TAKKT again achieves double-digit organic sales growth
 

• Organic sales growth of 12.1 percent in the third quarter; all business units achieved significant positive organic growth despite ongoing difficulties in global supply chains
• EBITDA increased to EUR 30.3 (22.5) million
• Specification of forecast to organic growth of 10 to 13 percent and EBITDA of EUR 105 to 115 million
• Management Board working on strategic review

Stuttgart, Germany, October 28, 2021. TAKKT increased its sales in the third quarter compared with the previous yearʼs period by 12.1 percent to EUR 303.1 (270.4) million. Positive and negative currency effects canceled each other out. Sales thus grew again organically in the double-digit range. All TAKKT business units achieved clearly positive organic growth. Because the comparison base from the previous year increased significantly in the third quarter, the growth rate was lower than in the second quarter, as expected. As in the previous quarter, organic sales in the third quarter were around two percent below the pre-crisis level of 2019.

The solid demand from customers continued in the third quarter. As in the second quarter, organic order intake was not only significantly higher than in the previous year but also above the level of 2019. "However, due to the persistently and highly stretched supply chains, we were unable to fully convert this strong order intake into sales. Our expectation of improved delivery capacity in the second half of the year was thus unfortunately not borne out," as CFO Claude Tomaszewski explains the current development. Because the difficulties in delivery capacity affect the entire market, order cancellations remained at a low level, so the order backlog increased once again.

TAKKT was able to pass on most of the higher costs for goods sold and freight to its customers. The persistently lower level of sales compared with order intake meant that correspondingly lower earnings were realized, while marketing and personnel costs increased, also due to solid demand from customers. TAKKT was nevertheless able to significantly increase EBITDA in the third quarter to EUR 30.3 (22.5) million. The margin was 10.0 (8.3) percent. One-time costs of around EUR 5 million were incurred in the previous year. Adjusted for one-time effects, EBITDA in the third quarter rose at a similar rate to sales.

In the first nine months, TAKKT achieved sales growth of 8.0 percent, with sales rising to EUR 860.5 (796.8) million. Adjusted for negative currency effects, organic sales development was 10.4 percent. The gross profit margin improved slightly to 40.3 (40.0) percent. EBITDA increased to EUR 82.1 (74.1) million, and the margin reached 9.5 (9.3) percent. One-time effects of more than three million euros had a negative impact on earnings in the current year. In the same period of the previous year, one-time costs were around EUR 8.5 million. TAKKT cash flow developed similarly to EBITDA, rising to EUR 70.8 (64.2) million. Following slightly lower depreciation and amortization, a better financial result and a slightly lower tax rate, the earnings per share grew by more than 30 percent to EUR 0.63 (EUR 0.47).

Specification of forecast to organic growth of 10 to 13 percent and EBITDA of EUR 105 to 115 million

Due to the ongoing disruptions of global supply chains, many institutes have recently adjusted their economic forecasts downward for the current year. TAKKT also no longer expects the supply situation to improve noticeably until year-end. For the full year, the Management Board now expects organic sales growth of between 10 and 13 percent (previously: 12 to 17 percent). EBITDA is expected to come in between EUR 105 and 115 million (previously: EUR 100 to 120 million).

Management Board working on strategic review

Maria Zesch is responsible for the management of TAKKT Group as CEO since August 1. In the first three months, two topics were the focus of her work: Firstly, a very intensive familiarization with the various markets and operating units with time spent in all TAKKT business units. And secondly, a strategic review, which aims to identify the topics with the greatest potential for the TAKKT Group and derive strategic priorities from them. TAKKT will provide information about this review as soon as reliable results are available.

"In my first 90 days at TAKKT, I have had the privilege of meeting many motivated and inspiring colleagues and have gotten to know the strength and the great potential of our Group. I am thus very much looking forward to leading TAKKT through the transformation in the coming years and making it even more successful," says TAKKT CEO Maria Zesch.

Earnings call: October 28, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. (CEST).
The login details to participate in the earnings call are available at the following link:

Financial calendar
TAKKT will publish the preliminary figures for the 2021 fiscal year in mid-February 2022.

IFRS figures for the TAKKT Group for the first nine months of 2021:
(in EUR million)

 

About TAKKT AG
TAKKT AG is the leading B2B distance seller for business equipment in Europe and North America. The Group is represented in more than 25 countries with its business units KAISER+KRAFT, ratioform, National Business Furniture, Displays2Go, Newport, Hubert and Central. The product range of the subsidiaries comprises more than a million products for the areas of plant and warehouse equipment, office furniture, transport packaging, display articles and equipment for the food service industry, hotel market and retailers. The largest shareholder is Haniel with a share of 50.25%.

Contacts:
Michael Loch Tel. +49 (0) 711 3465-8222
Benjamin Bühler Tel. +49 (0) 711 3465-8223
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