Francotyp-Postalia Holding AG, the provider of Digital Mailroom, continues its growth trajectory. In the first nine months of 2015, revenue increased to EUR 141.3 million, from EUR 126.4 million in the year-earlier period. The double-digit growth resulted in particular from the further expansion of mail services, as well as the great success of the PostBase franking system. The company also benefited in the amount of EUR 7.2 million from a positive exchange rate effect due to the weaker euro. In the third quarter of 2015, the company was able to increase revenue by 10.2% year on year to EUR 46.1 million.
EBITDA was also affected by the lower euro exchange rate, with the corresponding effect amounting to EUR 3.2 million over the year to date. Overall, the FP Group could increase earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation for the first nine months of 2015 by 17.4% to EUR 20.3 million compared with the year-earlier period. In the third quarter of 2015, the company achieved EBITDA of EUR 6.0 million compared with EUR 5.5 million a year earlier, whereas provisions of EUR 0.6 million were made for optimisation of customer services in Germany. While EBIT for the quarter decreased by EUR 0.4 million year on year to EUR 1.8 million because of higher depreciation as planned, over the first nine months it remained stable year on year at EUR 7.9 million. Higher depreciation as a result of strong product demand, as well as a higher tax burden, were also reflected in consolidated net income in the third quarter of 2015. This came in at EUR 0.2 million compared with EUR 1.6 million a year earlier. For the first nine months, consolidated net income totalled EUR 4.2 million compared with EUR 4.5 million in the corresponding year-earlier period.
FP raises revenue and EBITDA forecasts
In the light of positive operative growth during the first nine months and the positive exchange rate effect, the FP Group is raising its forecast for full-year 2015. The company now expects an increase in revenue to between EUR 184 million and EUR 188 million and in EBITDA to EUR 27 million to EUR 28 million. It previously forecast revenue of between EUR 173 million and EUR 177 million and EBITDA of EUR 24 million to EUR 25 million. The FP Group expects EBIT to remain on previous year's level despite higher depreciation and a positive free cash flow for the full year. This forecast still does not include any one-time costs for the optimisation of customer services in Germany.
Investment in the future
At EUR 13.6 million for the first nine months of 2015, investment was only marginally below the high level of EUR 13.8 million the previous year. Roughly 60% of this was attributable to rental machines, given the high interest shown in the PostBase franking system, especially in the US and French rental markets. As a result, free cash flow remained at its year-earlier level of EUR -4.0 million after the first nine months. The end of decertification in the USA may however mean no further build-up of working capital and therefore an improvement in this figure in the current quarter.
FP CEO and CFO Hans Szymanski explains: "If demand in the USA or other markets continues to exceed our expectations, we will also continue to invest. Because short-term investment in additional rental machines secures the future of the FP Group and leads to high recurring sales and high operating cash inflows."
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