PORR AG increases results and dividends for the third year in a row


- Production output grows by around
10%
- EBT undergoes double-digit rise of 11%
- Dividends up by 50%
- Elimination of net debt: PORR is free of
net debt for the first time
- Positive outlook for 2015

As a result of the spin-off of the real estate business in December 2014 all comparative figures for 2013 have been presented on a comparable basis (discontinued operations are disclosed separately).

(Vienna, 23 April 2015) In 2014 PORR once again succeeded in increasing its production output in a challenging economic environment. In the reporting period production output grew by 9.9% to EUR 3,475m and is therefore significantly higher than the growth of the European or Austrian construction industry. In addition to the strategy of intelligent growth and the clear strategic decision to concentrate on the home markets, this increase has also resulted from the balanced mix of permanent business and large-scale projects.

"We achieved higher production output across every segment in the reporting period", underlined Karl-Heinz Strauss, CEO of PORR AG. "Our home markets, which have a strong credit standing, accounted for 92.5% of PORR's total production output. And every single operating Business Unit managed to increase output. The highest growth in percentage terms came from Business Unit 4 - Infrastructure; this is where the order bookings from 2013 first had their full impact on output."

Cushion of orders remains high

PORR's order backlog totalled EUR 4,058m, representing a decrease of 7.7% against the record high in 2013. This was partly caused by the one-off effect of PORR winning the tender for the Green Line of the Doha metro in Qatar in 2013 - the largest single order in the company's history - and partly because of the increase in productivity, with every unit working off orders more quickly. The performance of order bookings was satisfactory at EUR 3,135m, although this was 28.4% below the level of 2013 owing to the aforementioned one-off effect in the comparable period, whereby more than EUR 850m was generated by the underground railway tender in Qatar. Furthermore, the high order backlog has allowed an extremely selective acquisition policy with a clear view to margins.

The largest new orders in 2014 were the Sebeş-Turda motorway in Romania, the Smart Campus in Vienna, the NOVE office building in Munich, the Ernst-Reuter-Allee railway overpass in Magdeburg, the head office of Verwaltungs-Berufsgenossenschaft (VBG) in Hamburg and the LK 272 Kluczbork railway line in Poland. In terms of countries, the highest growth in order bookings was achieved in Germany, Romania, Slovakia and Austria's most westerly province, Vorarlberg.

EBT up by 11%, net-cash position and increase in dividends

PORR succeeded in increasing earnings for the third time in a row, continuing the positive trend from the intelligent growth strategy and the turnaround measures implemented. EBITDA saw a year-on-year rise of 6.7% to EUR 156.4m. Earnings before tax (EBT) amounted to EUR 66.1m, a significant increase of 10.9%.

Total assets underwent a 6.5% decline as a result of the spin-off and stood at EUR 2,146m at 31 December 2014. This measure and the working capital improvements enabled PORR to achieve a net cash position for the first time in its history, with net cash totalling EUR 65m at the end of the reporting period and thereby marking a significant improvement on the previous year. The equity ratio climbed to 18.0% (previous year: 15.1%).

In light of this positive growth in earnings, the Executive Board will propose a 50% increase in dividends to EUR 1.50 per share (2013: EUR 1.00) to the Annual General Meeting.

Successful repositioning

With the purchase of a majority stake in UBM Realitätenentwicklung AG in summer 2014 and the subsequent spin-off of the real estate business, PORR has created two pure-play companies: PORR as a pure construction company and UBM Development as a property developer of European stature. In the future PORR will focus even more closely on its core competency - the construction business. By freeing up capital tied up in development projects and divesting non-operational real estate, PORR has completely eliminated net debt and achieved an overall improvement in assets and earnings.

Outlook

The project outlook for 2015 remains positive - PORR will participate in the further growth on its home markets and project-based markets. In combination with the further optimisation measures as part of fitforfuture, which will again make an important contribution to earnings in 2015, the Executive Board predicts that the 2015 business
year will see an increase in output and earnings.

Contact:

Christian B. Maier
CFO
PORR AG
T. +43(0)50 626-1009
M. +43(0)664 626-1009
communicationsporr.at

Karl-Heinz Strauss
CEO
PORR AG
T. +43(0)50 626-1001
M. +43(0)664 626-1001
communicationsporr.at

Sandra C. Bauer
Head of Corporate Communications | Corporate Spokesperson
PORR AG
T. +43(0)50 626-3338
M. +43(0)664 626-3338
communicationsporr.at

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