ISS on track to deliver a solid 2012 result

Today, ISS A/S announced interim operational and financial results for Q2 and the first six months of 2012. ISS continued to deliver a sound performance in challenging macroeconomic conditions by demonstrating healthy organic growth, operating profit in line with last year and strong cash conversion.

• Revenue up by 1% to DKK 39.1 billion driven by organic growth of 2.2% in the first six months of 2012
• Operating profit before other items amounted to DKK 1,904 million in the first six months of 2012 compared with DKK 1,974 million in the same period in 2011
• Operating margin before other items of 4.9% for the first six months of 2012 was in line with expectations
• Profit before goodwill impairment/amortisation of customer contracts amounted to DKK 489 million for the first six months compared with DKK 408 million in the same period last year
• The LTM (Last Twelve Months) cash conversion for June 2012 was 99%

Jeff Gravenhorst, ISS Group CEO, said:
“In spite of the challenging macro-economic conditions, particularly in certain Mediterranean countries, ISS is well on track to deliver a solid 2012 result in line with our expectations. We recently won major new contracts with Barclays Bank and Novartis and we have a strong pipeline of international and national customers, which gives us confidence that the organic growth and margin development in the second half of the year will bring us within our financial outlook”.

Group Performance
Group revenue amounted to DKK 39.1 billion in the first six months of 2012, an increase of 1% compared with the same period in 2011, driven by organic growth of 2.2% and a positive effect from exchange rate movements of 1% which was partly offset by the successful divestments of non-core activities amounting to 2%.

All regions except the North America and Pacific regions delivered a positive organic growth rate including Asia with a double-digit organic growth rate.

Operating profit before other items amounted to DKK 1,904 million in the first six months of 2012 compared with DKK 1,974 million in the same period in 2011. Operating profit was DKK 1,793 mil-lion, down from DKK 1,845 million in the comparable period of 2011. The operating margin (operat-ing profit before other items as a percentage of revenue) was 4.9% for the first six months of 2012 compared with 5.1% for the same period of 2011.

The net result improved from a loss of DKK 438 million in the first six months of 2011 to a loss of DKK 294 million in the first six months of 2012.

The LTM (Last Twelve Months) cash conversion for June 2012 was 99% as a result of a strong cash flow performance in all regions, reflecting a continued focus on securing payments for work performed and remaining cautious in countries with increasing financial turmoil.

On 16 August 2012, ISS announced that Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (Teachers') and KIRKBI Invest had agreed to invest EUR 500 million (approximately DKK 3,721 million) in ISS. The new investors will own approximately 26% of the ultimate holding company of ISS. The current owners, funds advised by EQT Partners (“EQT”) and GS Capital Partners funds (“GSCP”), are not selling any shares as part of the transaction, and will remain majority owners of ISS. The proceeds from this investment are expected to be used to significantly deleverage the company by repaying the 11% Senior Notes due 2014 after the December 2012 call date.

Outlook
The outlook for 2012 is based on a continued challenging macroeconomic outlook and difficult market conditions in Europe – in particular certain Mediterranean countries. We expect a continued strong growth in emerging markets.

ISS experienced a strong positive trend in organic growth in 2011 following the start-up of several large integrated facility services (IFS) contracts leading to organic growth of 6.2% for the Group. The organic growth is negatively impacted by the challenging macroeconomic conditions, however, combined with the start-up of recent multinational IFS contract wins we are aiming at a continuation of the organic growth expectation for 2012 in the 3-5% range.

The operating margin for 2012 is expected to be around the level realised in 2011. Cash conversion for 2012 is expected to be around 90%.

Ole Andersen                            Jeff Gravenhorst

Chairman of the Board                Group CEO

Telephone conference
A presentation regarding the interim results will be held on Wednesday, 22 August at 10:00 CET (9:00 UK time).
+45 36 95 41 87 (Denmark)
+44 (0) 2030 432 436 (UK)

Live webcast
The conference call will also be available on live webcast. In order to listen to the conference call and view the presentation simultaneously, please visit http://inv.issworld.com/events.cfm

For media enquiries
Kenth Kærhøg, Head of Group Communications, +45 38 17 62 05

For investor enquiries
Barbara Plucnar Jensen, Head of Group Treasury, +45 38 17 62 60