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C.A.T. oil AG Annual Report 2015: Successful operations under challenging market conditions, but currency and oil price stress earnings and financial results in euro - Seite 4

million, down from the prior-year level of EUR 67.9 million. This was
due to the insufficient compensation through a reduction in general
and administrative expenses.

The financial result in 2015 was minus EUR 1.9 million, compared to
the positive financial result of EUR 3.2 million in 2014. This
development can be mainly attributed to exchange rate changes. The
net profit before tax amounted to EUR 29.0 million.

The more pronounced drop in the net profit compared to the profit
before tax (-62.5% versus -59.1% yoy) can be primarily attributed to
the increase in the effective tax rate from 24% in 2014 to 30% in
2015. This is due to additional tax payments in Russia and specifying
taxes for previous periods. Earnings per share equalled EUR 0.42 for
the 2015 financial year, lower than the level of EUR 1.11 per share
in 2014.

Dividend for the financial year 2015

In the event of attractive investment opportunities, the company is
considering to enter new geographical markets on the basis of
established and new business relationships or playing an active role
in the consolidation process on the market for service providers to
the oil industry. For this reason, a solid structure of the balance
sheet is necessary. The Management Board and Supervisory Board willl
therefore propose that the Annual General Meeting approves the
intention not to distribute any dividend for the financial year 2015.
The dividend for 2014 amounted to EUR 0.12 per share.

Development of equity and balance sheet structure

In 2015, the equity ratio could be increased to 48.3%, up from 44.5%
in 2014. This is mainly due to the reduction in the balance sheet
total, from EUR 379.8 million to EUR 301.3 million, and
debt-to-equity program launched in the operational companies. For one
thing, the valuation of assets was lower as a result of the loss in
value of the Russian rouble. In addition, the non-current and current
liabilities of C.A.T. oil were substantially reduced. Equity of the
Group fell to EUR 145.5 million as at 31 December 2015 compared to
EUR 168.9 million at the end of 2014. The non-current assets of
C.A.T. oil AG recognized to the amount of EUR 156.4 million were more
than offset by equity and non-current liabilities totalling EUR 249.7
million. At the end of 2015, total net debt amounted to EUR 104.5
million, which corresponds to a factor of 1.3 EBITDA.

Cash flow development

Based on an EBITDA of EUR 81.5 million in 2015 (2014: EUR 113.2
million), the cash flow from operating activities amounted to EUR
67.3 million, down from the prior-year figure of EUR 80.1 million.