euro adhoc: Rosenbauer International AG
Annual Reports
Revenue
and result at the expected level
Dividend proposal: EUR 2.0 per share
Slightly higher Group revenues and a result for 2005 at the same
levels as last year expected
Disclosure announcement transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement.
29.04.2005
~
KEY FIGURES 2004 2003 Revenue in mEUR 299.4 323.0 EBIT in mEUR 13.7 19.2 EBT in mEUR 10.5 15.9 Consolidated result in mEUR 8.7 6.8 Cash flow from operating activities in mEUR 16.3 2.6 Balance sheet total in mEUR 161.3 164.7 Equity in % of the balance sheet total 34.4% 31.1% Investments in mEUR 5.6 7.4 Earnings per share EUR 5.1 4.0 Dividend per share EUR 2.0 1.5 Employees 1,376 1,313 ~
At EUR 299.4 m, Group revenues last year were below the previous year's figure (2003: EUR 323.0 m), owing to the absence of major orders. Despite higher revenues in the US market, in 2004 the Group's revenues were also adversely affected by the slump in the US dollar, which caused lower euro amounts to be reported in the Group balance sheet.
2004 was characterised by a large number of individual orders. In relation to their size, individual orders generally cause higher production costs than major orders, as certain economies of scale - in terms of both purchasing and manufacturing - no longer apply here. The result - with EBIT of EUR 13.7 m (2003: EUR 19.2 m) - was considerably below the record figures for 2002 and 2003. As the finance cost of EUR -3.2 m was almost unchanged from the year before (2003: EUR -3.3 m), the drop in EBT to EUR 10.5 m (2003: EUR 15.9 m) paralleled the decrease in EBIT.
ORDERS At EUR 337.0 m (2003: EUR 300.9 m), the volume of new orders taken by the Group in 2004 was well above the level of the past two years. In the current financial year, this has led to a gratifyingly high degree of capacity utilisation, especially at the production facilities in Austria and the USA. At EUR 226.1 m (2003: EUR 191.8 m), the volume of orders on hand at the year-end also reached a higher level than the previous year, despite the stepped-up shipments taking place shortly before the year-end 2004.
DIVIDEND PROPOSAL The Supervisory Board and the Executive Board are committed to the Rosenbauer share as a dividend-paying stock. This investor-friendly dividend policy is based on Management's confidence that the leading international market position of the Rosenbauer Group can be extended still further in the next few years, hand-in-hand with a consistently positive course of business.
Thanks to the past few years' good results, we have succeeded in lifting the equity ratio above the target value of 30%, reaching a figure of 34.4% by the year-end 2004. This creates scope for a further increase in the dividend. The Executive Board thus proposes to the General Meeting that a dividend of EUR 2.0 per share should be distributed for the financial year 2004, an increase of EUR 0.5 on that for the previous year.
OUTLOOK The trend in incoming orders in international project business also presented a positive picture in the second half of 2004, meaning that capacity utilisation at Rosenbauer International AG - the bulk of whose business is in export markets - is assured for 2005.
In Europe, the market is currently being shaped by two influencing factors: As a result of corporate mergers, competitors are now appearing at international tenders, increasing the pressure on prices still further. What is more, business in Germany - Europes biggest single market - is still contracting. It is thus started to trim capacity at Metz Aerials in Karlsruhe this year. Even though it is reasonable to assume that German fire brigades now have a relatively high backlog of demand for new vehicles, the timelagged nature of procurement in the fire-fighting sector means that in this market, no recovery is yet in sight.
In the USA, demand in both the municipal and export sectors continues at a high level. 2005 may thus be expected to see a continuation of this gratifying revenue and results trend.
China, a market on which Rosenbauer has been active as an exporter since as long ago as 1926, is definitely the growth market of the future, for the fire-equipment sector as well. China accounts for around 5 % of Rosenbauer International AG's export revenues over the past four years. In view of the increasing importance of local value-addition, Rosenbauer established for the local market a joint venture with a Chinese partner at the beginning of 2005. The business licence for the joint venture, to be named "Rosenbauer YongQiang Vehicle Manufacturing Co. Ltd.", is expected to be issued in May 2005.
In the interim, our Chinese partner has made a start on building the production facilities, and the first vehicles should roll off the production line before the year is out. The size of China's locally produced fire-fighting vehicle park is expected to double in the next few years.
Alongside a large number of individual orders, in 2005 there will once again be some interesting major orders under which shipments will be made. The restructuring currently underway at Metz Aerials in Karlsruhe is weighing somewhat on this year's result. Management thus expects that although 2005 will see slightly higher Group revenues (2004: EUR 299.4 m), the result will be at roughly the same level as last year's (EBT 2004: EUR 10.5 m).
end of announcement euro adhoc 29.04.2005 07:30:00
Further inquiry note:
For more information please contact:
Robert Kastil (Member of the Exectutive Board)
Gerda Königstorfer (Investor Relations)
Tel: +43 732 6794-568
Mobile: 43/664 4547636
Email: gerda.koenigstorfer@rosenbauer.com
Branche: Machine Manufacturing
ISIN: AT0000922554
WKN: 092255
Index: WBI, ATX Prime
Börsen: Berliner Wertpapierbörse / free trade
Baden-Württembergische Wertpapierbörse / free trade
Wiener Börse AG / official dealing