26 April 2013:
Colt Group S.A. (London Stock Exchange: COLT) today issued its Interim Management Statement for the three months ended 31 March 2013.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
|
Three months to 31 March
|
||
| € millions |
2013 |
2012 |
| Revenue |
392.1 |
397.3 |
| EBITDA1 |
80.5 |
80.6 |
Group revenue for the quarter amounted to €392.1 million (Q1 ’12: €397.3 million). The decline in revenue (1.3%) was driven by a fall in Voice revenue, principally due to regulatory rate cuts across Europe, partially offset by revenue growth in Data and Managed Services. Fewer working days in Q1 2013 and currency movements provided further headwinds to headline revenue progression.
EBITDA of €80.5 million (Q1 ’12: €80.6 million) was flat compared to Q1 2012 with the reduction in revenue offset by continued tight control of costs. The EBITDA margin remained largely stable at 20.5% (Q1 ’12: 20.3%).
Net funds2 as at 31 March 2013 amounted to €225.9 million (31 December 2012: €280.1 million). The cash outflow of €54.2m (Q1 ’12: €73.8m) for the quarter reflects normal seasonal outflows, increased capital expenditure related to our investment programme and restructuring payments in line with our skills transformation programme which we announced in December 2012. Capital expenditure for the first quarter of 2013 increased to €81.2 million (Q1 ‘12: €75.8 million).
During the quarter our CES sales included three new contract wins of over €1 million annual contracted value, including a major additional contract with Europcar to provide managed network services supporting their pan-European IT transformation plan.
We also made significant developments in enhancing our service portfolio and network infrastructure. We launched our integrated managed compute and managed networking capabilities across both direct and indirect channels. We have leveraged our ThinkGrid acquisition to develop the specialised offering for the SME market via the indirect channel (branded Ceano), and continued to invest in our in-house development for the direct offering to enterprise customers. This is receiving positive feedback in the market. On network infrastructure, we extended our high capacity routes to Cork in Ireland and to seven new cities in Germany3.
Rakesh Bhasin, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“We are satisfied with the progress the Group has made in the quarter. Regulatory price reductions, fewer working days and currency headwinds in the quarter detract from the underlying progress that is continuing to be made in transforming the business, growing the pipeline, winning new contracts, investing in our infrastructure and expanding our portfolio of services. We remain confident that we will grow the business this year.”
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This report contains ‘forward looking statements’ including statements concerning plans, future events or performance and underlying assumptions and other statements which are other than statements of historical fact. Colt Group S.A., ‘the Group’, wishes to caution readers that any such forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and certain important factors could in the future affect the Group’s actual results and could cause the Group’s actual results for future periods to differ materially from those expressed in any forward looking statement made by or on behalf of the Group. These include, among others, the following: (i) any adverse change in regulations and technology within the IT services and communications industries, (ii) the Group’s ability to manage its growth, (iii) the nature of the competition that the Group will encounter and wider economic conditions including economic downturns, (iv) unforeseen operational or technical problems and (v) the Group’s ability to raise capital. The Group undertakes no obligation to release publicly the results of any revision to these forward looking statements that may be made to reflect errors or circumstances that occur after the date hereof.
1 EBITDA is profit before net finance costs, tax, depreciation, amortisation, foreign exchange and exceptional items
2 Net funds includes deposits classified as current asset investments
3 New German cities connected: Kiel, Schwerin, Magdeburg, Erfurt, Jena, Saarbrücken and Bamberg
Enquiries:
Investor Relations:
Morten Singleton
DDI: +44 (0) 20 7863 5314
Mobile: +44 7535 445159
Email: morten.singleton@colt.net
Press:
Helen Toft
DDI: +44 20 7039 2420
Mobile: +44 7855 301078
Email: helen.toft@colt.net
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