net worth
Net liquidity / debt, i. e., liquid assets minus current and non-current financial liabilities, went from € 163.6 million at the end of 2007 to € – 53.6 million at the end of 2008. This is reflected in the drop in liquid assets from € 223.2 million to € 41.3 million and the increase in current financial liabilities on the liability side by € 33.1 million to € 33.6 million. The reasons were the redemption of the financing for the ktpo pay-on-production contract in the United States totaling € 77.1 million, the share buyback program amounting to € 27.9 million, the € 26.1 million dividend distribution, and taxes including interest of € 30.3 million. At the same time, working capital increased because of the high level of work in progress at year end. This led to an increase in receivables from long-term manufacturing orders of € 74.1 million. On December 31, 2008 they totaled € 167.1 million, while liabilities due to long-term manufacturing orders declined by € 17.8 million.
group assets and financial structure
(in %)
Prior year numbers in brackets
Balance sheet remains solid.
On the liability side, other provisions declined by € 18.8 million, because of reduced project risks and other factors. Equity as of the 2008 period end declined by € 20.0 million compared to last year, to € 213.5 million, mainly because of the share buybacks. The dividend payment and the allocation of the net income for the year nearly balanced each other. Overall, the equity ratio, i. e., equity compared to total assets, declined from 26.3 percent in 2007 to 24.7 percent in 2008. With an equity ratio of 25 percent and low net debt as of the period end on December 31, 2008, the kuka Group continues to have a solid balance sheet.
satisfactory return on capital employed
Return on capital employed satisfactory.
One of the kuka Group’s key indicators is return on capital employed, or roce. Average capital employed during the year rose from € 169.4 million in 2007 to € 242.3 million in 2008. This € 72.9 million increase was mainly due to the redemption of the financing for the ktpo pay-on-production contract and the project-related increase of long-term manufacturing orders in the Systems division. The higher level of capital employed and a lower operating result (ebit) led to an overall decline in roce. It went from 41.6 percent in 2007 to 21.5 percent in 2008. The kuka Group’s return on capital employed (before taxes) for 2008 remains therefore at a satisfactory level.
The return on capital employed trend was different in the two divisions. The substantial increase in operating result (ebit) at kuka Robotics (25.0 percent) was more than enough to offset the 16.3 percent rise in capital employed. This caused the Robotics division’s return on capital employed to increase again, from 34.6 percent in 2007 to 37.2 percent in 2008. The Systems division’s roce returned to a more normal level of 20.2 percent in 2008 from 51.0 percent in 2007 because of the aforementioned factors.
kuka ag does not have an official rating.