Price pressure in the ETC segment: Kapsch was successful in the prolongation of its existing e-tolling operations contracts in Austria and the Czech Republic. The bidding process was very competitive in both instances, leading to a reduction of sales and earnings for the group. In February 2017, the Polish highway authority announced that nine contenders including Kapsch are pre-qualified for the renewal of the operation contracts for the Polish e-tolling system and hence we expect a competitive bidding process again. It is our base case scenario that Kapsch will win the Polish operations contract but also at less attractive terms in 1H 2018e. Management expects continued solid demand for on-board units but also admits that their prices are under pressure. Both effects will likely put pressure on sales and margins in the big ETC segment.
 
Mixed business prospects: The group has identified a total of EUR 1.88 bn worth of projects worldwide for both segments over the next two years where it is engaged in an ongoing bidding process. When we look at the total new business of EUR 100 mn from its larger order awards YTD 2017 it implies a slow momentum to us. The upcoming European e-tolling system tenders for heavy vehicles in Germany and Bulgaria should favour satellite-based tolling technology because it includes tolling on highways and federal roads. We incorporate the Bulgarian contract of EUR 102 mn in our estimates, but do not model anything for Germany and we still exclude the important Czech operations contract in our long-term assumptions from January 1, 2020e.