DGAP-News: Bechtle AG

DGAP-News: Bechtle Stays Locked on to Success

DGAP-News: Bechtle AG / Key word(s): Final Results/Dividend Bechtle Stays Locked on to Success

16.03.2016 / 10:15 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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Bechtle Stays Locked on to Success

- Revenue in 2015 up 9.7 per cent to EUR2,831 million

- EBT up 20.5 per cent to EUR129.4 million

- Significant dividend increase to EUR1.40

- Positive outlook for 2016

Neckarsulm, 16 March 2016 - In the fiscal year 2015, Bechtle AG has continued the trend of further success. With its above-average growth dynamics, the company gained further market shares and expanded its position as Germany's largest IT system house. In the reporting period, the revenue climbed almost 10 per cent to EUR2,831.3 million. Earnings before taxes (EBT) even surged by more than 20 per cent to EUR129.4 million. The EBT margin thus amounted to an outstanding 4.6 per cent. The dividend is to be stepped up for the sixth year in a row, increasing to EUR1.40 (prior year: EUR1.20).

The positive development of the fiscal year 2015 was largely organic. The two segments IT system house & managed services and IT e-commerce both contributed to the growth in almost equal parts. "The balanced growth shows that we are aligned correctly: We have further strengthened our trading business through investments in the staff and the determined expansion of our Global IT Alliance, while at the same time effectively positioning our system houses as solution-oriented partners for IT projects, especially in the fields of digitalisation, cloud, mobility, IT security and sourcing", explains Dr. Thomas Olemotz, Chairman of the Executive Board of Bechtle AG.

Partner for Future-proof IT Architectures In the IT system house & managed services segment, the revenue climbed to EUR1,889.5 million, 9.4 per cent more than in the prior year (EUR1,727.1 million). Especially through its long-standing competence in managed services and the expansion of the solution business in connection with the transformation of IT architectures, Bechtle has further increased its service share in this segment. Thus, EBIT grew by a disproportionately high rate of 16.5 per cent to EUR80.3 million (prior year: EUR68.9 million). The EBIT margin improved from 4.0 per cent to 4.2 per cent.

Worldwide Presence through International Alliance In 2015, the IT e-commerce segment underwent two-digit growth of 10.4 per cent, increasing its revenue to EUR941.8 million (prior year: EUR853.4 million). The growth was especially vigorous in the companies abroad, which recorded an increase of 12.4 per cent to EUR687.7 million (prior year: EUR611.7 million). This reflects the positive impact of the employees newly recruited as of the end of 2014 as well as the internationalisation by way of the Global IT Alliance. Thanks to lean processes and high efficiency - especially also in the field of logistics - Bechtle's trading business has always been highly profitable. In the reporting period, EBIT rose 24.2 per cent to EUR49.2 million (prior year: EUR39.6 million). At 5.2 per cent (prior year: 4.6 per cent), the EBIT margin has already reached the level of the target margin 2020 for the group.

Investing in the Future As of 31 December 2015, Bechtle had 7,205 employees. Compared to the number of 6,572 in the prior year, the total headcount went up by 633, an increase of 9.6 per cent. The increase in the number of employees is largely the result of new recruitment. In 2014, Bechtle had invested intensively in the IT e-commerce segment. In the reporting period, 602 new employees joined the system house & managed services segment, which thus accounted for most of the new recruitment. Training remains a basic pillar of the HR work and an indispensable investment in Bechtle's future. As of the end of the year, the group had a total of 473 young trainees. Due to the substantial increase in the number of employees, the training ratio in German has gone down, but still amounts to a remarkable 7.5 per cent. However, the ratio has gone up at the headquarters in Neckarsulm and is now close to 10 per cent.

Further Growth in 2016 The outlook for 2016 is positive. In view of the excellent competitive position of the Bechtle Group and the optimistic forecasts for the economic situation in Germany and the EU, the Executive Board expects a good performance, with significant revenue and earnings growth. "We are convinced that we will again be able to record above-average profitable growth and further expand our competitive position in 2016. As far as its ability to take care of its customers in all IT fields of tomorrow is concerned, Bechtle's current positioning is better than ever", says Dr. Thomas Olemotz.

Bechtle KPIs 2015

2015 2014 +/- Revenue EURk 2,831,303 2,580,448 +9.7% Domestic EURk 1,957,610 1,775,409 +10.3% Abroad EURk 873,693 805,039 +8.5% IT system house EURk 1,889,494 1,727,073 +9.4% IT e-commerce EURk 941,809 853,375 +10.4% EBIT EURk 129,484 108,498 +19.3% IT system house EURk 80,293 68,907 +16.5% IT e-commerce EURk 49,191 39,591 +24.2% EBIT margin % 4.6 4.2 EBT EURk 129,404 107,385 +20.5% EBT margin % 4.6 4.2 Earnings after taxes EURk 92,877 76,194 +21.9% Earnings per share EUR 4.42 3.63 +21.9% Number of employees (average) 6,924 6,421 +7.8%





31.12.2015 31.12.2014 +/- Cash flow from operating activities EURk 115,945 55,965 +107.2% Liquidity* EURk 206,660 156,000 +32.5% Equity ratio % 53.9 54.5 Employees 7,205 6,572 +9.6%



* including time deposits and securities

***

The Annual Report 2015 is available for download under www.bechtle.com/reports.

About Bechtle Bechtle AG has 66 IT system houses in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. With its trading companies in 14 countries, Bechtle is one of Europe's leading online dealers for information technology. Founded in 1983, the company is headquartered in Neckarsulm, Germany, and currently has more than 7,200 employees. Bechtle offers its more than 75,000 customers from the fields of industry and trade, the public sector and the financial market a comprehensive, cross-vendor portfolio of IT infrastructure and IT operation solutions. Bechtle is listed in the technology index TecDAX. In 2015, the company's revenue amounted to approximately EUR2.8 billion.

Contact Bechtle AG Bechtle Platz 1 D-74172 Neckarsulm / Germany

Investor Relations Corporate Communications/Press Martin Link Sabine Brand martin.link@bechtle.com sabine.brand@bechtle.com Phone: +49 7132 981-4149 Phone: +49 7132 981-4115 Fax: +49 7132 981-4116 Fax: +49 7132 981-4116

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16.03.2016 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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Language: English Company: Bechtle AG Bechtle Platz 1 74172 Neckarsulm Germany Phone: +49 7132 981-0 Fax: +49 7132 981-8000 E-mail: ir@bechtle.com Internet: bechtle.com ISIN: DE0005158703 WKN: 515870 Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart; Terminbörse EUREX End of News DGAP News Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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