Half year results 2017

• Strong improvement in underlying EBITDA NL: € 9 million (H1 2016: € 9 million negative) largely driven by the recovery at Infra and the performance of Property Development and Residential Building activities;
• Revenues NL € 646 million in first half, lower than last year partly due to selective acquisition of new projects by Non-Residential (H1 2016: € 705 million);
• Number of homes sold: 1,106 in the first half of 2017 (H1 2016: 1,069 homes);
• Net result after taxes € 20 million (H1 2016: € 12 million negative);
• Strong order book of € 2.1 billion at end-June (year-end 2016: € 1.9 billion);
• Divestment programme foreign activities completed, credit facility reduced to € 176 million from € 256 million, solvency up at 27%;
• Net debt reduced to € 45 million at end-June 2017 (end-June 2016: € 77 million), as a result of divestments and improved working capital management.

* Unless otherwise noted, the key figures are presented for all operations. In the consolidated home statement (see attached sheets) the results of the continued and discontinued operations are shown separately. 

** Underlying operating result is the operating result corrected for operating result joint ventures, write down on property assets, restructuring costs, book result on sale of subsidiaries and other extraordinary items. 

*** Underlying EBITDA is the underlying result before depreciation and amortisation. 

"I am pleased with the progress achieved in the first half. We worked hard to transform Heijmans into a Dutch core business. The sale of our foreign activities, a tightened strategic focus and the de-risking of a number of projects have laid the foundations for the structural recovery of our business. For the first time since 2011, we have recorded positive results, both in our underlying ebitda and our net result. In the Property Development and Residential Building segment, we are benefiting from the positive development in the Dutch housing market, and this is visible in the increase in the number of homes sold and the rising sales prices.
At Non-Residential, we remain selective in a challenging market for new-build projects. At Infra, the recovery is proceeding according to plan and the underlying performance is better. The completion of a number of projects will still require attention, but the impact of the results of these projects is now manageable and steadily declining. I expect all our business units to contribute to Heijmans’ results in the second half of this year.
Thanks to the reduction of our net debt to € 45 million, an underlying EBITDA of € 9 million for our Dutch business and solvency of 27%, we met the conditions of our bank covenants at the end of the second quarter. We still have work to do in the second half of this year, but we are on track and we are confident about the prospects of Heijmans for the second half of 2017."

The Dutch housing market continues to develop positively and offers Heijmans opportunities to continue its growth in the Property Development and Residential Building segment in the period ahead. Revenues from Property Development rose to € 186 million in the first half of 2017, compared to € 169 million in the first half of 2016). The underlying EBITDA also increased and amounted to € 8 million in the first half of 2017 (first half of 2016: € 6 million). In the first half of this year, Heijmans sold 1,106 homes, of which 565 (51%) were sold to private buyers (first half of 2016: 1,069, of which 569 were sold to private buyers). The development of the average purchase price for private buyers, excluding VAT, reflects the growing demand from private buyers and amounted to € 290,000 (excl. VAT) in the first half of 2017 (first half of 2016: € 249,000).

Revenues from the Residential Building activities amounted to € 139 million in the first half of 2017 (first half of 2016: € 152 million). The underlying EBITDA was € 2 million (first half of 2016: € 2 million). Residential Building is opting for controlled growth and is focusing on projects – commissioned by Property Development and through own sales activities – with good returns. The combined order book for the Property Development and Residential Building activities offers good prospects and amounted to € 647 million at the end of June 2017 (year-end 2016: € 638 million).

On the procurement front, Heijmans is seeing increasing pressure on prices and availability from suppliers and sub-contractors. Heijmans is responding to this by devoting attention to procurement as early as the acquisition phase, by involving acquisition partners at an early stage and by agreeing good indexing arrangements with clients.

In the Property Development and Residential Building segment, Heijmans has acquired several new projects, also via tenders. Following the acquisition of the project for the development of Sloterdijk-Centrum area in Amsterdam in the first quarter of this year, Heijmans won another major tender in the second quarter of this year, for the development and realisation of 125 sustainable homes in the Leidsche Rijn Centrum district in Utrecht.

Heijmans’ construction activities include both new-build and residential renovation projects, marked by the constantly growing importance of sustainability. In a project commissioned by Heijmans Property Development, Residential Building has started the construction of 350 apartments in the Bananenstraat on the Katendrecht peninsula in Rotterdam, which will be sold to investment company IC Netherlands. As part of the development of Kanaleneiland in Utrecht, Heijmans is building 235 apartments and renovating 504 apartments. Housing corporation ZOwonen has commissioned Heijmans to renovate the Carmelflats apartment complex in Beek; this includes improving the energy efficiency and enabling delivery of gas free apartments in the future.

In the spring of this year, Heijmans signed agreements for the delivery of a total of 49 Heijmans ONE homes for a number of housing corporations.

At Non-Residential, we see the first signs of a cautious recovery in the market for new-build projects. However, this is still only visible in robust volume and not yet in improved pricings. Heijmans continues to apply a selective acquisition policy. In line with expectations, revenues from this activity decreased to € 118 million in the first half of 2017 (first half of 2016: € 162 million). The underlying EBITDA for the first half of this year amounted to € 1 million negative (first half of 2016: € 1 million). The market for maintenance and management is growing and Heijmans’ Services activities are developing well. These activities currently account for 70% of total Non-residential revenue. The Non-Residential order book remained at a comparable level as at year-end 2016 and amounted to € 756 million (year-end 2016: € 758 million).

In line with the focus on our service activities, Heijmans has developed the innovative concept BeSense, which enables smart and efficient building management by using sensor technology to generate data on occupation, usage and comfort. Heijmans is now upscaling the pilot project for this concept at Aegon’s offices in The Hague to cover a total surface area of 15,000 m². At the end of May, the Dutch Central Government Real Estate Agency (Rijksvastgoedbedrijf) awarded Heijmans the contract to conduct fire safety checks at 32 Ministry of Defence barracks and to make necessary modifications.

Very recently, the commencement certificate was issued for the realisation of the New Amsterdam Court House, which means that following the demolition phase Heijmans can commence with the new-build construction phase. In the first quarter, Heijmans delivered the new Eurojust office building in The Hague.

The infra activities are developing in line with expectations and the measures we have taken are beginning to bear fruit. Infra generated revenues of € 301 million in the first half of 2017 (first half 2016: € 329 million). Although the completion of a number of specific projects still requires our attention, the impact on overall results is steadily declining and the impact is manageable. In addition to the cost optimisation measures Heijmans initiated in 2016, the majority of the activities are running according to plan and numerous projects yielded a significant positive impact on the result for the first half of this year. The underlying EBITDA improved by € 14 million in the first half of 2017 and amounted to € 1 million (first half 2016: € 13 million negative).

Infra has focused strongly on the acquisition of projects with both healthy margins and manageable risks that are a good fit with Heijmans’ capabilities and expertise. The result is a healthy order book that is a good match with the strategy. At end-June 2017, the order book amounted to € 987 million, much higher than the € 730 million recorded at year-end 2016, thanks to the acquisition of the Zuidasdok project and the Wintrack II project contracted by TenneT.

In February, Heijmans was definitively awarded the contract for the design and realisation of the Zuidasdok project in Amsterdam, after which the company was able to start the engineering and preparation phases. The work on the third lock at the Prinses Beatrixsluis in Nieuwegein and the A1/A27 projects is progressing well. In May, Heijmans successfully completed, within a challenging short timeframe, the major maintenance work on the Kaagbaan runway at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. On this project, Heijmans deployed a wide range of infra specialisms and its logistics expertise. In early July, the company reached a significant milestone in the A1 Apeldoorn - Beekbergen project with the placement of a new flyover at the Beekbergen junction. The work on the A9 Gaasperdammerweg is progressing well but will require an additional effort in terms of labour and materials for the land tunnel. Heijmans now has a clear idea of the scope of this extra effort and has posted a loss of € 11 million on this project.

Infra’s strategy has been tightened further in the period under review and is now driven by the primary theme: ‘de-risking Infra’. The main points of this theme are the structural improvement of risk management and a tightened commercial focus on line infrastructure with the selective acquisition of water/energy projects. In addition to major projects that fit into the strategic parameters, Infra’s activity profile now puts more emphasis on profitable growth via regional projects, maintenance and management and specialist companies.