| KPIs (TEUR) | 1 Jan. – 31 March 2019 | 1 Jan. – 31 March 2018 | Change |
| Sales | 51,993 | 45,745 | +13.7 % |
| EBIT | 2,952 | 2,786 | +6.0 % |
| KonzerGroup EBIT | 1,999 | 1,921 | +4.1 % |
| Earnings per share (EUR) | 0.13 | 0.12 | +8.3 % |
Berlin, 29 April 2019 – The PSI Group increased new orders by 4 % to the new record value of 97 million euros in the first quarter of the year (31 March 2018: 93 million euros). The volume of orders on 31 March 2019 was therefore, at 184 million euros, 6 % above the figure for the previous year (31 March 2018: 174 million euros). Group sales improved by just about 14 % to EUR 52.0 million thanks primarily to organic growth in the Production segment and the takeover in the Energy segment (31 March 2018: 45.7 million euros). The EBIT increased by 6 % to 3.0 million euros (31 March 2018: 2.8 million euros), the group EBIT improved by 4 % to 2.0 million euros (31 March 2018: 1.9 million euros).
Energy management (energy grids, energy trading, public transportation) attained 13 % higher sales of 25.3 million euros (31 March 2018: 22.4 million euros) and a constant EBIT of 1.1 million euros in the first quarter. The Smart Grid division of BTC AG in Germany, which was taken over on 1 January 2019, has 143 employees and an incoming order volume of 5.2 million euros, of which 3.2 million euros are annual maintenance extensions, external sales of 1.6 million euros and a burden of -1.1 million euros due to underutilization. This special charge was offset by better results with PSI control systems for gas and electricity networks. The underutilized, highly qualified employees were assigned to PSIcontrol customer projects and will make an increasing productive contribution after familiarization from March to July. The business with the acquired PRINS control system is expected to generate annual sales of 5 to 6 million euros with losses of up to 20 %, especially from the convergence development Release 8. If necessary, the management will make further adjustments in the second half of the year. In the gas network business PSI increased order intake, sales and earnings due to the new upgrade subscription business and the recovery of the Russian business.
At 26.7 million euros, sales in production management (raw materials, metals, industry, logistics) in the first three months were about 15 % over the figure for the previous year (31 March 2018: 23.3 million euros). The business’ EBIT of 1.9 million euros was 9 % below the figure for the previous year (31 March 2018: 2.1 million euros). In the metals business, which has been experiencing uncertainty among European customers about customs duties and emissions since summer 2018, PSI received a major order from the Chinese steel manufacturer HBIS Laoting Steel. The Logistics business is enjoying another leap in incoming orders and sales based on the products migrated to the group platform. In the further course of the year significantly better results are expected from better economies of scale. In automotive and industry PSI further increased incoming orders, sales and earnings with the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Production Order Management (POM) and Manufacturing Execution System (MES) migrated to the group platform. On 1 May 2019 PSI Polska (164 employees) in Poznan will take over the Polish Smart Grid division of BTC AG with 29 employees.
The number of employees in the group increased to 1,931 (31 March 2018: 1,701), due to new hires and the acquisition of the smart grid business of BTC AG. At 6.0 million euros, cash flow from operating activities was slightly below the previous year's figure (31 March 2018: 6.3 million euros). Cash and cash equivalents increased to 45.0 million euros (31 March 2018: 42.6 million euros) and will be used for the proposed dividend payment and for sales financing in the seasonal course.
In the coming quarters PSI expects a further increase in the high-margin license, maintenance, upgrade and cloud business as well as a continuation of the positive order trend. For 2019, the PSI Executive Board continues to expect sales growth of 10 % to 220 million euros and an increase in the EBIT to 17 million euros.
Based on its own software products, the 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 more than 1.900 persons worldwide.