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Sales and Profit Decline for GfK
A sharp fall in income for GfK's Consumer Experiences segment (-7.4%) more than balanced growth in Consumer Choices (+5.4%) in the first nine months of 2016, giving GfK as a whole a 1.7% organic decline in sales. Third quarter sales fell to EUR 355.3m while EBITDA dropped by around a quarter to EUR 43.3m.
 Cash flow improved (up 8.5% to EUR 130.4m) and net debt was reduced by EUR24.7m from nine months ago; but adjusted operating income was down to EUR 101.1m, a margin of 9.4% versus 10.6% in the first 9 months of 2015.
Despite the sales increase in Consumer Choices, income was down from EUR 98.3m to EUR 80.7m, and margin down from 19.9% to 16.1%. GfK says the latter results are 'primarily' due to the H1 sale of its Animal Health and Crop Protection business, and to known delays in TV audience research contracts in Brazil and Saudi Arabia.
Key Figures
In € Million
|
Q3
2015
|
Q3
2016
|
Change
in % |
9M
2015 |
9M
2016 |
Change
in % |
| Sales |
371.4
|
355.3
|
-4.3 |
1,118.6
|
1,077.0
|
-3.7 |
| EBITDA |
57.4
|
43.3
|
-24.6 |
146.9
|
126.5
|
-13.9 |
| Adjusted operating income |
47.7
|
42.2
|
-11.5 |
118.8
|
101.1
|
-14.9 |
| Margin in percent 1) |
12.8
|
11.9
|
-1.0
2)
|
10.6
|
9.4
|
-1.2
2) |
| Operating income |
39.8 |
23.8 |
-40.3 |
97.9 |
-74.8 |
-176.4 |
| Operating income 3) |
39.8 |
24.6 |
-38.2 |
97.9 |
67.2 |
-31.3 |
| EBIT |
41.4 |
23.9 |
-42.1 |
100.1 |
-75.6 |
-175.5 |
| EBIT 3) |
41.4 |
24.8 |
-40.1 |
100.1 |
66.4 |
-33.6 |
Other financial
income / expenses |
-9.7 |
-3.7 |
+62.5 |
-19.6
|
-9.6 |
+51.1 |
| Consolidated total income |
22.5 |
-6.6 |
-129.2 |
51.4 |
-139.4 |
-370.9 |
| Consolidated total income 3) |
22.5 |
-5.7 |
-125.4 |
51.4 |
2.7 |
-94.8 |
Cash flow from ongoing
business
activity
|
88.8 |
73.5 |
-17.2 |
120.2 |
130.4 |
+8.5 |
| Basic earnings per share in € |
0.53 |
-0.21 |
-139.6 |
1.16 |
-3.89 |
-435.3 |
| Basic earnings per share in € 3) |
0.53 |
-0.19 |
-135.2 |
1.16 |
0.00 |
-100.0 |
1) Adjusted operating income in relation to sales
2) Percentage points
3) Excluding goodwill impairment |
|
Latin America and Central Eastern Europe / META achieved good organic growth rates, while the business suffered organic decline in North America and in Northern, Southern and Western Europe. Asia and the Pacific enjoyed a good third quarter and overall slight growth.
Gerhard Hausruckinger, Speaker of the Management Board said results showed a 'mixed picture' and the Board was 'still not satisfied'. He continued: 'Positive aspects include good progress in our Operations function, improved order intake in the Consumer Experiences sector and stronger cash flow. In order to improve GfK's performance and to successfully position the company on the market over the long term, we will consistently pursue the measures we have already begun implementing'. However market conditions 'remain challenging' for the group.
GfK employs more than 13,000 market researchers and is online at www.gfk.com .
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