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Published: 13-11-2020 16:28
Stern Groep N.V., the listed Dutch mobility group in automotive retail and services, announces its results for the period from January to September 2020.
Highlights
Henk van der Kwast, Chief Executive Officer:
“Half-way through the year, we achieved the rebranding of all our dealer businesses ahead of schedule and launched a modern digital platform for our customers. These were two crucial steps in a year in which consumers definitively embraced online shopping. As One Stern, we are working further on the transformation into a modern and customer-oriented provider of mobility solutions. The financial effects of the crisis on businesses and their employees will only become clear during the course of 2021. Despite revenue that was well below budget, Stern’s financial position continues to be sound and we are in a position to withstand even significant setbacks.”
Due to the sale of Heron Auto B.V. on 2 January 2020, the comparative figures for Heron Auto B.V. (the figures for 2019) are presented as discontinued operations. The figures and numbers for 2019 in this press release have been adjusted for the purpose of comparison.
Progress in Q3-2020
Net revenue declined slightly by 5.0% compared to Q3-2019 to € 197.9 million. Sales of new passenger cars in the Netherlands fell by 13.9% compared to Q3-2019, partly as a result of COVID-19. Sales of new light commercial vehicles were down 9.2%. The figures for Q3-2020 do not take account of any income from the NOW-2 scheme.
The gross revenue result was markedly lower than in Q3-2019, mainly due to declining revenue from workshops and car body repairs.
Employee expenses were down 3.8% on Q3-2019, despite the CLA increases of 3.2% with effect from 1 February 2020. The decline in employee expenses was mainly due to the reduction of the number of (mostly indirect) FTEs by 90 (in organic terms) compared to year-end 2019.
Operating expenses were 8.4% lower than in Q3-2019, due to the cost-saving programmes introduced in 2019 and the closure of branches of Dealergroup Stern. Operating expenses include one-off costs for the implementation of a new CRM package and the costs of rebranding to One Stern.
Interest expense was considerably lower due to the much lower working capital requirement.
Profit after tax from continued operations to the end of Q3-2020 (before the write-down of the goodwill for Dealergroup Stern in H1-2020) was € 1.0 million negative (2019: € 0.3 million positive). The negative effect on profit of IFRS-16 in 2020 amounted to € 0.7 million.
Statement of financial position and solvency
The balance sheet total at the end of September 2020 stood at € 433.2 million, a decline of € 140.2 million compared to year-end 2019. The main changes concerned:
Shareholders’ equity declined by € 21.0 million compared to year-end 2019 to € 131.7 million at the end of September 2020. The solvency ratio of Stern Group at the end of September 2020 stood at 30.4% (year-end 2019: 26.6%). Stern comfortably met the ratios agreed with the banks at the end of September 2020.
Stern has a financing facility of € 57 million with the credit institutions. € 18 million of this facility was in use at the end of September 2020, after large repayments of captive finance. We estimate that this facility is more than adequate to cope with the effects of COVID-19.
Status of negotiations with Hedin
The negotiations with Hedin Automotive have not progressed as quickly as would have been the case without the difficulties resulting from COVID-19. In particular, restrictions on travel have caused further delays.
Outlook
We expect to see a gradual recovery in our sales markets in the coming months, however it would not be sensible to issue detailed forecasts for the annual results in 2020 due to the uncertainties relating to COVID-19 and the more restrictive measures recently announced. Cost-saving measures will continue, as we expect the negative effects of COVID-19 on operating profit to continue for some time. We have not yet submitted an application for the NOW-3 scheme, but we will make a decision on this by the end of November 2020.
As a result of the divestments in 2019 and early 2020 and the considerable cost savings realised, and despite the writedown of goodwill in H1-2020, Stern has a strong solvency position and sufficient liquidity to cope with even very significant setbacks.
KEY DATES
Publication of annual figures 2020: March 2021
General Meeting: 6 May 2021
Press here for the press release dated 13 November 2020 in English