DGAP-News: Aves One grows significantly in the first half of 2018 and expects a record year

Aves One grows significantly in the first half of 2018 and expects a record year
 

• Asset volume increases to EUR 523.8 million (31 December 2017: EUR 448.5 million)
• Revenues increase by 32.3% to EUR 32.4 million
• EBITDA rises by 73.2% to EUR 22.0 million
• Further expansion of freight car fleet through NACCO acquisition
• Significant increases in asset volume, revenue and earnings expected for fiscal year 2018

Hamburg, 28 September 2018 - Aves One AG, a strongly expanding portfolio manager in logistics assets, continued its dynamic growth course in the first half of 2018 and is heading for a record year with the acquisition of around 4,400 freight cars from the NACCO portfolio. In addition to a significant increase in sales and earnings figures, the asset volume reported in the balance sheet as of 30 June 2018 exceeded the threshold of half a billion euros for the first time.

Increase in asset volume in the core Rail business and in the Container division
Aves One increased its asset volume by 16.8% to EUR 523.8 million as of 30 June 2018 (31 December 2017: EUR 448.5 million). Ofthis, EUR 244.1 million was attributable to the Rail division and EUR 269.1 million to the Container division.

A further surge in growth for the second half of the year results from the acquisition of around 30% of NACCO Group's freight car fleet after the end of the reporting period. As a result, the number of freight car in the Aves One fleet will almost double again by the end of the year - from 4,474 freight cars as of 30 June 2018 to just under 8,900 freight cars as of 31 December 2018.

As of 30 June 2018, the Container division reported a container stock of around 200,000 TEU - a growth of 17.0% within the first six months of the financial year (31 December 2017: 171,000 TEU). The most important driver of growth was the purchase of around 29,400 TEU of new containers with a volume of USD 59.0 million in June 2018.

Continuous growth in revenues continues in the reporting period
The successful continuous expansion of the asset portfolio is also reflected in the 32.3% increase in consolidated revenues to EUR 32.4 million in the first half of 2018 (previous year: EUR 24.5 million). The almost full utilisation of the freight car and container fleets had a positive effect.

Revenues in the Rail division rose by 16.4% to around EUR 14.9 million (previous year: EUR 12.8 million). The Container division also contributed to this growth with revenues of EUR 14.5 million (previous year: EUR 11.4 million). The segment benefited in particular from the continued positive development of rental rates. This positive development continued after the reporting date for the first half of 2018.

"We are extremely satisfied with our operating performance in the first half of 2018. The recent acquisition of the NACCO fleet of freight cars is an important milestone. With this, we are once again significantly expanding our portfolio in the promising rail logistics market. We intend to maintain our strong growth rate and further increase profitability," explains Jürgen Bauer, CEO of Aves One AG.

Disproportionately high increase in operating profit in the first half of the year
The operating result EBITDA rose disproportionately in the reporting period by 73.2% to EUR 22.0 million (previous year: EUR 12.7 million). The stable income from the existing portfolios, rising capacity utilisation and higher rental rates in the container segment had a direct impact on the development of earnings. The EBIT also rose significantly by 169.4% to EUR 13.2 million. The result in the second quarter clearly exceeded the already good result in the first quarter. Adjusted for positive currency effects of EUR 5.1 million, the EBT reached EUR 1.1 million, after a loss of EUR 6.8 million in the same period of the previous year.

Further significant increase in revenue, earnings and asset volume expected
For the current fiscal year, Aves One expects significantly higher revenues compared to the previous year and a significantly higher EBITDA. The NACCO-acquisition will contribute to a further improvement in Aves One's key financial figures in the fourth quarter.

In addition, the measures taken to improve financing structures - such as the partial financing of the Rail portfolio already acquired in 2016, which was completed after the balance sheet date at significantly improved terms - will contribute to an increase in the key financial figures.

The expected asset volume of EUR 750 million for the end of 2018 has already been exceeded with the acquisition of the NACCO freight car fleet. In addition, the Management Board assumes that the value of the logistics assets will increase to a volume of more than one billion euros in the course of 2019. This target was previously set for 2020.

The complete half-year financial report is available on the Aves One website at https://avesone.com/de/aves_investoren_publikationen.html.
About Aves One AG:
Aves One AG, a company with strong growth prospects, manages long-lifetime logistics assets with a focus on railway goods wagons. The company's portfolio also includes standard shipping containers, swap trailers for road transport and logistics properties. Aves One AG's end customers include state-owned railway companies, industrial and logistics companies. The company is headquartered in Hamburg and listed in the regulated market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt stock exchange (ISIN: DE000A168114; WKN: A16811).

Further information: www.avesone.com

Contact
Aves One AG
Jürgen Bauer, Management Board
Tel. +49 (40) 696 528 350
Fax +49 (40) 696 528 359
E-mail ir@avesone.com