In the 2014 financial year Alba SE according to their statement has achieved a clearly better operating income than in the previous year. The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by just under 29 per cent to EUR 33.7 million – after EUR 26.2 million in the previous year. The EBITDA still include restructuring expenses in the amount of EUR 3.7 million and expenses for the portfolio optimisation of EUR 7.0 million.
“The reorganisation of the group of companies, which was started in 2013, shows positive effects,” said Dr Axel Schweitzer, chairman of the administrative board of Alba SE, concerning the presentation of the annual financial statements 2014 in Cologne. However, the EBT were considerably burdened with amortisations of goodwill against the backdrop of the IFRS accounting regulations. The earnings before taxes thus remain negative, but improve from EUR -42.1 million in 2013 to EUR -34.4 million in the 2014 financial year. The consolidated turnover slightly declined from EUR 1.7 billion to EUR 1.6 billion.
A milestone for the future development of the entire group of companies was achieved by the parent company, Alba Group. “A few days ago, we won the biggest order in the history of our family business Alba Group. It is the collection and recycling of the ‘regulated’ household-related electronic waste for Hong Kong, which has more than seven million inhabitants.”
The order includes the construction of a recycling facility for electronic waste and the operation of the collection and recycling system for a period of ten years. At the end of the year, the construction of the recycling facility will be started, which is scheduled to go into operation in April 2017. Together with a logistics partner, a joint venture company with the name Alba Integrated Waste Solutions Hong Kong Ltd. was founded, which carries out this order. The entire “regulated” electronic waste will be processed in this facility in the future.
Despite further portfolio optimisations, the management expects only negligible volume reductions for iron scraps and only slight volume declines for non-iron metals for 2015. The sales revenues are expected to be on the previous year’s level. The forecasts predict an increase for the EBITDA and the EBT.
The services segment will be characterised by intensive competition in the current financial year as well. The extension of the existing business, the extension of the Facility Management in the field of the Recycling Solutions Interseroh service and particularly the extension of the national and international packaging recycling are planned. The management plans a turnover increase with concurrent decline of EBITDA and EBT.
Overall, the management expects a turnover growth and an increase of EBITDA and EBT for ALBA SE in the 2015 financial year.
