Doosan Bobcat

Doosan Bobcat Repays $150 million in Advance, Enhancing its Financial Soundness

On 24 June 2018, Doosan Bobcat announced that it had settled the installment of $150 million of its borrowings in advance on June 23 (U.S. time). It is the company’s second early repayment in 2018, and since its borrowing of 1.7$ billion in 2014, the company has made its six early repayments amounting to $670 million USD in total.
The company’s consolidated debt has decreased by more than 40% to $978 million as of July 2018 from $ 1.7 billion in 2014, and its debt ratio is expected to decrease to 72% by the end of this year from 105% at the end of 2014.
With this early repayment, Doosan Bobcat expects to reduce its debt ratio by over 4% points compared to that posted at the end of June 2018, while increasing the net income thanks to its decreased interest expenditure.
The company’s net income grows at a CAGR of 36.0%, rising from $131 million USD in 2015 to $242 million USD in 2017, supported by its efforts to improve its financial profile through refinancing, debt restructuring and credit rating improvement initiatives and the impact of US corporate tax cuts.
“This early debt repayment is noteworthy as it indicates that the company’s performance is so solid that it continues to improve the financial structure while making active investments,” said an official of Doosan Bobcat. "Based on our sound financial structure, we will focus its investment activities to secure the future growth engine and further enhance our presence in the compact equipment market."
In June 2018, the company acquired a backhoe loader plant in India to expand its market share in India. The company is currently preparing to launch new products in Europe and the United States in 2019.


■ Doosan Bobcat’s early repayment of borrowings by year
Unit:USD Mil



Year
Early Repayments
Debt Balance




2014
100
1,600


2015
120
1,480


2016
100
1,380


2017
100
1,234


2018
100
1,131


2018
150
978





■ Debt Ratio



Year-end
Ratio




2014
105%


2015
103.6%


2016
88.7%


2017
80.4


2018(예)
72.0%(E)

2018-07-24

Doosan Bobcat Opens Backhoe Loader Plant in India

Doosan Bobcat has opened its new backhoe loader plant in India, thus marking its entrance into one of the world’s three largest markets for compact construction equipment industry.
On June 4, Doosan Bobcat President and CEO Scott Park visited the new backhoe loader plant in India, where he checked the progress of the business. Doosan Bobcat took over this plant last month, which has a site area of 80,000㎡ and a factory floor area of 15,000㎡, and is capable of producing 8,000 machines a year.
Doosan Bobcat has entered the backhoe loader market in a bid to expand its emerging market portfolio with the aim of exploring mid- and long-term growth engines. India’s compact equipment market is the third largest in the world after the US and China, with an estimated worth of KRW 1.3 trillion, where the backhoe loader sales account for more than 80%. Since 2014, the Indian backhoe loader market has grown at an average annual rate of 9.7%.
Doosan Bobcat has acquired idle facilities to produce backhoe loaders in India to minimize its risk of investment. By dramatically shortening the period from preparation time to shipping time compared to the time taken to establish an entirely new plant, the company will be able to start releasing its first batch of backhoe loaders in the second half of next year. They will then focus on marketing activities targeting the Indian market in a bid to expand its market share.
Doosan Bobcat President and CEO Scott Park said: “With government-led infrastructure investment increasing in recent years, the compact market is growing rapidly in India, making it a highly attractive market. Our mid and long-term goal, beginning with backhoe loaders, is to lead the Indian small construction machinery market.”
Among the diverse activities it conducted last year, Doosan Bobcat unveiled Earth Force, a locally tailored brand for China compact market, to make inroads into emerging markets.

2018-06-05

Doosan Bobcat repays $100 million in advance thanks to robust performance

Doosan Bobcat announced on May 15 that it had settled the fifth installment of $100 million of its borrowings in advance on May 14 (U.S. time). It borrowed $1.7 billion in 2014, of which it has so far repaid $520 million in five installments, including the most recent repayment.
Due to the robustness of global markets and its bolstered product competitiveness, Doosan Bobcat has seen a steady increase in its performance, resulting in a dramatic improvement of its financial structure.
With this early repayment, Doosan Bobcat is set to simultaneously reduce its interest costs and increase its net profits. Thanks to its robust performance, Doosan Bobcat has adjusted its refinancing interest rate, improved its credit rating, and lowered its American income tax, thus reporting an impressive 36 percent rise in its annual net profits since 2015.
Doosan Bobcat reported sales of $812 million, an operating profit of $88 million, and a net profit of $58 million in Q1 2018, up 20.3 percent, 19.8 percent, and 60.6 percent, respectively, from the same period last year.
“In recent years, we have made positive investments in a drive to boost sales, posted excellent sales figures, and secured a good cash flow, which has allowed us to complete the early repayment of our borrowings,” a Doosan Bobcat executive said, adding, “By unveiling new products and enhancing our productivity, we are determined to further strengthen our profit foundation in advanced markets and expand our product lineups to emerging markets such as India and China so as to further consolidate our position as a global leader in the small equipment markets.”


[Reference] Doosan Bobcat’s early repayment of borrowings by year



Year
Early repayment




2014
$100 million


2016
$120 million


2016
$100 million


2017
$100 million


2018
$100 million

2018-05-15

Doosan Bobcat North America Acceleration Center officially LEED certified

Doosan Bobcat North America is pleased to announce that the Acceleration Center – a key engineering facility for all Bobcat® compact equipment – is now Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified. Located in Bismarck, North Dakota, the Acceleration Center is currently one of only a few test lab facilities of its kind in North America to achieve LEED certification – the most widely used green building rating system in the world and a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement.
The state-of-the art building earned high marks across several categories, including design and innovation and indoor environmental quality. From the lobby entrance to office environment, the facility was truly designed for accelerated innovation.
“We created a collaborative, open office workspace that not only gives our employees an inspiring place to work, but also rewards our environment,” said Matt Sagaser, director of innovation accelerated at Doosan Bobcat North America. “The facility has more natural light, better acoustics, key vitality areas, multiple flex work areas with mobile work stations, and outdoor parking spaces for low-emission vehicles. These designs helped us pursue LEED certification.”
Doosan Bobcat completed the $28 million renovation project in 2015, which involved the expansion of an existing building to include office and lab space, classrooms and demonstration areas, and both indoor and outdoor machine operation areas. The facility has two stories and 190,000 square feet under one roof, with an additional 22 acres of outdoor test and product development space. In addition, the space is equipped with modern devices, tools and software systems that expedite leading-edge engineering, and product and process development to meet customers’ growing needs.
“A great deal of care was used in the design and building of the Acceleration Center, with a major focus on sustainability,” said Rich Goldsbury, president of Doosan Bobcat North America. “This beautiful facility helps fulfill the vision for our company, stimulates breakthroughs in technology, and serves as the focal point of innovation, solidifying Doosan Bobcat as a global leader in the compact equipment industry.”

2018-04-09

Doosan Bobcat Adjusts Interest Rate on Loans, Lifts Profitability Again

Based on its robust sales record, Doosan Bobcat is emerging as a highly profitable company by taking such proactive measures as early debt repayment, refinancing and interest rate adjustment.
On March 5, Doosan Bobcat announced that it had succeeded in pushing for an adjustment of its interest rate on its corporate loans totaling $1.24 billion (about KRW 1.3 trillion), which means that the company could save as much as $6 million in financing costs in 2018 alone. Doosan Bobcat has seen its spread drop by 1.81 percent in just 10 months, including 0.5 percent (50 basis points) in the latest adjustment, which amounts to $24 million in interest savings on an annual basis.
Doosan Bobcat has worked consistently to reduce its financing costs through early repayment and refinancing arrangements. Since 2014, the company has made early repayments on four occasions for a total amount of $420 million. In May 2017, it refinanced its Term Loan B* loans with U.S. institutional investors and banks and lowered its previous interest rate by as much as 1.1 percent.
In November 2017, Moody's Investor Service raised Doosan Bobcat's credit rating from B1 to Ba3, leading to an additional decrease of 25 basis points (0.25 percent) in its interest rate.
Based on its abundant cash flow backed by the strong housing market in North America and steady improvements in its business performance, Doosan Bobcat has succeeded in making early repayments and refinancing arrangements as well as adjusting its interest rate. In line with rapid improvements in its profitability and financial structure, Doosan Bobcat has achieved average annual growth rates of 6.2 percent and 32.3 percent in operating profit and net income, respectively, since 2013. Most notably, the annual net income of Doosan Bobcat increased by 55.8 percent to $242.08 million in 2017.
"The latest interest rate adjustment is a positive outcome of the company's continuous efforts to secure financial soundness and maximize corporate profitability amid external circumstances characterized by interest rate hikes and financial market volatility," said an official of Doosan Bobcat. "Given the current cash flow, Doosan Bobcat is most likely to reach net cash** by 2020."

2018-03-05