Excellent results for Movares in 2007

Utrecht engineering consultancy Movares achieved excellent results in 2007. The annual report for Movares Group B.V. includes the following highlights:
• Success in opening up new markets
• A significantly stronger position in Poland, the second home market
• Operating income: € 138.8 million (2006: € 137.2 million)
• Return on turnover: 6.2% (2006: 3.5%)

Download the Annual Report 2007 (pdf)
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Movares Group B.V. can look back on a good year. The company now has two home markets – the Netherlands and Poland. Broadening the range of activities on the Dutch market has thoroughly compensated for the fall in turnover on the two large projects, the Betuweroute and the HSL-Zuid. At the beginning of 2007, Movares acquired Polish company BPK Katowice, making Movares Polska one of the major players on the Polish railway engineering market. The turnover for Movares Group B.V. was € 138 million, with an operating result of € 6.8 million. Profitability was up from 3.5% in 2006 to 6.2% in 2007.

The demand for mobility solutions remains as high as ever in the Netherlands. The budgets available are stable. These are favourable conditions for Movares, given that the company’s most important activities are infrastructure and mobility, coupled with the living environment and spatial planning. Structural expansion and upgrading of rail and other infrastructure are also key issues in Poland. All in all, the future looks good for Movares.

A broader scope
Movares remains the leader on the Dutch rail market. In addition, the company has made a successful entry into new markets, such as road infrastructure, spatial planning and mobility, water management, energy and asset management.
For instance, Movares contributed to the new 525 metre long Odfjell quay wall in Rotterdam and to the lift gates of the Beatrixsluis lock at Wijk bij Duurstede. Movares has bundled its energy operations into a new business unit, Movares Energy. Working together with Mott McDonald, Movares landed the engineering contract for the 380 kV substation at Simonshaven.
Successes in the field of asset management have included winning a five-year service contract with RWS Oost Nederland, in conjunction with other firms. The work will involve managing and maintaining four sets of canal locks.

Movares was also successful in the field of innovation last year. The new “Box Barrier” river barrier attracted much attention, both in the profession and in the press. The “Sustainable Highway” concept generated considerable interest on the market, and a pilot project is in the pipeline. The concept consists of a sustainable, environmentally-friendly system for enclosing motorways, vastly improving air quality and reducing noise nuisance. At the same time, the canopy acts as an outstandingly clean power station.

The employment market
The growing economy has put considerable pressure on the availability of personnel with engineering training. Both in the Netherlands and in Poland, it was difficult to recruit sufficient qualified personnel. Given the growth of the company, Movares devoted considerable energy to making itself more visible as a desirable employer. The attractive working conditions, including opportunities for achieving a healthy life/work balance, and the possibility of becoming a co-owner of the firm, have proved successful in attracting new staff. The open, transparent culture, where personnel have considerable freedom and a good measure of responsibility, are also attractive to new people. Movares Nederland expects to recruit 150 new staff this year, and a good percentage have already arrived.

A succesfull year for Movares

2006 was a successful year for the Dutch engineering firm Movares. Some key financial figures: the operating revenue was € 142 million; the EBITDA went up by over 8% to € 17 million; the return on sales rose to 5.9% and debts fell almost € 11 million to € 24.3 million in the year of the secondary buy-out, the first year in which the majority of Movares shares (76%) were owned by the employees.

The annual report can be found here.

Movares acquires Polish engineering consultancy

The Movares Group has taken over an engineering consultancy in Katowice, Poland. Movares’ Polish subsidiary Movares Polska has acquired over 96% of shares in BPK Katowice. This brings the number of specialists at Movares Polska to 120, making the company a market leader in Poland.

BPK Katowice was created in 1993 when the BPK (rail design office) was privatized. The company has existed for half a century, and now specializes in all aspects of railway infrastructure design. In addition to its railway work, BPK Katowice provides engineering services for tram and road infrastructure.

Movares Polska and BPK Katowice had already worked together on a number of projects recently. Movares Polska managers Piotr Abramczyk and Bogdan Godziejewski are pleased with the results of these joint operations: ‘By acquiring BPK Katowice, we are strengthening our presence in the region and further optimizing our activities in Poland. Over the last few years, we have succeeded in setting up a successful Movares Group subsidiary in Poland and in building an extensive network in the Polish railway engineering sector.’

The acquisition of BPK Katowice marks an important step in developing the potential of Movares Polska. In July 2005, the company acquired a Katowice-based accredited research and test laboratory for train control systems. This lab now has “notified body” status. Then, in 2005, Movares Polska acquired BPK Lublin, a company specializing in railway infrastructure design. These takeovers are enabling Movares Polska to keep up with expanding investment in Polish railway infrastructure.

Gerrit Disberg, chairman of Movares International’s board of directors, is highly satisfied with the new acquisition: ‘We see Poland as a dynamic market, one where the rail market has plenty of unrealized potential. Movares Polska is now our largest foreign subsidiary. The company is showing healthy growth and is substantially reinforcing its regional structure. The acquisition of BPK Katowice will make it easier for Movares Polska to participate in major rail infrastructure modernization projects financed by the European Union’s Cohesion Funds. Furthermore, we will be able to improve our services to regional customers who require specialized design capacity in the fields of rail, tram and road infrastructure.’

Holland Railconsult: 2005 turnover better than expected, company to be called ‘Movares’ from 1 May

The 2005 turnover for Holland Railconsult Holding were better than expected. The consolidated turnover was € 140.8 million, which is higher than in 2004 (€ 134 million). This is largely due to the HSL-Zuid (the high-speed line into Belgium) and the Betuweroute (the dedicated freight line linking Rotterdam and Germany) – which provided more work than predicted. Pre-tax results were € 6.2 million, which again is better than in 2004. Turnover has also been good abroad. While still modest, it was twice as high as in 2004. Expansion in Poland was one of the main factors behind the increase. 2005 was also the year in which the foundations were laid for a successful secondary buy-out, with management and staff acquiring a majority holding in the company on 2 January 2006. On 1 January 2006, Roel Overakker took over Gerrit Disberg’s position as chairman of the Executive Board of Holland Railconsult B.V. Gerrit Disberg is now the director responsible for activities outside the Netherlands. Lastly, Holland Railconsult has decided to become ‘Movares’ as of 1 May 2006.

Holland Railconsult is an independent, specialized engineering consultancy and is currently growing into a European business. In the Netherlands, the company leads the public transport infrastructure market. At European level, Holland Railconsult is becoming a niche player with a focus on railway engineering and safety consultancy. The holding encompasses Holland Railconsult BV (covering activities in the Netherlands) and Holland Railconsult International, which runs foreign operations under the ‘Movares’ brand. The key figures below summarize the results for the holding company.

Key figures for Holland Railconsult Holding (in millions of euro)

Staff buy-out
The acquisition of a majority holding by management and staff was a further milestone. Since the management buy-out in 2001, Holland Railconsult personnel had held 24% of the shares, while outside shareholders had owned the remaining 76%. On 2 January 2006, the roles switched; together, management and staff now hold 74% of shares, with F. van Lanschot Participaties owning 26%. Over 600 staff took part in this second buy‑out – more than half of all employees. It is almost unique for staff to own such a large percentage of a Dutch company this size. Executive Board chairman Wim Jol: ‘We are very happy about this development. Firstly, it maintains Holland Railconsult’s position as an independent entity on the market, which is very important for a specialized consultancy such as ours. Secondly, the high rate of management and staff participation is not just evidence of enthusiasm and confidence; it is also an incentive to be innovative and enterprising.’

From Hanzelijn to electricity pylon
The HSL-Zuid and the Betuweroute accounted for a significant percentage of our turnover in 2005, but these two projects are now nearing completion. This makes it all the more reassuring to see that important new projects have arrived to fill Holland Railconsult’s order books. For instance, the company won two major contracts in connection with the Hanzelijn during 2005. Station projects also account for a significant percentage of our orders. Holland Railconsult is involved in two of the national key projects: Utrecht Centraal and Breda stations. We were also able to contribute to development of the Zuidas in Amsterdam. Innovation and the broadening of our order portfolio remain important areas for Holland Railconsult, and efforts in this area have borne fruit. The company won a number of prizes for development and innovation during 2005. We were twice nominated for awards in the innovation competition organized by infrastructure manager ProRail, and in conjunction with Volker Stevin we developed the winning concept: the ‘Mobile workshop’. This innovation both enhances the safety of personnel working on the track and reduces disruption to services. Holland Railconsult’s innovative capacities are also reflected in an order from power distributor TenneT to design a new generation of electricity pylons with a vastly reduced magnetic field. This is particularly important in urban areas, and there is plenty of interest from outside the Netherlands.
Finally, Holland Railconsult takes great pride in the ‘concrete prize’ awarded to the Projectorganisatie Betuweroute, as we made a major contribution to the concrete structures along the line.

International activities
Our operations outside the Netherlands continued to expand during 2005, ‘controlled internationalization’ being the motto. Countries where we operate under the name of ‘Movares’ include France, Germany, Poland, Portugal and Slovakia. Movares has taken over two companies in Poland, making us the fourth largest railway infrastructure consultancy in the country. This is a promising development, the more so as Poland has an extensive railway network that will be attracting EU funding over the coming years. We are also working on two high-speed line projects in France and Portugal. Although the German infrastructure market is still very quiet, Movares Deutschland has found its niche – in safety consultancy. Finally, we opened a branch office in Portugal during 2005.

Movares
As of 1 May 2006, Holland Railconsult will be called ‘Movares’. A number of reasons lie behind the change. Firstly, Holland Railconsult has developed in recent years from a purely railway-oriented business into an engineering consultancy with a wider scope. Secondly, Holland Railconsult is increasingly active abroad, where it already operates under the name of Movares. As a result, ‘Holland’ and ‘Rail’ do not always give an accurate picture. The name Movares has connotations of movement and mobility, and that corresponds to our new activities. Our mission, giving shape to mobility, will also be that of Movares.

Market development and prospects
For some years now, a number of trends have been apparent in the market where Holland Railconsult operates. The rail sector has seen a move from building new lines to maintaining existing track and making best use of it. And the roles of the parties are changing. Increasingly, projects are put out to tender on a design & construct basis, making new types of cooperation possible. Holland Railconsult played the role of principal contractor a number of times last year, and is increasingly working with other companies in consortia. A further development is the emergence of regional railways, a new type of customer with its own type of problems.
Wim Jol again: ‘Overall, the prospects are not bad, partly because the economic climate is becoming somewhat milder after a number of less favourable years. Nevertheless, we do not expect 2006 to be as good a year for Holland Railconsult as was 2005. The main reason is that the two mega-projects – the HSL-Zuid and the Betuweroute – will be completed during 2006. Right up to the final phases, these projects are accounting for such a large percentage of our work that there is no way of avoiding a drop in turnover when they come to an end. And that is despite the good prospects that are emerging elsewhere. But we remain confident that as a specialized engineering consultancy, Movares can look forward to an excellent future. Our core skills in the railway sector form the basis for this future, along with innovation, a broadening of scope and controlled internationalization.’

Holland Railconsult – ‘Movares’ as of 1 May 2006 – is an engineering consultancy, providing solutions to capacity, safety, and integration problems in the areas of mobility, infrastructure and transportation systems. Movares plays an active role for its customers throughout the entire process. From initial studies and earliest planning phases, to the design and execution of projects and on through to management and maintenance. Movares’ combination of knowledge, expertise and innovativity is summed up in our motto: giving shape to mobility.

More information
Marleen Peeters
press officer
Tel. +31 30 265 31 12
 +31 6 51 13 71 02
E-mail: marleen.peeters@movares.nl
www.movares.nl