STARK Group reports strong organic growth for FY 2018/2019
Today STARK Group A/S announces results for the financial year 2018/19. The annual report shows topline growth and improving gross margin combined with cost efficiency driving organic EBITDA growth of 17.8%, increasing adjusted EBITDA to EUR 118 million from EUR 101 million in the year before.
“I am very pleased to deliver strong underlying growth in adjusted EBITDA in a year where we also had a busy M&A agenda, which is a result of hard work and dedicated efforts from all our people. Altogether we have achieved a great deal and delivered strong performance in the form of solid topline growth, sustainable margin improvements and strong cash flow,” says STARK Group CFO Sisse Fjelsted Rasmussen and continues:
“We have seen significant progress in all our Nordic markets while completing two bolt-on acquisitions in growth areas of Sweden and signing agreements to acquire another two. Furthermore, STARK Group signed a milestone agreement to acquire the leading builder’s merchant in Germany, Saint Gobain Buiding Distribution Deutschland GmbH, on 20 May 2019. The deal was closed by the end of September this year and will double our size and bring even further scale in a volume-driven business.”
During FY 2018/19 the renovation, maintenance & improvement (RMI) market continued to benefit from growth at healthy levels, while the overall market started to flatten out due to lower activity in new construction. A centrepiece in STARK Group's strategy is a strong focus on serving small and mid-sized professional builders, as these are inherently more resilient towards economic cycles due to their primary engagement in the more stable RMI market. STARK Denmark, STARK Finland and Neumann Bygg in Norway performed in line with the markets, while Beijer Byggmaterial continued to beat the market.
“The year 2018/19 was an important year for STARK Group, where we took significant steps on our strategic journey and continue to build and develop our Group. We are excited, yet not surprised, to see that the right strategy and the right people can deliver a great performance and make a strong contribution in our quest to build our future by helping others to build theirs,” says Sisse Fjelsted Rasmussen.
Based on the achievements in the financial year 2018/19 and a strong market position, continued benefits from our centralised sourcing activities and competent, engaged people in our more than 400 branches across Northern Europe, STARK Group faces 2020 with confidence. Even though the overall market seems more hesitant than previous years, STARK Group’s increasing scale, the strategy and strong customer service, will enable us to beat the market and gain market shares to fuel further organic growth and pursue relevant opportunities from consolidation in the Nordic and German market.
