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View All NewsNetherlands – Q4 revenue up but EBIT down at Brunel International
Dutch staffing firm Brunel International (BRNL: NL) reported revenue of €356.7 million during the fourth quarter ending 31 December 2014, an increase of 5% (2% in constant currency) compared with €339.6 million a year ago.
Q4 2014 | Q4 2013 | Change | |
Revenue | €356.7 million | €339.6 million | +5.0% |
Gross Profit | €65.6 million | €63.6 million | +3.0% |
EBIT | €19.1 million | €22.8 million | -17.0% |
On an annual basis, the company reported revenue growth of 8% (10% in constant currency) to €1.4 billion, up from €1.3 billion in 2013.
FY 2014 | FY 2013 | Change | |
Revenue | €1,386.6 million | €1,283.4 million | +8.0% |
Gross Profit | €249.0 million | €230.7 million | +8.0% |
EBIT | €74.7 million | €72.3 million | +3.0% |
Jan Arie van Barneveld, CEO of Brunel International, commented: "Despite the turmoil [in] the Oil & Gas market, due to the dropped oil price and the developments in the geo-political arena, Brunel again achieved top-line growth. The growth in the Netherlands, Energy, and Projects confirms our strategy. At this moment, 2015 looks to be a challenging year, but I'm confident we will be able to turn these challenges into opportunities, as we always do".
Brunel International operates two primary divisions; Brunel Oil & Gas and Brunel Europe. Within the Oil & Gas division, the company operates two segments: Energy and Projects.
Revenue breakdown for Brunel Oil & Gas, including constant currency change (CC), was as follows:
(Millions) | Q4 2014 | Q4 2013 | Change | CC | FY 2014 | FY 2013 | Change | CC |
Energy | €210.1 | €203.0 | +4.0% | -1.0% | €806.0 | €755.7 | +7.0% | +9.0% |
Projects | €44.1 | €36.4 | +21.0% | +19.0% | €175.6 | €138.7 | +27.0% | +34.0% |
Total Oil & Gas | €254.2 | €239.4 | +6.0% | +2.0% | €981.7 | €894.4 | +10.0% | +12.0% |
Revenue increased by 4% in the Energy division, although growth was largely as a result of the impact of positive currency effect. Revenue pressure was felt in the Americas, where the decrease in headcount in Q2 2014 continued to impact the region.
In the Projects division revenue during the fourth quarter increased by 21% driven by three large offshore projects in Australia.
Brunel Europe, which consists of operations in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Austria, reported revenue growth of 2% to €102.5 million in Q4 2014, up from €100.3 million in Q4 2013.
Brunel only breaks out data for its two largest regions, Germany and the Netherlands, with revenue breakdown as follows:
(Millions) | Q4 2014 | Q4 2013 | Change | FY 2014 | FY 2013 | Change |
Germany | €48.6 | €49.6 | -2.0% | €201.7 | €201.5 | 0.0% |
Netherlands | €46.4 | €43.9 | +6.0% | €175.4 | €160.1 | +10.0% |
Other Europe | €7.5 | €6.8 | +10.0% | €27.8 | €27.4 | +1.0 |
Total Europe | €102.5 | €100.3 | +2.0% | €404.9 | €389.0 | +4.0% |
After achieving growth in Q1 2014, revenue from Brunel Germany decreased in the following three quarters. To counter this fall the management team was restructured, and the company is focusing on further improving the sales organisation. Operating costs increased by 20% compared with Q4 2013, driven primarily as a result of increased IT costs as a result of the implementation of the global infrastructure, increased marketing costs and higher staff costs.
In contrast, the Netherlands achieved revenue growth of 6% during Q4 2014, stemming from the company’s Finance business line. Legal remained relatively flat over the quarter, while Engineering and IT showed a decrease in revenue, compared with the same quarter last year.
Looking forward the company’s financial statement advised: “The drop in the oil price is impacting the industry. At this moment, the impact on our Energy business is not too significant, and partly offset by changes in exchange rates. However, it's hard to predict the impact of the current cost reductions in this sector on our business for 2015.”
“We therefore cannot provide an outlook for our Energy activities for 2015. In the Projects division two of the major projects will be completed in 2015, resulting in an expected significant drop in revenue in this division in 2015. Based on the current market conditions and economic developments, we expect growth in the Netherlands, and Germany to return to growth in the course of the year.”
In trading today, the company’s share price decreased by 1.4% to €16.06, a decrease of 28.6% compared with a year ago. Based on its current share price, the company has a market value of €796.3 million.