Interim Report as of September 30, 2013

KUKA business strong and stable

• Orders received at a high EUR 1.44 billion after nine months in fiscal 2013
  - Q3/13: up 13.2 percent to EUR 427.7 million from EUR 377.7 million in Q3/12
• Sales revenues rise slightly, up 1.6 percent to EUR 1.33 billion after nine months
• Group's consolidated EBIT margin rises to 6.6 percent in the first nine months of 2013, up from 6.3 percent at the same time last year
  - Q3/13: Systems' EBIT margin up sharply to 5.9 percent from 5.0 percent in Q3/12
• Earnings after taxes in the first nine months of 2013 at EUR 41.7 million and free cash flow at EUR 79.3 million
• Guidance confirmed

BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

KUKA continued to report stable business results at a high level after the first nine months of the year. The trend toward robot-based automation remains uninterrupted and is reflected in KUKA's third-quarter orders received numbers. 

Since the beginning of the year, the Group had orders received of EUR 1,435.8 million, compared to EUR 1,486.5 million after nine months in 2012. In the third quarter, they rose to EUR 427.7 million, 13.2 percent higher than the EUR 377.7 million generated in Q3/12.

The Robotics division's orders received in the first nine months of 2013 came in at EUR 599.2 million, less than the record EUR 660.1 million posted after nine months in 2012, but still high. The share of orders received from general industry and service rose from 52 percent after nine months in 2012 to 62 percent after three quarters in 2013. Robotics' third-quarter orders received came in at EUR 178.7 million. The division reported EUR 185.1 million in Q3/12.

The Systems division was able to generate orders received of EUR 856.2 million in the first nine months, up 0.8 percent from last year's result. Third-quarter orders received came in at EUR 252.9 million, up 26.3 percent from the EUR 200.3 million generated in Q3/12. Systems benefited especially from new large orders from automotive.

KUKA Group's sales revenues were up 1.6 percent from the EUR 1,306.5 million reported at the nine-month mark of 2012 to EUR 1,327.6 million after nine months in 2013. In the third quarter, they came in at EUR 454.1 million versus EUR 490.5 million in Q3/12. Results for the quarter just ended were thus higher than those of the two previous quarters in 2013. Robotics' third-quarter sales revenues came in at EUR 179.2 million, which compares to EUR 199.9 million in Q3/12. Systems' sales were partly driven by the high orders received in prior quarters and came in at EUR 281.7 million. The number reported in Q3/12 was EUR 301.6 million. The book-to-bill ratio came in at 1.08 for the first nine months, almost the same as the 1.14 reported after nine months in 2012.

KUKA Group's order backlog was down slightly from last quarter, but still exceeded the billion euro threshold, quite a high number. KUKA had orders on hand of EUR 1,003.7 million as of September 30, 2013, 5.4 percent higher than the EUR 952.6 million that were on hand on September 30, 2012 and down 1.8 percent from the EUR 1,022.4 million reported on June 30, 2013. The Robotics division's order backlog at the end of the third quarter of 2013 was EUR 271.2 million compared to EUR 294.2 million on September 30, 2012 and the Systems division reported orders on hand of EUR 738.7 million, up from EUR 665.5 million on September 30, 2012.

KUKA Group's earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in the first nine months of 2013 came in at EUR 87.5 million, versus EUR 82.2 million after the first nine months of 2012. EBIT margin was 6.6 percent, up from 6.3 percent after nine months in 2012. The Robotics division's EBIT margin was 10.1 percent, which compares to 11.1 percent after nine months in 2012.  The decline is primarily due to the higher spending on research and development and the addition of personnel. In the first nine months, Systems generated an EBIT of EUR 43.6 million, up from EUR 35.2 million after nine months in 2012. EBIT margin was thus also up sharply to 5.6 percent from 4.6 percent after three quarters in 2012.

The Group's consolidated earnings after taxes in the first nine months of the fiscal year totaled EUR 41.7 million, which compares to EUR 42.4 million last year. The slight decline was primarily due to extraordinary expenses reported under financial results related to the buyback of the high-yield bond. Free cash flow rose steeply, to EUR 79.3 million after three quarters in 2013 versus EUR -29.5 million last year.

KUKA's third quarter was completely dominated by industry trade shows. The company presented its industry-specific automation expertise at trade shows such as "Welding and Cutting" in Essen and "EMO" in Hanover. KUKA also continued to press ahead with the market introduction of the LBR iiwa. KUKA Systems' Advanced Technology Solution business unit worked hard on developing applications for the lightweight LBR iiwa robot in the field of human-robot cooperation. The results were presented at "Motek".

KUKA also developed new versions of KR AGILUS, which were well received by the market. A five-axis and waterproof version of the fast robot are now also available. These latest types were developed to meet the needs of customers in general industry.

KUKA Laboratories has equipped the mobile KUKA omniMove platform with autonomous navigation software as part of a customer order.
"The results of the past nine months are strong and stable, as we expected," said KUKA's CEO, Dr. Till Reuter. "They confirm that our global strategy is correct and that our customers appreciate our local service. In this vein, we will be opening a new factory in Shanghai at the end of the year to expand our capacity in the Chinese growth market."

OUTLOOK

KUKA expects world economic growth in 2013 to vary between regions, with an overall positive trend. There will continue to be strong to slightly rising demand from the key automotive and general industry markets. However, growth rates will be significantly lower following the unusually high capital spending seen between 2010 and 2012. From a regional perspective, demand from Asia and North and South America will be stronger, with Europe remaining volatile and damping the overall trend.

Based on these forecasts, KUKA Group's overall sales revenues in 2013 should be slightly higher and reach EUR 1.8 billion. Based on this sales forecast, we expect to generate an EBIT margin of about 6.5 percent. KUKA thus confirms its guidance.

KUKA group, key figures