First-half revenue increased from €626m in 2014 to €694.7m this year with particularly strong growth in America and Africa. Vossloh expects sales to increase by 3-4% for the full year. First-half Ebit rose from €11.7m last year to €19m in 2015. However, order backlog fell 5.9% from €1.76bn on June 30 2014 to €1.66bn on June 30 2015.
The drop in sales in the Core Components division, which includes rail fastenings, from €155m in the first half of 2014 to €133m this year was due to a reduction in volumes in several countries and because some projects had lower margins. Nevertheless the division recorded a 23.8% increase in orders in the first half of 2015 to €194m.
Vossloh's Customised Modules division, which includes track switches, and control and monitoring systems, saw a 14.5% increase in first-half sales from €220.9m in 2014 to €253.1m this year, while adjusted Ebit improved by 59.2% to €15.5m. Vossloh says it had particularly high demand in the United States, Brazil and Sweden.
First-half revenue in the Lifecycle Solution division, which focuses on rail and switch maintenance, fell from €30.7m in 2014 to €28.7m, although Ebit remained stable at €0.5m. However, Vossloh forecast significant growth in the second half of 2015. It has won a three-year "reference" project from German Rail (DB) to take over responsibility for switch and rail maintenance on sections of the Leipzig – Dresden main line.
Vossloh's LRV and locomotives Transportation division recorded its first profit in the second quarter of 2015 following five successive quarters of losses. Ebit for the second quarter was €2.1m.
"The transformation of Vossloh planned up to 2017 is taking place dynamically and consistently," says Vossloh's CEO Mr Hans Schabert. "Initial successes are already tangible after the first six months of 2015. We are also confident about the remaining months of the current financial year."
