ORBIS AG with good business development in 2019
Corona pandemic currently does not allow a concrete forecast for the financial year 2020
For ORBIS AG, the Saarbrücken-based software and business consulting company listed in the General Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the 2019 financial year has developed positively in line with expecta-tions.
In the 2019 financial year, ORBIS AG recorded a 14.4% year-on-year increase in consoli-dated revenues to € 72,266 thousand (previous year: € 63,199 thousand). Accordingly, the number of employees will increase by 10.9% to 562 employees as of December 31, 2019 (previous year: 507 employees). This increase is partly due to the majority share-holding in Dialog GmbH, Bielefeld as of 2 July 2019.
Operating profit before depreciation and amortisation increased significantly to € 6,739 thousand (previous year € 4,582 thousand), also due to the change in accounting under IFRS 16. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased slightly by 4.1 % to € 3,595 thousand (previous year: € 3,453 thousand).
The share of consolidated net income attributable to the shareholders of ORBIS AG after taxes and minority interests amounts to €(k) 1,972 and is thus slightly below the previous year (€(k) 2,185). This corresponds to earnings of 22.3 cents per share (previ-ous year: 25.3 cents per share).
The cash flow from operating activities is clearly positive at T€ 4,143. The Group's liquid funds amounted to T€ 10,470 on the balance sheet date, and the equity ratio as of 31 December 2019 was 54.2 %.
In January 2020, ORBIS acquired 100 percent of the shares in Data One GmbH, also lo-cated in Saarbrücken. As an SAP and Microsoft gold partner, Data One specializes in advising companies on the development and implementation of their individual digi-tization strategy. The company, which generated sales of around ten million euros with more than 100 employees in 2019, will continue to operate independently in the future as part of the ORBIS Group.
Based on the good order backlog and the sales forecast for fiscal year 2020 at the be-ginning of the year, we have so far assumed sales growth of more than 10 % compared to the previous year and are still aiming for a positive EBIT for fiscal year 2020.
This forecast does not include the effects of the current corona pandemic. The effects of the corona pandemic are increasingly affecting our customers - some customers have already introduced short-time working or put projects on the test bench. We must therefore assume that our business will also be affected by the effects of project postponements or project stops.
As part of our risk management, we are constantly monitoring the situation and, if ne-cessary, implementing appropriate measures such as short-time working. In this way, the effects on our company can be mitigated as far as possible.
Due to the general uncertainty of the global economy and the associated effects of the corona pandemic on our business, we do not currently feel able to make a serious fo-recast for revenue and earnings for the 2020 financial year.
Due to the global economic crisis caused by the Corona pandemic, the duration and effects of which cannot be predicted, the Management Board proposes to the Annual General Meeting that the net profit for 2019 be carried forward to new account. If, contrary to expectations, the crisis situation changes significantly for the better, this dividend policy will be reviewed.
Due to the rapid spread of the corona virus (SARS-CoV-2) in Germany and the official bans on events, the Annual General Meeting of ORBIS will not take place as planned on May 28, 2020 at the E-Werk Saarbrücken. A new date has not yet been set. When planning this date, we are also considering whether the Annual General Meeting in 2020 will be held "virtually". The health of our employees and their families, as well as that of our shareholders and the service providers involved, is our highest priority. We will provide further information as soon as the necessary decisions have been made.
About ORBIS
ORBIS supports medium-sized companies as well as international corporations in the digitalization of their business processes: from the joint development of the customized Big Picture to the practical implementation in the project. The digitization and automation of business processes across the entire value chain ensures the com-petitiveness of our customers. The in-depth process know-how and innovative strength of our 650 employees combined with the expertise of more than 30 years of successful international project work in various industries make us a competent part-ner in this respect. We rely on the solutions and technologies of our partners SAP and Microsoft, whose portfolios are complemented by ORBIS solutions. Our focus is on SAP S/4HANA, Customer Engagement and the realization of the Smart Factory. On the basis of smart cloud technologies, such as Machine Learning, Cognitive Services or IoT, we support our customers in developing innovative products, services and business mo-dels. Our expertise results from over 2000 customer projects with more than 500 customers in the automotive supply industry, construction supply industry, electrical and electronics industry, mechanical and plant engineering, logistics, metal industry, consumer goods industry and trade. Long-standing customers include the ZF Group, Hörmann, Hager Group, Rittal, Kraftverkehr Nagel, ArcelorMittal, Montblanc, Bahlsen and Sonepar.
Further information is available at orbis.de
or
Dr. Sabine Stürmer, Head of Investor Relations at ORBIS AG
Phone: +49 (0)681 99 24 605, e-mail: sabine.stuermer(at)orbis.de
