-Revenue increased by 11% and order intake by 12%
-The EBIT margin rose to 10.8%, a significant improvement on the figure for 1Q07 (9.6%)
-The company shall propose an increase of 16% of the ordinary dividend up to €0.50 per share against 2007 earnings, a dividend yield of 2.7%
Indra's 1Q08 net profit increased 25% from a year earlier to € 42.4m; revenue climbed 11% to € 581.7m and EBIT rose 25% to € 62.7m. Order intake rose 12% from a year earlier to € 837.8mn and was 44% higher than revenue.
The EBIT margin rose to 10.8%, well above the level recorded in 1Q07 (9.6%), in part due to the integration costs incurred last year in connection with the Azertia and Soluziona acquisitions.
Cash flow generated during the period climbed a very healthy 22%.
Some 73% of revenue came from the solutions business while 27% came from services, the latter posting a 20% increase in the first quarter. The international market increased 15% while the Spanish market rose 10%.
Regarding vertical markets, and even though all the company’s markets performed well, highlights were the Public Administration and Healthcare business (+20%) and the Finance and Insurance division (+16%). The modernisation process underway at a number of government bodies as well as the electoral processes in the first quarter were behind the significant increase at the former, while the high level of investment at large Spanish banking institutions, both in Spain and abroad, drove growth in the latter.
2008 targets
In the wake of its first-quarter results, and despite continued uncertainty on the macroeconomic front, Indra remains upbeat allowing it to reiterate, and even raise, its 2008 targets:
-Revenue growth of 9-10% vs. 8-10%.
-Order intake growth is also expected to advance 9-10% to outpace topline growth once again this year, further boosting the backlog.
-An EBIT margin of 11.3-11.5% is likewise expected.
-Net profit set to grow 18-22% in 2008
Date of General Shareholders’ Meeting and proposed dividend of €0.50 per share
Indra's Board of Directors resolved at a meeting today to schedule the company's General Shareholders' Meeting for 26 June (second call) where it will seek shareholder approval for payment of an ordinary gross dividend of €0.50 per share against 2007 earnings. This dividend, which is 16% higher than the ordinary dividend for 2006, represents a payout of 55% and a dividend yield of 2.7% (based on the year-end 2007 share price of €18.58). The dividend would be distributed at the beginning of July.