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Brunel Q4 and FY 2020 results: Operational discipline delivers strong results

Written by Customer Service on . Posted in Earnings Releases And Operating Results.

Amsterdam, 12 February 2021 – Brunel International N.V. (Brunel; BRNL), a global provider of flexible workforce solutions and expertise today announced its fourth quarter and full year 2020 results.EBIT increased substantially to EUR 9.8 million helped by continued strong cost control resulting in 21% cost reductionRevenue stable vs Q3-20, despite seasonality effects Key points full year 2020EBIT of EUR 28.8 million driven by 15% lower cost baseRevenue down 14% due to Covid-19 related impact on global demand for flexible workforce solutionsFree cash flow of EUR 68 million resulting in an increase of net cash to EUR 155 millionEarnings per share of EUR 0.31 with a proposed dividend of EUR 0.30 (pay-out: 99%) over the 2020 financial yearCapital markets day planned in H1 2021 as Brunel gears up for the next phase of development and growth post-CovidJilko Andringa, CEO of Brunel International N.V.: “We finished the year strong, thanks to the enormous flexibility and hard work of all Brunellers around the world. In a year with revenues severely under pressure due to Covid-19, we have truly shown agility and resilience. After putting in place strict cost control and cash preservation measures, we have worked hard to improve our gross margins and deliver higher value added services. We also made progress in our diversification strategy reducing our dependency on the Oil & Gas market. Our organizational discipline has truly been tested in 2020 and along the way we have further improved this capability resulting in a high quality, future ready, lean and agile organization. In the last quarter of 2020, we were able to stop the downward trend in the month over month revenue development. Despite the ongoing limitations we experience in almost all our markets, the recruitment and client activities are high and we see a positive trend in our pipeline. When the world opens up in 2021, we expect to return to top line growth and increased profitability.” Q4 2020 and FY 2020 results by division
P&L amounts in EUR million
1)   Unallocated Q4 includes an impairment of IT-assets of EUR 1 million.
2)   The project of the water treatment plant project has been finalized and we have agreed the final settlement. This concludes the wind-down of BIS.PERFORMANCE BY REGION
The DACH region includes Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Czech Republic.The headcount development in 2020 is as follows:Gross margin
The gross margin adjusted for working days in Q4 is 34.0% (2019: 30,3%). We had a high productivity and a low bench in Q4, compared to a fairly weak productivity in Q4 2019.
Revenue
In Q4, headcount remained at a stable level. Adjusted for working days, revenue decreased by 7%. We continued to achieve growth in our business line Legal, with revenues up 41% compared to last year. The drop at change of the year was comparable to previous years.The headcount development in 2020 is as follows:Gross margin
The gross margin adjusted for working days is 27.1% (2019: 26.8%). The increase in gross margin is mainly driven by a lower bench and a higher productivity. The business lines IT and Legal achieved a significant growth in gross profit positively contributing to gross margin on a group level in Q4.
Australasia includes Australia and Papua New Guinea.Middle East & India includes, Qatar, Kuwait, Dubai, Oman, Kurdistan, Iraq and India.The Americas include Canada, United States, Mexico, Guyana and Brazil.Rest of world includes Asia, Russia & Caspian, Belgium and rest of Europe & Africa.The main driver of the region is Asia with a continued strong performance in China and Singapore. Europe & Africa continued to deliver solid results despite the impact of Covid-19. Tight cost controls and efficiency improvements have lowered our break-even levels and give us more agility to scale up and down in line with changing market circumstances.Tax and net profit
The effective tax rate decreased from 99.2% in 2019 to 38.5% in 2020. As a result, net profit came in at EUR 15.6 million or an earnings per share of EUR 0.31.AttachmentsPress Release Q4 and FY 2020Press Release Q4 and FY 2020 Appendix

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