In its third quarter, Bechtle AG again saw growth with July to September 2018 revenue up 20.1 % to €1.05bn. For the first time, this item includes the revenue of Inmac Wstore, the largest acquisition in Bechtle's history. The organic growth amounted to 15.1%. For the first time in its history, Bechtle thus reached a billion in revenue in the third quarter.
Earnings before taxes (EBT) went up 9.3 per cent to €46.1m, resulting in an EBT margin of 4.4%. As of 30 September 2018, Bechtle had a total of 9,651 employees, some 1,452 or 17.7% more than in the prior year.
"Following the highly successful performance in the first half of the year, we maintained our high growth dynamics in the third quarter as well. Bechtle thus remains on course. The integration of Inmac is also progressing according to plan, and some initial positive effects have already become manifest as expected," explains Dr. Thomas Olemotz, Chairman of the Executive Board of Bechtle AG.
Compared to the already very strong prior year, the IT system house & managed services segment increased its revenue 15.7% to €713.6m. The growth was broadly supported by the entire spectrum of Bechtle's IT solution and service portfolio as well as its application solutions, it says. With outstanding performance in Austria, the companies outside Germany reported growth of 28.4%.
At 14.1% cent, the growth was very high in Germany as well, it says. In the IT e-commerce segment, the acquisition of Inmac Wstore was noticeable in the third quarter. The revenue climbed 30.6% to €336.0m. At 15.2%, the organic growth rate was also very good.
The Executive Board confirms its upgraded forecast made in August to achieve very significant revenue and earnings growth and a slight EBT margin rise. However, the margin development could come under pressure by the high organic revenue growth on the one hand and the earnings effects from the purchase price allocation of Inmac Wstore on the other hand. "Following the first nine months of the fiscal year, our aggressive growth targets are still realistic. The targeted EBT margin is ambitious, but still achievable. Everything depends on the performance in the final quarter, which has always been especially important for Bechtle," says Dr. Thomas Olemotz.
