Berlin, 28 April 2015 – The PSI Group obtained 6 % higher sales of 43.2 million Euros in the first quarter of 2015 (31 March 2014: 40.8 million Euros). The EBIT improved by 4 % to 2.2 million Euros (31 March 2014: 2.1 million Euros), the group net result increased by 18 % to 1.4 million Euros (31 March 2014: 1.2 million Euros). New orders improved by 11 % to 62 million Euros (31 March 2014: 56 million Euros), the order book volume on 31 March 2015 was, with 139 million Euros, 8 % above the value for the previous year (31 March 2014: 129 million Euros).
Energy Management (gas, oil, electricity, heat) attained 2 % higher sales of 15.6 million Euros (31 March 2014: 15.3 million Euros) in the first quarter. The EBIT for the segment increased slightly compared to the previous year to 0.84 million Euros (31 March 2014: 0.78 million Euros). The electrical energy business was able to once again increase its new orders; the oil and gas business won an additional contract in Russia and continued its strong performance of the previous years despite the tight market situation. In energy trading, the result was burdened by investments in the renewal and combination of the energy trading software for gas and power, which will continue until the first quarter of 2016.
Sales in Production Management (raw materials, industry, logistics) in the first three months were, with 21.6 million Euros, 14 % above the figure for the previous year (31 March 2014: 18.9 million Euros). The EBIT increased by 50 % to 1.5 million Euros (31 March 2014: 1.0 million Euros), despite ongoing investments in the software for raw material extraction until the end of year. The steel industry is still in a bear market and it is not yet clear, whether early cyclical orders before year end could secure the annual target of the PSI metals business. In particular, the market for fracking and pipeline tubes, which is of importance for PSI, has to cope with an oil-price-induced slump. Orders from the aluminium industry, which currently enjoys a boom driven by the lightweight manufacturing initiative in the US, could compensate that effect. The automotive/mechanical engineering and logistics businesses were able to significantly improve their results in a recovering home market.
In Infrastructure Management (transportation and security), sales decreased by 10 % to 6.0 million Euros (31 March 2014: 6.6 million Euros), primarily due to the still poor development in Southeast Asia. The EBIT for the segment therefore dropped to 0.2 million Euros (31 March 2014: 0.6 million Euros). The public transportation business in Germany developed still positively. In Poland PSI expects important contracts in the energy segment in the second quarter.
The number of employees in the group increased to 1,718 (31 March 2014: 1,704) on 31 March 2015 as a result of the takeover completed in November 2014. The cash flow from normal operations was still positive due to maintenance payments; but, with 1.5 million Euros, was below the figure for the previous year (31 March 2014: 4.2 million Euros). The Liquidity, which rose to 31.6 million Euros (31 March 2014: 24.4 million Euros), is still of high importance for the financing of sales.
PSI expects important contracts to be awarded in Southeast Asia in the coming quarters as well as growth in the German market for energy solutions and an increasing demand for new solutions in the fields of automotive and logistics as a result of the Industrial Internet (“Industrie 4.0”) boom. PSI has countered the continuing low cost of raw materials, weak economies and currencies in the BRIC countries with an increase in exports to Great Britain, North America and Switzerland. Management is committed to the objectives formulated in the 2014 Annual Report.
On the basis of its own software products, PSI AG develops and integrates complete solutions for energy management (gas, oil, electricity, heat, energy trading), production management (mining, metals, automotive, mechanical engineering, logistics) and infrastructure management for transport and safety. PSI was founded in 1969 and employs 1,700 persons worldwide.
