Sales of the ALSO Group in the first half improved compared to last year by 11.9% to €3.67bn. Profit before taxes (EBT) rose despite high losses of ALSO Logistics Services GmbH, from €30.5m to €36.2m (+18.7%) and net income from €21.0m to €24.4m (+16.4%). ALSO Group increased its consolidated sales by 11.9% in the first half of 2015 in almost all product categories.
"We have made extensive improvements in all parts of the company. In particular, the optimal integration of ALPHA International B.V. in the Netherlands, the consolidation of ALSO France and Finland as well as the excellent performance in Denmark, Sweden and the Baltic States helped this very good result," says Gustavo Möller-Hergt (below), CEO of ALSO Holding AG.
Different products in the portfolio had differing outcome, however: Data Center Networking & Security grew +25.1% and Unified Communications, +24.2%, while Mobile Computing declined -4.0%. ALSO says this is mainly due to the fact that end of the wave of renewals generated by the end of Windows XP support. The Server Computing business rose 17.7%, it says.
The Central European market segment recorded an increase in sales over the previous year by 14.3% to €2.91 bn. Profit before taxes (EBT) rose from €25.7m to €30.5m (+18.5%). The EBT margin remained at 1.0%, similar to the previous year. Central Europe recorded again a double-digit sales growth thanks mainly to a particularly strong performance in Germany, France and the Netherlands. ALSO Switzerland has taken measures to counteract the ongoing cost pressure due to falling margins.
Sales rose in the Northern / Eastern Europe market segment year on year by 3.3% to €833.4m, with Denmark, Sweden and the Baltic countries contributing most to the growth. Earnings before taxes (EBT) improved from €5.5m to €8.5m and the EBT margin from 0.7% to 1.0%. This increase is attributable to growth in high-margin business segments in Norway and Sweden.
AS announced a few weeks ago, ALSO Group is expanding its presence in Europe through the opening of the new subsidiary, ALSO Polska sp.z o.o. in Warsaw. The acquisition of failed business Logistics Activity (now ALSO Logistics Services GmbH, Augsburg) has caused losses of around €4m in the first half. The reduction measures in personnel have not yet been implemented as planned and without extensive restructuring, it cannot be competitive, says ALSO. So it has decided to discontinue further financing of its current business and a decision will be taken to file for insolvency. Restructuring costs in the second half of the year will be around €8m.
ALSO expects that for the full year, despite the challenging conditions and anticipated costs associated with the restructuring of ALSO Logistics Services GmbH, a result in line with the level for the previous year. "Overall, we look very confidently at the current financial year. We calculate that it will continue with a stable business and a solid result at the same level," says Gustavo Möller-Hergt.