Financial results

Revenue

Revenue came in at € 937 million in H1 2023, more than 8% higher than the same period last year (H1 2022: € 864 million).

At Infra, we saw a recovery in revenue on the back of the strong order intake last year. Overall, revenue increased by more than 20%. Building & Technology also saw a revenue increase strongly by almost 20%. Due to the stagnation of residential sales to private buyers since mid-2022, and the wihdrawal of institutional investors, revenue at Property development declined by around 30% in the first half of the year.

x € 1 million

Underlying EBITDA

The underlying EBITDA margin remained at a healthy level of 5.2% and all business areas remained within the strategic ranges. Underlying EBITDA fell to € 49 million in H1 of this year, from € 67 million last year. It should be noted that the first half of last year included a € 19 million release of a provision at Infra. Adjusted for that effect, we saw a slight increase in underlying EBITDA. Infra realised a margin of 6%, at the upper end of its strategic range, due to the strong revenue development, which in turn produced a strong contribution margin. Property development’s performance was at a lower absolute level, but the margin remained intact at a level of 6.5%. At Building & Technology, underlying EBITDA increased in line with revenue, keeping the margin at 4.1%. This included the start-up costs incurred for the timber-frame plant, which started operating at 1 July 2023.

Net profit

Net profit fell to € 18 million in H1 2023, from € 30 million in H1 2022 . This difference was largely due to the impact of the release on the Wintrack II provision in the same period last year. H1 2023 also include one-off costs of around € 3 million related to '100 years of Heijmans'. In addition to what was stated in the context of underlying EBITDA, one-off expenses were also slightly lower than last year. This year, the main item (amounting to € 3 million) was related to transaction costs for the proposed acquisition of Van Wanrooij, while last year’s results included a downward revaluation of a land position (€ 4 million). Depreciation increased slightly when compared with last year and was in line with the strategic direction to continue with the electrification of our equipment and the industrialisation of our production. As a result, investment levels have been above depreciation levels in recent years, but due to the long delivery times for new equipment this was still slightly behind plan. Another relevant development is the fact that the net interest expense was € 2 million lower than last year. This was due to Heijmans' strong net cash position, which has been boosted by debit interest since the end of last year, as short-term interest rates have increased from a negative position to around 3% since the middle of last year. Net interest was also boosted by the cancellation of the cumulative preference shares in 2022. It should be noted that after the acquisition of Van Wanrooij, Heijmans will once again be in a net debt position, which will increase net interest expenses again. The effective tax rate was with 27,2% higher than previous years and the nominal tax rate (25.8%). For a more detailed explanation of the tax position, see section 6.6 of the selected notes.

Order book

The order book increased further in H1 to € 2.6 billion from € 2.4 billion at year-end 2022. Taking into account the increased level of revenue in H1, this was on balance a strong order intake. The order book increased by € 283 million and was almost entirely accounted for by Building & Technology. Infra remained at a healthy level just above € 1 billion.
In the first half of the year, Building & Technology acquired 19 medium-sized projects in a range from € 10 million to € 65 million, representing a good spread and a controlled risk profile that meets Heijmans' return requirements. This applies to the Main Contract for Schiphol Airport and the renovation of Gemini-Noord (TU Eindhoven). Residential building (part of Building & Technology) acquired a relatively large amount of work in new projects and sustainability projects at housing corporations. Because Residential building acquired more work from third parties, we saw a sharp drop in intercompany eliminations in the order book. Property development recorded a decline of €73 million, in line with the current market conditions in the housing market that are leading to delays in some projects. In the meantime, we have noted that more than 40% of our future revenue  from construction is recurring business, such as Asset Management at Infra and Services at Building & Technology. 

Net cash position, cash flow and solvency

The net cash position stood at € 116 million on 30 June 2023, which was € 15 million higher than the comparable period last year (and thus adjusted for seasonal influences in working capital). The increase was due to good operating results, which contributed to a dividend payment of € 1.01 per share, resulting in a cash dividend payment of € 13 million in May.
Property, plant and equipment increased by over € 20 million in these last twelve months, due to the higher level of investment in electric equipment and in the timber frame plant. Working capital remained at a similar level to last year. Within working capital, we saw an increase in pre-financing (i.e., higher work-in-progress credit position) resulting from an increase at Infra and Non-Residential Projects. This was offset by an increase in the inventory position at Property development, primarily due to the fact that we had very few unsold homes under construction last year. Heijmans actively monitors this position, with the Executive Board only in very exceptional cases giving approval to start the construction phase when 70% of the homes have not yet been pre-sold. This keeps the number of homes completed and unsold at a very limited level. The receivables/payables balance remained similar to last year, despite the fact that the statutory payment period for SMEs was shortened to 30 days. While this had a material impact on the balance sheet, Heijmans had already anticipated this legislation in advance.

At 30 June 2023, solvency stood at 30.1% compared with 28.9% a year earlier. While it is true that the balance sheet total increased due to a higher level of activity and the increased net cash position, this effect was more than offset by retained earnings. At 30.1%, solvency was at the same level as year-end 2021. In the meantime, Heijmans redeemed the cumulative preference B shares amounting to €31 million earlier than scheduled.