| KPI (TEUR) | 1 Jan. – 30 Sept. 2019 | 1 Jan. – 30 Sept. 2018 | Change |
| Sales | 159,718 | 141,555 | +12.8 % |
| EBIT | 10,479 | 10,005 | +4.7 % |
| Group EBIT | 7,147 | 6,850 | +4.3 % |
| Result per share (EUR) | 0.46 | 0.44 | +4.6 % |
Berlin, 30 October 2019 – PSI Group improved sales in the first nine months of 2019 by just under 13 % to 159.7 million euros (30 Sept. 2018: 141.6 million euros) through organic growth in the two segments and 5.5 million euros sales from the acquisition in the energy sector. The EBIT increased by 5 % to 10.5 million euros (30 Sept. 2018: 10.0 million euros), the group net result increased by 4 % to 7.1 million euros (30 Sept. 2018: 6.9 million euros) despite poorer financial results as a consequence of the application of IFRS 16. New orders were increased by 3 % to 182 million euros. The 176 million euros of the previous year's period included 11.4 million euros in major orders from the public transport sector. The order book volume on 30 Sept. 2019 was, at 156 million euros slightly below the figure for the previous year (30 Sept. 2018: 159 million euros).
Energy Management (energy networks, energy trading, public transportation) achieved 18 % higher sales of 81 million euros in the first nine months (30 Sept. 2018: 68.9 million euros). The EBIT for the segment improved by 5 % to 4.4 million euros compared to the previous year (30 Sept. 2018: 4.2 million euros). In the third quarter, the BTC Smart-Grid division, which had been acquired on 1 January 2019, still incurred integration costs of just under 0.3 million euros (-1.1 million euros in the first quarter, -0.7 million euros in the second quarter). After around half of the employees acquired were assigned to other divisions of electrical grids and integrated, the integration cost budgets were concluded. The cooperation with the seller EWE/BTC on the unbundling and project handovers was very constructive and professional. The new INFRA division (integrated municipal utilities, infrastructures, industry) achieved new orders of 9 million euros in the first nine months, sales of 5.5 million euros and a positive result after allocation in the third quarter. After completion of the integration, electrical grids will again concentrate more on growth and regular customers. Energy trading, which was burdened in the first half of the year with investments in pilot projects to replace a competitor system, delivered a balanced result in the third quarter and achieved appealing progress and project approvals. PSI continues to invest in software for the intelligent management of low-voltage networks. Among other things, an important export order for charging management for the electric buses of a European metropolis was won in the third quarter.
Sales in Production Management (raw materials, metal, industry, logistics) was, at 78.7 million euros, 8 % above the value for the previous year in the first nine months (30 Sept. 2018: 72.6 million euros). The EBIT improved by 7 % to 7.0 million euros (30 Sept. 2018: 6.6 million euros). With good business in America and China, metals business continues to manage to keep new orders, sales and earnings more or less constant despite the steel crisis. Automotive, industrial and logistics were able to increase sales by 15 % and earnings by 32 %. The third quarter was burdened by investments in Mines&Roads, which is concentrating more on low-risk indirect business with integration partners and on emission-reducing traffic solutions in Europe.
In Russia PSI expects incoming orders of around 15 million euros from the gas networks, logistics networks, metals industry (tubular steel) and electricity grid businesses.
The number of employees in the group increased as of 30 Sept. 2019 to 1,981 (30 Sept. 2018: 1,775) as a result of new hires and the acquisition of the BTC smart grid business. Cash flow from operating activities decreased to 1.8 million euros (30 Sept. 2018: 7.2 million euros) as a result of seasonally rising working capital, the purchase price payment for the business acquired and the integration costs. Liquidity decreased accordingly to 30.8 million euros (30 Sept. 2018: 35.5 million euros).
On the basis of the PSI Java Frameworks, PSI has come to support more than 300 application consultants (and “PSI-Click Designer“) at integration partners and in the IT departments of customers. PSI will invest in a more automated app store cloud support of this fast growing community, to further improve their economic success and to be able to roll out more licenses.
PSI continues to record strong demand, particularly for control technology for electricity and gas networks as well as in the logistics and automotive sectors, and therefore expects further increases in the high-margin license, maintenance, upgrade and cloud business in the coming quarters. Despite the gloomy economic forecasts in Germany and the integration burden, the PSI Management Board continues to expect sales growth of 10 % to 220 million euros and an increase in the operating result of close to 17 million euros for 2019.
The German government's Climate Protection Programme 2030 contains numerous initiatives which, if implemented, could lead to additional annual investments of around 100 million euros in control system software in Germany. In addition to the energy sector, this also applies increasingly to the heat and transport sectors. PSI is already involved in more than 20 pre-competitive research projects. The management therefore expects continued good growth in the domestic market of Germany and Europe.
Based on its own software products, PSI Group develops and integrates complete solutions for optimizing the flow of energy and materials for utilities (energy networks, energy trading, public transport) and industry (mining, metals production, automotive, mechanical engineering, logistics). PSI was founded in 1969 and employs almost 2,000 persons worldwide.