ESSEN, Germany, Aug. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Brenntag (WKN
A1DAHH), the global market leader in chemical distribution, lifted
its key performance indicators operating gross profit and operating
EBITDA at Group level in the 2nd quarter of 2019. The
further downturn in the macroeconomic environment had a noticeable
impact on the quarterly results, especially in the two large
regions EMEA and North
America.
Brenntag generated sales of 3,254.3
million EUR in the second quarter of 2019, a year-on-year
decrease of 1.2% on a constant currency basis (+1.2% as reported).
Brenntag's key performance indicator operating gross profit reached
722.9 million EUR, an increase of
4.1% on a constant currency basis (+6.8% as reported). Operating
EBITDA was up by 12.2% year on year at constant currency rates
(+15.1% as reported) to 266.3 million
EUR. The growth in operating EBITDA is mainly attributable
to the initial application of the new financial reporting standard
IFRS 16. The effect of this IFRS on Group operating EBITDA amounts
to 28.3 million EUR in the second
quarter. Profit after tax was up on the prior-year figure of
118.3 million EUR to 125.4 million EUR in the second quarter of 2019.
This translates into earnings per share attributable to Brenntag
shareholders of 0.81 EUR.
Steven Holland, CEO Brenntag AG,
said, "The second quarter confirmed that there has been no
significant improvement of the underlying business environment, and
overall business sentiment remains weak. Despite this, however, we
achieved operating EBITDA on a par with the previous year on a
like-for-like basis."
In light of the current trend in earnings performance and the
deterioration in the macroeconomic environment, Brenntag decided in
July to revise its forecast for full-year 2019: the Group still
expects to see growth in operating gross profit. On a constant
currency basis, based on the same financial reporting standards and
including acquisitions, it now forecasts an increase in operating
EBITDA of between 0% and 4% (previously: between 3% and 7%). This
range means that reported operating EBITDA for the Brenntag Group
will be somewhere between 995 million and 1,030 million EUR in financial year 2019,
assuming that current exchange rates do not change materially in
the course of the year and the effect of the initial application of
IFRS 16 is approximately 100 million
EUR.
Find all figures and details for Q2 2019 on Brenntag's website:
https://www.brenntag.com
Contact:
Hubertus
Spethmann
Brenntag AG
Corporate Communications
Messeallee 11
45131 Essen
Germany
Telephone: +49 (201) 6496-1732
E-Mail: hubertus.spethmann@brenntag.de
https://www.brenntag.com