Grontmij reports 3rd quarter 2015 results

Improved operating margin and stable revenues, public offer by Sweco successful; Sweco currently holds over 97% of Grontmij shares

Stockholm, Sweden and De Bilt, the Netherlands, 23 October 2015 – Grontmij N.V., part of Sweco, Europe's leading architecture and engineering consultancy, today announces its results for the third quarter of 2015. Markets did not significantly change in the third quarter of 2015, with strong demand in the UK and Germany while the Dutch market remained weak. Grontmij Group reported in the third quarter of 2015 stable revenues. EBITA excluding exceptional items improved to € 7.1 million (Q3 2014: € 4.8 million) resulting in an EBITA margin excluding exceptional items of 4.5% (Q3 2014: 3.1%), driven by higher operating margins in Denmark and UK. Following the launch of the public offer by Sweco on 13 July 2015, Sweco declared the public offer on all Grontmij shares unconditional on 25 September 2015. On 1 October 2015, settlement took place followed by a post-closing acceptance period that ran until 9 October. Settlement of the post-closing acceptance period took place on 16 October 2015 with Sweco now holding 97.4% of all Grontmij shares. Sweco will commence a statutory buy-out procedure for the remainder of the Grontmij shares not already owned by Sweco. Delisting of Grontmij is expected on 19 November 2015.

Key points Q3 2015

• Total revenue Q3 2015 of € 156.6 million (Q3 2014: € 154.4 million), with organic growth of 0.8%. Net revenue Q3 2015 of € 129.2 million (Q3 2014: € 127.6 million), with organic growth of 0.6%
• EBITA excluding exceptional items Q3 2015 € 7.1 million (Q3 2014: € 4.8 million), driven by improvements in Denmark and the UK; EBITA margin excluding exceptional items improved to 4.5% in Q3 2015, compared to 3.1% for the same period last year
• Exceptional items in the third quarter were – € 3.0 million (Q3 2014: – € 1.3 million), mainly related to the public offer (– € 2.7 million)
• Net result from continuing operations in Q3 2015 of – € 1.3 million (Q3 2014 € 1.2 million), as the higher EBITA excluding exceptional items was partially offset by higher exceptional costs (related to the public offer) and higher finance expenses (impacted by the fair value increase of the Cumprefs: € 1.5 million)
• Trade working capital (TWC) at the end of Q3 2015 was 14.6% (Q3 2014: 17.1%), with an underlying improvement of 1.8% versus last year
• Net debt for covenants per end of Q3 2015 of € 68.0 million (Q3 2014: € 65.7 million).

Michiel Jaski, CEO of Grontmij N.V. until 1 October 2015: 'In the third quarter we have made important progress on the public offer and the preparations for the integration agenda which were both crucial to enable Grontmij and Sweco to join forces. Our clients, employees and shareholders have responded in a positive way to our announcement to become the leading engineering consultancy in Europe, allowing us to swiftly move forward. Today we publish our results for Q3 showing margin improvement and stable revenues, backed by solid performances in the UK, Denmark and Germany, while the Netherlands continued to feel pressure. The public offer has now provided Sweco with more than 97% of the Grontmij shares and we expect delisting of Grontmij from Euronext Amsterdam on 19 November 2015.'

For more information, please contact:

Michèle Negen, Investor Relations Manager, Grontmij N.V., +31 888 11 58 84