Applus share price on the up following IPO

Harriet Bailey
14 May 2014

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Shares in Carlyle portfolio company Applus Services were trading at €15.70 apiece three days after the business's IPO, up 8% on the float price.

Shares in Applus started trading on the Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia stock exchanges on 9 May, priced at €14.50 each.

The flotation raised proceeds of €300m and gave Applus a market capitalisation of €1.9bn.

Applus released its Q1 results on 14 May, reporting a revenue increase of 5.9% from €358.3m to €379.4m in the same period last year, which includes organic revenue growth of 10.5%. This was however offset by a decrease in revenue of 5.1% following unfavourable fluctuations in exchange rates.

Adjusted operating profit increased to €29.4m in the first quarter of 2014 compared to Q1 2013, up by 17.8% from €25m.

Carlyle, which owned 68.3% of Applus prior to the IPO following a €1.48bn buyout in 2007, will retain a significant stake in the asset. Investindustrial entered the firm's shareholding later in 2007, taking a 5% stake in a €20m deal. The company is the sole minority investment in Investindustrial's portfolio.

Barcelona-headquartered Applus specialises in testing, inspection and certification and serves clients across all industries to ensure assets and products comply with regulations, including environmental, quality, health and safety rules. In 2013, the company generated turnover of €1.6bn. Founded in 1996, Applus employs 19,000 people and is present in 60 countries.