2001 of GBP 3.75 million (SEK 56 million). It is currently handling over GBP 55 million of debt and last year collected GBP 33 million of outstanding payments. Stirling Park has approximately 108 employees in its six offices, with headquarters in Glasgow. The business is consolidated into the Group accounts as of July 17, 2002. Due to heavy rain and subsequent floods that struck central Europe, the Intrum Justitia office in Prague had to close down for a couple of days in mid-August but it is too early to assess any further impact on Intrum Justitia's operations. The Czech operations are less than 1 percent of the Group's revenues.
Accounting principles
This interim report has been prepared in accordance with Swedish GAAP and recommendation RR 20 issued by the Swedish Financial Accounting Standards Council. Comparable figures for 2001 consist of the Intrum Justitia Group with Intrum Justitia Holding NV as the parent company. These figures have been prepared in accordance with Swedish GAAP. The joint venture company Intrum CAI Debt Finance AB is consolidated with proportional consolidation. The Company applies the same accounting principles as the year before.
Reporting dates
The Interim Report for the third quarter, January - September, will be published on November 25, 2002. The Year-end report for 2002 will be published in February 2003.
Stockholm, August 28, 2002 Intrum Justitia AB (publ)
Peter Sjunnesson, Chief Executive Officer
This interim report has not been subject to a review by the Company's auditors.
This Interim Report and other financial information is available on the website, www.intrum.com Denna rapport finns aven i svensk version.
Telephone Conference and Information Meeting: A Telephone Conference will be held today at 2 p.m. CET. The telephone number for the conference is +44 (0)20 8241 0004
The Information Meeting will take place at the Operaterrace in Stockholm on Thursday, August 29, 2002 at 8 a.m. CET
For further information, please contact:
Peter Sjunnesson, President & CEO Tel: +46 8 546 10 200
Bertil Persson, CFO Tel: +46 8 546 10 200
Anders Antonsson, Investor Relations Tel: +46 8 546 10 206,
mobile: +46 703 36 78 18
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