Kaba Group: Profitability and net income increased
The Kaba Group's half-year results look good: The locking and security technology company increased consolidated sales by 14.7% to CHF 551.4 million at the end of December 2014; organically, the company grew by a strong 9.2%, as CEO Riet Cadonau points out.
In the period under review, the Kaba profitability as well. The EBITDA increased by 15.2% to CHF 85.7 million (previous year: 74.4 million). As EBITDA increased at a similar rate as sales, the EBITDA margin remained the same as in the previous year at 15.5%. Kaba closed the period under review with higher net income of CHF 50.2 million (previous year: CHF 44 million). Earnings per share increased by 12.9% to CHF 13.10 (previous year: CHF 11.60).
What does the future hold? The economic environment remains challenging, especially in Europe, as the company emphasizes. Moreover, Key Systems does not expect a repeat of the demand boom from the automotive industry. However, in view of the excellent sales performance to date, Kaba is raising its guidance of 3% to 5% for this financial year and now expects to achieve organic growth of at least 5% in 2014/2015 as a whole. According to CEO Riet Cadonau, the target of an EBITDA margin at the previous year's level will be maintained, provided that the economic environment remains stable in the current financial year.
