DGAP-News: Bechtle AG

DGAP-News: Bechtle AG remains on course

DGAP-News: Bechtle AG / Key word(s): Quarter Results/Interim Report Bechtle AG remains on course

11.08.2016 / 07:31 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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Bechtle AG remains on course

- EBIT up 21 per cent

- Revenue growth especially in system house segment

- Outlook for the year confirmed

Neckarsulm, 11 August 2016 - In the second quarter of 2016, the revenue of Bechtle AG increased 5.4 per cent to EUR723.4 million. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) underwent a disproportionately high growth of 21.0 per cent to EUR32.3 million. Earnings before taxes amounted to EUR32.1 million, and the EBT margin was 4.4 per cent (prior year: 3.9 per cent). As of 30 June 2016, the headcount had gone up to a total of 7,328 employees, a year-on-year increase of 390 persons or 5.6 per cent.

"Taking into account the extremely strong prior-year quarter, we have reason to be highly satisfied with the group's performance in the second quarter, especially in view of the many strategic projects that Bechtle is currently pushing ahead. Though these projects will affect the company's future, they also involve a major input of resources", explains Dr. Thomas Olemotz, Chairman of the Executive Board of Bechtle AG.

System House & Managed Services Experiences Earnings Leap The IT system house & managed services segment increased its revenue 6.7 per cent to EUR481.6 million. As in the prior quarters, the domestic system houses were the growth drivers, gaining 7.9 per cent. In the second quarter of 2016, segment EBIT climbed 48.3 per cent to EUR20.4 million. At 4.2 per cent, the EBIT margin was significantly higher than in the prior year (3.1 per cent). This outstanding performance especially reflects the increased share of higher-quality services, such as managed services and cloud services. With an expanded offer for the transformation of existing IT architectures into modern cloud environments, the Bechtle system houses assist their customers in their core business.

IT E-Commerce Performance Mixed In the reporting period, the revenue in the IT e-commerce segment climbed 3.1 per cent to EUR241.8 million. While most of the trading companies performed very well, Bechtle was confronted with difficult industry conditions in some key e-commerce markets. EBIT amounted to EUR11.8 million, less than the prior-year figure of EUR12.9 million. The margin declined from 5.5 per cent to 4.9 per cent.

Headcount Grows Moderately As of the reporting date 30 June 2016, the Bechtle Group had a total of 7,328 employees. This represents a year-on-year increase of 390 persons or 5.6 per cent. Most of the headcount increase took place in the IT system house & managed services segment. Training remains an important part of Bechtle's HR work. As of 30 June 2016, Bechtle had a total of 402 young trainees.

Annual Forecast Confirmed Bechtle holds fast to its forecast that in 2016 as a whole, it will significantly outperform the prior year revenue and earnings figures, and confirms the forecast for 2016 that had been published in March. "The earnings performance in the first six months was excellent. Though these dynamics cannot automatically be extrapolated to the whole year, we are confident about the developments in the second half of 2016. Therefore, we confirm our expectations of high one-digit growth rates for the revenue and earnings. Especially the development in the third quarter will show whether we can even surpass these targets", says Dr. Thomas Olemotz.

Bechtle KPIs for the Second Quarter and First Half of 2016 Q2/2016 Q2/2015 +/- H1/2016 H1/2015 +/- Revenue EURk 723,393 686,062 +5.4% 1,428,298 1,308,512 +9.2% Domestic EURk 503,779 469,686 +7.3% 986,621 879,913 +12.1% Abroad EURk 219,614 216,376 +1.5% 441,677 428,599 +3.1% IT system house EURk 481,621 451,543 +6.7% 952,051 854,169 +11.5% IT e-commerce EURk 241,772 234,519 +3.1% 476,247 454,343 +4.8% EBITDA EURk 39,318 33,294 +18.1% 73,164 61,827 +18.3% IT system house EURk 26,293 19,506 +34.8% 50,178 40,529 +23.8% IT e-commerce EURk 13,025 13,788 -5.5% 22,986 21,298 +7.9% EBIT EURk 32,261 26,667 +21.0% 59,217 49,168 +20.4% IT system house EURk 20,436 13,784 +48.3% 38,743 30,312 +27.8% IT e-commerce EURk 11,825 12,883 -8.2% 20,474 18,856 +8.6% EBIT margin % 4.5 3.9 4.1 3.8 EBT EURk 32,095 26,681 +20.3% 59,010 49,156 +20.0% EBT margin % 4.4 3.9 4.1 3.8 EAT EURk 22,711 18,720 +21.3% 41,826 34,454 +21.4% EPS EUR 1.08 0.89 +21.3% 1.99 1.64 +21.4% OCF EURk 23,737 16,690 5,840 17,080 employees (average) 7,302 6,869 +6.3% 7,272 6,741 +7.9% 30.06.2016 31.12.2015 +/- Liquidity* EURk 161,917 206,660 -21.7% Equity ratio % 57.5 53.9 Employees 7,328 7,205 +1.7% * including time deposits and securities

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The interim financial report for the first half of 2016 is available for download at bechtle.com/reports.

About Bechtle Bechtle AG has about 70 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 around 7,300 employees. Bechtle offers its more than 73,000 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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11.08.2016 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, Tradegate Exchange End of News DGAP News Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

491165 11.08.2016