27th Mar 2019 10:24
LONDON (Alliance News) - RHI Magnesita NV said Wednesday it has applied for a secondary listing on the Vienna Stock Exchange.
The refractory product manufacturer said it is seeking the listing due to the "uncertain regulatory environment" in the UK following the country's departure from the EU.
RHI's head office is in Vienna, so decided it was the "most logical" location for its secondary listing.
The company had previously been listed in Vienna and expects its shares to list once again and start trading in Vienna this Friday.
RHI will continue to have a Premium Listing in London, which will remain its primary listing venue.
Shares in RHI were up 0.2% Wednesday at 4,506.00 pence each in London.
Earlier Wednesday, RHI reported a swing to a profit in 2018 amid a sharp rise in revenue, and the company has returned to paying a dividend as it continues its merger plans.
In 2018, the company swung to a pretax profit of EUR246.0 million from a EUR5.9 million loss in 2017.
The company's revenue increased 58% to EUR3.08 billion from EUR1.95 billion.
The revenue growth was attributed to increased sales volumes and commercial and raw material pricing increases. RHI Magnesita's Steel division reported 15% growth in revenue to EUR2.20 billion with the company's Industrial division seeing 33% revenue growth to EUR877 million.
The company declared a EUR1.50 dividend for 2018, having paid nothing in 2017, and going forward will look to increase its dividend payments.
In 2018 the company achieved EUR70 million of synergies as it continued its "successful integration". RHI Magnesita expects a further EUR20 million in 2019 and EUR110 million in 2020.
Looking ahead, RHI Magnesita is expecting a "more stable" raw material market in 2019, with pricing set to ease. A new higher base price "looks likely", however, due to the "structurally changed environment", particularly in China.
Chief Executive Stefan Borgas said: "Whilst some uncertainties exist in the macroeconomic outlook for 2019, robust customer markets in the medium term, albeit with some uncertainty in the short term, and positive trends in raw material pricing support our confidence in further growth, underpinned by our strategy. We expect to deliver modest organic revenue growth, with improved operating margins from 2018 levels, driven by continued synergy generation and further optimisation initiatives."
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RHI Magnesita