Ramboll Continues to Grow Due to Strong Performance in Most Business Units

Ramboll continued to grow in 2013 in a tough market due to strong performance in most business units. More than 400 new persons joined Ramboll in 2013 and the company now has more than 10,000 employees globally.

Ramboll generated revenue of DKK 7.8 billion in 2013 compared to DKK 7.6 billion in 2012. This equals a total growth in revenue of 3%, which was particularly supported by positive developments in the UK, Denmark, Middle East and Norway as well as the business units Energy and Management Consulting. Excluding currency effects, revenue increased by 5%, of which 4% was organic growth.

Operating profit before goodwill amortisation (EBITA) was DKK 390 million compared to DKK 406 million in 2012. The EBITA margin was 5.0%, which was 0.4% lower than in 2012. The decrease in margin was mainly a result of fewer working days (0.4%), a final ruling on an old arbitration case (0.2%), and increased internal investments to improve the company’s productivity and competitiveness programme (0.2%). Excluding these effects, the EBITA margin of the operating units increased by 0.4% compared to last year.

“The majority of our business is very healthy and has effectively improved its performance in 2013 despite tough market conditions. This is even the case in difficult markets such as Finland, where our business unit has further improved profit, despite the negative impact of the current financial crisis in the country,” explains Jens-Peter Saul, CEO of the Ramboll Group.

The underlying positive trend is also evidenced by Ramboll’s strong cash performance. The company achieved a cash conversion of 129% in 2013.

Global engineering improves competitiveness

To improve productivity and strengthen competitiveness in the future, Ramboll has made substantial internal investments in 2013.

”We have continued the roll-out of our new Group ERP system, introduced new global HR processes, undertaken large scale training of project managers, and improved sales processes and competences. Together, these improvements make Ramboll an even stronger and more competitive company that is fully equipped for international competition,” says Jens Peter Saul and continues: “Going forward, we will focus on further driving Project Management Excellence and further ramping up our Global Engineering Centre. With increasingly large and complex projects, project delivery will be vital for the success of our company. Further ramping up our Global Engineering Centre will enable us to increasingly deliver on projects in cooperation with our colleagues in India. This makes us more competitive and attractive in our home markets. It is not about moving jobs from home markets to India, but about winning even more exciting projects and thus growing and developing.”

Broader international footprint

In 2013, Ramboll acquired a number of new companies that have provided new geographic footholds and competences.

“For example, we have expanded into new regions by establishing a presence in Houston, Singapore and Beijing through targeted acquisitions within Oil and Gas and Environment. The acquisitions have also added to the diversity of our portfolio and competence,” Jens Peter Saul explains and further adds: “We will continue our search for new, large-scale acquisitions, especially in the areas of Environment, Energy and Natural Resources with a focus on Northern America, in order to better balance our service portfolio and further improve our footprint in our target markets.”

Press Release, March 12, 2014