SWECO AB (publ) Interim report January-March 2016

Strong result through synergies and increased billing ratio

January – March 2016

• Net sales increased to SEK 4,018 million (2,465), acquired growth was 64 per cent
• EBITA excluding extraordinary costs increased to SEK 263 million (229), margin 6.6 per cent (9.3)
• EBITA remained unchanged at SEK 228 million (228), margin 5.7 per cent (9.3)
• EBIT decreased to SEK 205 million (216), margin 5.1 per cent (8.8)
• Profit after tax decreased to SEK 148 million (160), corresponding to SEK 1.24 per share (1.70)
• Net debt increased to SEK 2,033 million (1,252)
• Net debt/EBITDA increased to 2.1 times (1.3). Net debt/EBITDA pro forma and excl. extraordinary items was 1.5 times

Comments from President and CEO Tomas Carlsson:

- This is a strong result. We are integrating Grontmij and capturing synergies while also improving the billing ratio throughout the group. Synergies and increased billing ratio contributed with approximately SEK 76 million to EBITA, compared with last year’s pro-forma. At the same time, we are facing significant head-wind in the quarter due to negative calendar effects with 10 fewer working hours. This is negatively impacting EBITA with SEK 78 million compared to last year’s pro forma. Still we are able to essentially offset the negative calendar effect through synergies and increased billing ratio.

- Sweco is the leading engineering and architecture consultancy in Europe since the acquisition of Grontmij on 1 October 2015. The integration is progressing well and in several areas faster than the original plan. The rebranding has been completed and all former Grontmij-countries are operating under the Sweco name. We remain confident that we will achieve the financial targets communicated at the announcement of the acquisition.

- During the quarter we acquired Ludes, a German architecture and project management consultancy with around 100 employees. The acquisition is in line with Sweco’s strategy of leveraging our new footprint in Northern Europe for bolt-on acquisitions, similar to the model we have successfully applied in the Nordic market.

- Overall, the market for Sweco’s services is good and the development is stable. The situation varies between markets. The Swedish market is strong, while the Norwegian market is good but has weakened. The markets in Denmark, Western Europe and Central Europe are in general good and are developing positively. The markets in Finland and in the Netherlands remain challenging.

For more information, please contact:

Tomas Carlsson, President and CEO, phone:  +46 8 695 66 60 /  +46 70 552 92 75,   tomas.carlsson@sweco.se 

Jonas Dahlberg, CFO, phone:  +46 8 695 63 32 /  +46 70 347 23 83,   jonas.dahlberg@sweco.se 

Åsa Barsness, Communications Director,  +46 8 695 66 40 / 46 70 382 36 86,   asa.barsness@sweco.se 

Sweco plans and designs tomorrow’s communities and cities. Our work produces sustainable buildings, efficient infrastructure and access to electricity and clean water. With 14,500 employees in Europe, we offer our customers the right expertise for every project. We carry out assignments in 70 countries annually throughout the world. Sweco is Europe’s leading engineering and architecture consultancy, with sales of approximately SEK 16.0 billion (pro forma 2015). The company is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.

Sweco is required to disclose the above information under the provisions of the Securities Market Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication on 11 May 2016 at 07:20 CET.