Manroland Sheetfed shareholder recoups investment
Langley's print investments in rude financial health
Langley Holdings PLC, the diverse engineering group that stepped in to rescue the sheetfed division of Manroland AG over four years ago, has recouped its investment in the press builder - according to the group's latest accounts.
In his Chairman's Review, Tony Langley states that: "...towards the end of 2015 the group's cash position had passed the level it would have been had the acquisition not taken place" The company paid €85 million for the business and assets of the sheetfed division in February 2012.
So how come? Manroland has been doing well these last four years, but not that well. The answer lies in the deal that Tony Langley did with Administrator Wolfgang Schneider back in February 2012.
Basically he bought the entire assets of the division - property, plant, machinery, stock, work-in-progress, debtors - and the shares in the forty or so still-solvent subsidiaries around the world - for something like 35 cents on the dollar. Then, as the new Manroland Sheetfed GmbH began trading, many of those heavily discounted assets began turning to cash: debtors taken over were collected, stocks and work-in-progress turned into new debtors and surplus property and plant sold off, as the business concentrated to a single location. Add to that a modest trading profit each year and hey-presto, the investment is recouped.
And all this time Langley didn't put a cent more into its Manroland division, the company has been standing on its own feet since the Langley deal, despite millions going into developing the next generation ROLAND 700 EVOLUTION and continuing apprentice training.
Langley had done his sums correctly and today both Manroland Sheetfed and its parent are evidently in rude financial health. Although not a stellar performer compared with other divisions, the press builder contributed around 10% towards Langley Holdings' pretax profit, pushing the group's result to €106.7 million. Langley says he is "very satisfied with the achievements in this division".
He also says that Druck Chemie, the print chemicals producer acquired in November 2014, had "traded satisfactorily" in its first full year as part of the group.
And what of the future? Will Langley cash out on his investment, now that the press builder has turned the corner? Unlikely. Langley hasn't sold any of the companies he's turned around in over two decades. And neither does he need to, the group has no debt and reported cash of €330 million at 31st December 2015. Langley himself isn't exactly short either, he entered Forbes list of world billionaires at No. 1577 this year with an estimated personal fortune of $1.3 billion and with two young sons already in the business, the dynasty looks set for the next generation. It seems Langley will be part of the print industry for a long time to come.
To download Langley Holdings PLC Annual Report & Accounts 2015, click here
To read Forbes article "The Long Road to a Billion: Tony Langley's 40-year Journey to the Billionaires List", click here
Tony Langley - "very satisfied" with print investments.
About Langley Holdings plc
Langley Holdings plc is a diverse, privately owned engineering and industrial group based in the UK with principal operating divisions located in Germany and France and more than 80 subsidiaries worldwide. The group's companies produce equipment ranging from electrical systems for data centres, machinery for cement and steel plants to food packaging lines, automotive welding equipment and printing presses. The group was founded in 1975 by the current chairman, Tony Langley, and currently employs around 4,300 people worldwide.
About Manroland Sheetfed
Manroland Sheetfed GmbH is a leading German producer of sheetfed offset litho printing presses. Founded in 1871, the company is one of the oldest producers of printing presses in the world. Today the company has its own subsidiaries in over 40 countries and is a global watchword for supreme quality and reliability. Manroland Sheetfed GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of the privately owned UK engineering group, Langley Holdings plc.