Telecomunicaciones y tecnología
Imtech sees profit in German nuclear shutdown
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch engineering group Imtech sees opportunities in the decommissioning of nuclear power plants in Germany, where it made over a third of its earnings in the first half of 2011.
Germany shut down seven nuclear power plants after Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster and decided to phase out nuclear power completely by 2022, overturning legislation that had originally extended the lifespan of 17 nuclear power plants and creating a need for new non-nuclear capacity .
"We are not active in nuclear power plants but we are active in combined power and heat generation, biomass, you name it, so it fits perfectly with our business model," Imtech Chief Executive Rene van der Bruggen said in an interview after results on Tuesday.
Imtech, whose business spans electrical and mechanical engineering and information technology, has been snapping up technical services providers, creating a portfolio that allows it to cross-sell in areas such as green technology solutions.
Its model of high-margin services and recurring contracts is being replicated by builders Bilfinger Berger and YIT Oyj, also on a buying spree in the fragmented European market for infrastructure services.
Imtech is the biggest mechanical and electrical engineering company in Germany and targets a range of sectors in the country's infrastructure, including airports, the data center market and care sector, Van der Bruggen said.
Imtech has benefited from its presence both in Germany and the Nordics, where construction markets have proved resilient and are expected to show the fastest growth in Europe in 2011, according to the latest Euroconstruct forecasts.
MARGIN PRESSURE
Imtech shares dropped 5.5 percent on Tuesday, hitting a 13-month low, after the company said it faced stiff competition in some of its markets, particularly in the Benelux countries, where French rivals such as Vinci and Spie were becoming more active.
It also said its margins were under pressure in debt-laden Spain, where investments in buildings were limited.
Analysts said they were also disappointed with the company's financial position.
"The seasonal movement in working capital was more pronounced than we had expected, at 9.9 percent of sales, which has led to a higher net debt and higher-than-expected interest costs," SNS Securities analysts wrote in a note.
Imtech reported a 12 percent rise in first-half earnings before interest, tax and amortization (EBITA) to 120.5 million euros on revenues that were up 13 percent to 2.292 billion euros. Analysts in a Reuters poll expected EBITA of 126 million euros on revenues of 2.290 billion euros.
The company's order book of 5.7 billion euros was above the 5.4 billion euros estimated by analysts. Acquisitions played a major role, as in 2011 Imtech bought nine companies with a combined revenue of approximately 327 million euros.
Imtech reiterated its earlier 2011 outlook for a further increase in EBITA through organic growth and acquisitions and stuck to its 2015 targets of revenue of 8 billion euro with an operational EBITA margin between 6 and 7 percent.
(Editing by David Cowell)