Agfa recently announced company’s financial results of 2014. Based on the report Agfa’s gross profit margin reached 30.8 percent of revenue. This significant improvement is contributable to the success of the targeted efficiency programs and positive raw material effects. As a percentage of revenue, Selling and General Administration expenses amounted to 19.3 percent. R&D expenses remained stable at 146 million Euro.
Recurring EBITDA (the sum of Graphics, HealthCare, Specialty Products and the unallocated portion) and recurring EBIT improved to 8.5 percent and 5.8 percent of revenue respectively.
A number of targeted actions allowed the Group to limit the expense related to the restructuring and non-recurring items to 16 million Euro. In 2013, an income of 19 million Euro was booked resulting from the effects of the closure of the post-retirement medical plan in the US and of other targeted pension benefit actions. The net finance costs amounted to 59 million Euro, versus 71 million Euro in 2013.
Net profit improved by 20.4 percent to 59 million Euro. In spite of the economic headwinds, the Group succeeded in booking a positive net result for the second consecutive year.
At the end of the year, total assets were 2,548 million Euro, compared to 2,568 million Euro at the end of 2013.
The continuous strict cost management allows the Agfa-Gevaert Group to believe that in 2015 it will be able to deliver a recurring EBITDA percentage close to 10 percent of revenue.
Although geopolitical conditions remain highly uncertain, the Group also expects to ease and ultimately stop the decline of its top line, harvesting on the investments in such growth engines as inkjet, healthcare IT and direct radiography. In the US, the Agfa HealthCare business group should start to benefit from the organizational changes and the portfolio reorientation in reply to the changed market conditions. Furthermore, the Group is starting to see the first signs of improvement in its markets in Europe and the US, as well as growth opportunities in India and certain other emerging markets.
