euro adhoc: Mühlbauer Holding AG & Co.KGaA
Annual Reports
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Balance 2007: Mühlbauer meets upper end of adjusted sales target -
Strong advancements in internationalization strategy
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annual report
13.03.2008
Roding, 13 March 2008 - Mühlbauer Holding AG & Co. KGaA, quoted on the Prime Standard and worldwide active independent advisor and manufacturer of innovative security solutions for the TECURITY® market, pressed ahead with its global expansion according to plan and established new technology centers in Malaysia and Slovakia. Concurrently, Mühlbauer achieved the upper end of its adjusted sales target of EUR 159.5 million in the period under report. In view of the positive market prospects for security-oriented ID systems in Smart Card and passport format, the company anticipates positive development in both sales and earnings for the next two years. Current order income in Q1 2008 has already intensified significantly.
Irrespective of the positive market prospects, the technology group achieved earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of EUR 26.4 million in the year under review, lagging behind earnings for the previous year of EUR 34.4 million. This has been the result of weak earnings in the first half of the year, risk provisions in inventories, higher personnel expenditures and the expansion of research and development activities in the new established sites. Consequently, earnings before taxes (EBT) fell to EUR 28.4 million (PY: EUR 38.0 million). This corresponds to a pretax profit margin of 17.9% (PY: 23.7%). Net earnings amounted to EUR 19.1 million at the end of 2007, significantly lagging behind the comparable value of the previous year (EUR 27.7 million) due to the capitalized claim for the payment of a corporation tax credit from the previous year of EUR 2.3 million. This resulted in a decrease in earnings per share to EUR 1.31 in the year under review after EUR 1.90 (adjusted for the special tax effect EUR 1.74) in the previous year. The company would like to continue its stable dividend policy and therefore will propose to the Annual General Meeting a dividend distribution on the basis of the previous year of EUR 1.00 (adjusted by EUR 0,25 special dividend) per share entitled to dividend.
Free cashflow of the group improved significantly. Due to the considerable reduction in the need for cash to finance working capital and the noticeable decrease in investment expenses by EUR 9.3 million (PY EUR 13.3 million), free cashflow increased to EUR 16.4 million in comparison to previous year´s value (PY: EUR 2.4 million).
Order income of the technology group amounted to EUR 167.5 million. This corresponds to an increase by 3.7% compared to previous year´s value of EUR 161.5 million. While the areas SmartID, Traceability and Precision Parts & Systems could partially show a significant growth, order income of Semiconductor Related Products area dropped behind the comparable previous year´s value by 8.7%. In the same period order backlog dropped from EUR 79.2 million to EUR 73.0 million.
With a sales volume of EUR 159.5 million* in the reporting period, the Mühlbauer technology group concluded the financial year by almost matching last year´s level of EUR 160.9 million, and achieved the upper end of its sales target which was adjusted because of longer project lead time in the product line Cards & TECURITY® and the continuing weakness in the semiconductor industry. The core business area SmartID generated annual sales of EUR 96.3 million, surpassing last year´s sales of EUR 91.8 million by 4.9%. In the business area Semiconductor Related Products, sales for the Mühlbauer Group accounted for EUR 30.4 million and lagged behind last year´s value of EUR 39.4 million by 22.6%. Sales in the business area Traceability could not yet benefit from the considerable double-digit order income and improved from EUR 13.7 million in the previous year to EUR 14.0 million only slightly. The area of Precision Parts & Systems, however, benefited from the positive market development. With a distinct growth in sales to EUR 18.8 million, this area exceeded previous year´s value of EUR 16.0 million by 16.8%.
The new technology base in Malaysia completed in the reporting year has established Mühlbauer in a new and strategically significant position which enables the group to pursue its global orientation. The expansion to Malaysia has already proven successful, as the location has already received first orders. The US-American market offers similar opportunities. To benefit from the market potential Mühlbauer seeks to intensify its positioning in the USA and equip its Virginia branch this year with a state-of-the-art customer relations center. Furthermore, the company intends to press ahead with the strategic expansion of its development site in Slovakian Nitra. For this purpose the company expects capital expenditures of up to EUR 10 million in the current year. Based on a dynamic development in the Cards & TECURITY® market and its strong strategic positioning, Mühlbauer anticipates positive developments in both sales and earnings for the next two years.
*Sales figures are gross values before subtraction of any deductions on sales proceeds of EUR 0.4 million (PY: EUR 0.2 million)
Contact and additional information: Investor Relations, Tilo Rosenberger, Tel.: +49 (0) 9461-952-1653, Fax: +49 (0) 9461-952-8520, investor-relations@muehlbauer.de, Mühlbauer Holding AG & Co. KGaA, Josef-Mühlbauer-Platz 1, 93426 Roding, Germany, www.muehlbauer.de.
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Further inquiry note:
Hubert Erfurth = Hubert Forster
Branche: Machine Manufacturing
ISIN: DE0006627201
WKN: 662720
Index: Nemax 50, CDAX, Prime All Share, Technologie All Share
Börsen: Börse Frankfurt / regulated dealing/prime standard
Börse Berlin / free trade
Börse Hamburg / free trade
Börse Stuttgart / free trade
Börse Düsseldorf / free trade
Börse München / free trade