Rotterdam, The Netherlands (25 August 2017) - IMCD N.V. ("IMCD" or "Company"), a leading distributor of speciality chemicals and food ingredients, today announces its first half year 2017 results.

Highlights
· Gross profit growth of 9% to EUR 212.2 million (+8% on a constant currency basis)
· Operating EBITA increase of 8% to EUR 84.6 million (+8% on a constant currency basis)
· Net result before amortisation and non-recurring items increase of 7% to EUR 57.9 million (+6% on a constant currency basis)
· Cash earnings per share increased by 8% to EUR 1.09
· Acquisition of Neuvendis, completed on 23 June 2017, expanding the Italian operations in the speciality chemicals market
· Acquisitions of Bossco Industries (US) and L.V. Lomas (Canada) in July/August 2017 are important steps in the further development of IMCD's North America position

Piet van der Slikke, CEO: 'We are satisfied with the development of our business in the first half of 2017. EBITA grew by 8% and most of the other indicators developed positively. We advanced our strategic goals in Europe with the acquisition of Neuvendis (Italy) and in North America with Bossco (Houston) and L.V. Lomas (Toronto). We remain optimistic about the remainder of the year.'

Key figures
EUR million
Jan. 1 - June 30, 2017 Jan. 1 - June 30, 2016 Change Change Fx adj. change
Revenue 936.2 884.8 51.4 6% 4%
Gross profit 212.2 194.0 18.2 9% 8%
Gross profit in % of revenue 22.7% 21.9% 0.8%
Operating EBITA1 84.6 78.3 6.3 8% 8%
Operating EBITA in % of revenue 9.0% 8.8% 0.2%
Conversion margin2 39.9% 40.3% (0.4%)
Net result before amortisation/non-recurring items 57.9 54.0 3.9 7% 6%
Free cash flow3 73.8 63.3 10.5 17%
Cash conversion margin4 84.9% 78.9% 6.0%
Earnings per share (weighted) 0.82 0.75 0.07 9% 9%
Cash earnings per share (weighted)5 1.09 1.01 0.08 8% 7%
Number of full time employees end of period 1,912 1,773 139 8%
1 Result from operating activities before amortisation of intangibles and non-recurring items
2 Operating EBITA in percentage of Gross profit
3 Operating EBITDA excluding non cash share based payment expenses, plus/less changes in working capital less capital expenditures
4 Free cash flow in percentage of Operating EBITDA
5 Result for the year before amortisation (net of tax)

Revenue
Revenue increased from EUR 884.8 million to EUR 936.2 million, an increase of 6% compared to the first half of 2016. On a constant currency basis, the increase in revenue is 4%, consisting of organic growth (+2%) and the first time inclusion of acquired companies (+2%).

Gross profit
Gross profit, defined as revenue less costs of materials and inbound logistics, increased by 9% from EUR 194.0 million in the first half year of 2016 to EUR 212.2 million in the same period 2017. On a constant currency basis, the gross profit growth was 8%, consisting of organic growth of 5% and the first time inclusion of acquired companies of 3%.
Gross profit in % of revenue increased from 21.9% in the first six months of 2016 to 22.7% in 2017. This increase is the result of the first time inclusion of acquired companies, local market circumstances, currency changes and the usual fluctuations in the product mix.

Operating EBITA
Operating EBITA increased by 8% from EUR 78.3 million in the first half of 2016 to EUR 84.6 million in the same period 2017 (+8% on a constant currency basis).
The growth in operating EBITA is a combination of organic growth and the first time inclusion of acquired companies. The operating EBITA in % of revenue increased by 0.2%-point from 8.8% in the first half of 2016 to 9.0% in 2017.
The conversion margin, defined as operating EBITA as a percentage of gross profit, decreased from 40.3% in the first half of 2016 to 39.9% in 2017.

Cash flow and capital expenditure
Free cash flow was EUR 73.8 million compared to EUR 63.3 million in the first half of 2016, an increase of EUR 10.5 million. The cash conversion margin, defined as free cash flow as a percentage of operating EBITDA, was 84.9% compared to 78.9% in the first half of 2016. The higher operating EBITDA combined with lower working capital investments were the main drivers of this improvement.
Working capital investment in the first half of 2017 of EUR 12.6 million (EUR 14.5 million in the first half of 2016) was the result of increased business activities leading to higher working capital positions, partly offset by the impact of the weakening of non-EUR currencies in 2017.
Capital expenditure was EUR 1.5 million in the first half of 2017 compared to EUR 3.1 million in the same period of 2016 and mainly relates to investments in ICT infrastructure, office furniture and equipment.

Net debt
As at 30 June 2017, net debt was EUR 399.1 million compared to EUR 397.6 million as at 31 December 2016.
The leverage ratio (net debt/operating EBITDA ratio including the full year impact of acquisitions) at the end of June 2017, was 2.5 (31 December 2016: 2.6). The leverage ratio at the end of June 2017, calculated on the basis of definitions used in the IMCD loan documentation, was 2.4 times EBITDA (31 December 2016: 2.3) which is well below the required maximum of 3.5. After the anticipated closing of the Lomas transaction at the end of August 2017, reported leverage ratio will increase to 3.0 times EBITDA.

Developments by operating segment
The reporting segments are defined as follows:
• EMEA: all operating companies in Europe, Turkey and Africa
• Asia Pacific: all operating companies in Australia, New Zealand, India, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Japan
• Americas: all operating companies in the United States of America, Brazil and Puerto Rico
• Holding companies: all non-operating companies, including the head office in Rotterdam and the regional offices in Singapore and New Jersey, US

Outlook
IMCD operates in different, often fragmented market segments in multiple geographic regions, connecting many customers and suppliers across a very diverse product range. In general, results are impacted by macroeconomic conditions and developments in specific industries. Furthermore, results can be influenced from period to period by, amongst other things, the ability to maintain and expand commercial relationships, the ability to introduce new products and start new customer and supplier relationships and the timing, scope and impact of acquisitions.
IMCD’s consistent strategy and resilient business model has led to successful expansion over the years and IMCD remains focused on achieving earnings growth by optimising its services and further strengthening its market positions. IMCD sees interesting opportunities to increase its global footprint and expand its product portfolio both organically and by acquisitions.
Based on the performance in the first half of 2017 and the strong fundamentals of the business, IMCD expects operating EBITA growth in 2017.


see more on
http://hugin.info/164110/R/2129182/813262.pdf

tijd 09.03
De Midcap 789,41 +1,68 +0,21% IMCD EUR 50,41 +93ct vol. 2.000