BAUER AG achieves healthy growth and increases orders in hand in 2012

Schrobenhausen/Munich - The international construction and machinery manufacturing company sees itself as strategically well positioned to cope with volatile markets and an uncertain business climate. This was underlined by Chairman of the Management Board of BAUER Aktiengesellschaft Professor Thomas Bauer on the occasion of today's annual press conference. "The fact that our Group has a presence all over the world and offers a broad range of products and services relating to ground and groundwater has proved advantageous to us," he comments. "We have met our forecast targets, and we have to be pleased with the results achieved." Business in the course of the year was hampered by problems on some large projects, and above all by a reluctance to invest on the part of machinery customers.

Total Group revenues rose by 5.4 percent from EUR 1,371.8 million to EUR 1,445.6 million. Net profit of EUR 25.3 million was in line with forecasts but down against the previous year (EUR 34.1 million). EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) decreased from EUR 82.3 million to EUR 71.4 million.

The Management Board and Supervisory Board propose that a reduced dividend of EUR 0.30 per share be paid (previous year: EUR 0.50). This corresponds to a dividend payout ratio of approximately 21 percent referred to earnings after deducting minority interests.

With its three segments - Construction, Equipment and Resources - and its broadly diversified business model, the Group operates in some 70 countries around the world.

The Construction segment improved its performance significantly after a decline in 2011. It handled a number of large projects, enabling it to increase total Group revenues by 8.3 percent to EUR 656.8 million (previous year: EUR 606.6 million). Segment EBIT increased by 21.9 percent to EUR 21.8 million (previous year: EUR 17.9 million). The sale of a real estate development project made a positive contribution to earnings.

The segment's orders in hand at the 2012 year-end reached a record level of EUR 513.1 million. Among the prestige projects on its books, Bauer has been contracted to carry out the foundation works for two buildings which will become respectively the tallest in Europe and in the world: the Lakhta Tower in St. Petersburg and the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Work on another major project, the remediation of the Center Hill Dam in the USA, has already started.

The Equipment segment saw its revenues and earnings fall in the past financial year. Total Group revenues decreased by 6.3 percent against the previous year to EUR 596.1 million (previous year: EUR 636.5 million). In view of machinery customers' general reluctance to invest, and with the plants operating at lower capacity, higher fixed costs relative to the fall in revenues impacted negatively on earnings. Segment EBIT decreased by 36.4 percent from EUR 53.0 million to EUR 33.7 million.

In its machinery business, Bauer profits primarily from its strength in large, custom-built, highly specialized rigs. As a large number of units were delivered in December 2012, orders in hand at the year-end of EUR 113.1 million were relatively low, and 2.7 percent down against the previous year. The company expects to see slight growth in 2013 thanks to new developments such as its specialist foundation engineering cranes and deep drilling rigs for oil, gas and geothermal energy extraction. In late 2012, six RB-T 90 rigs were sold to China for drilling of mine rescue shafts. The rigs will be manufactured and delivered in 2013.

Ongoing trends in the Resources segment remain positive. Its total Group revenues increased by 24.8 percent from EUR 211.5 million to EUR 263.9 million. Segment EBIT rose by 39.2 percent to EUR 15.2 million. The major influence on performance came from large-scale projects: While well-drilling projects in Jordan returned significant losses as a result of wide-ranging problems, very healthy earnings were generated in Oman and from mining activities. Orders in hand of
EUR 158.8 million (previous year: EUR 168.4 million) were again at a high level.

Total Group orders in hand at the end of the financial year amounted to EUR 785.0 million. This figure is 4.7 percent above the previous year's level, and provides a good basis for the planned growth over the years ahead.

Professor Thomas Bauer comments: "We are geared up to cope with ongoing uncertainty and major change on international markets. If we are able to overcome any difficulties with diligence and skill, the opportunities which arise will provide much positive momentum for our business." The company sees potential for growth in the substantial backlogged demand for infrastructure renewal as well as in both new construction and renovation work in many countries around the world.

The BAUER Group predicts that it will achieve annual growth of between five and 10 percent over the next two financial years. Based on current figures, the company forecasts total Group revenues for 2013 of more than EUR 1.5 billion. Owing to the still persisting risks arising from volatile markets and in relation to some large projects, the company does not expect to deliver a substantial improvement in earnings. Consequently, it forecasts profit after tax of above EUR 30 million and EBIT of around EUR 85 million. It is likely that the trend through the year will follow the customary industry-specific pattern, with a loss in the first quarter balanced out by gains in the subsequent quarters.

Our full Annual Report, including a detailed analysis of the individual segments and markets, can be found on our website at http://www.bauer.de.


Christopher Wolf
Investor Relations
Tel.: +49 8252 97-1797
Fax: +49 8252 97-2900
E-Mail: investor.relations@bauer.de
Internet: http://www.bauer.de