EANS-News: Hönle generates operating result excluding special items of TEUR 1,960
28.02.2012 – 09:22
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corporate news transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer/originator is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- quarterly report Gräfeling/München (euro adhoc) - The Hönle Group's sales revenues increased 8.7 % to TEUR 15,773 in the first quarter of financial year 2011/2012. The Hönle Group's operating result excluding special items came to TEUR 1,960, which corresponds to the previous year's level. Taking the value adjustment recorded on the Manroland AG receivables in the amount of TEUR 1,131 into account, the EBIT stood at TEUR 829 (PY: TEUR 2,117). Earnings before tax amounted to TEUR 828 after TEUR 2,092 in the previous year and the consolidated result was TEUR 383, down from TEUR 1,448 in the previous year. This corresponds to earnings per share of EUR 0.08 (PY: EUR 0.27). The Hönle Group's operating cash flow was TEUR 696 in the first quarter of 2011/2012. The Hönle Group's equity capital ratio stood at 72.4 %. Outlook: Hönle acquired the Raesch Group, a specialist in the quartz glass segment, in February 2012. The Raesch Group consists of Raesch Quarz (Germany) GmbH, Langewiesen and Raesch Quarz (Malta) Ltd., Malta. With his acquisition, Hönle continues its strategy of strengthening its market position by means of acquisitions in addition to organic growth. With the Raesch take-over, the proportion of short-lived business assets in Hönle Group´s consolidated sales increased further and the share of consumer goods or short-lived business assets in Hönle Group´s total sales revenues is now above 50%. Hönle thus achieves greater independence from the systems business, which is partly subject to cyclical fluctuations, and, at the same time, taps a business field that offers good growth potential. In particular the Asian economic area, in which the Raesch Group generates a large proportion of its foreign sales revenues, offers good development prospects for Raesch Group products. The Raesch Group acquisition results in synergies in a number of segments. Aladin GmbH and UV-Technik Speziallampen GmbH use quartz glass tubing from the Raesch Group to manufacture UV medium-pressure and low-pressure lamps. Synergies result from transferring manufacturing stages of the two companies to the Raesch Group. As a consequence, production processes can be made more efficient and, at the same time, more cost effective. Moreover, the Malta location provides tax advantages. We also expect positive effects to arise from use of the Hönle Group sales network in conjunction with the Raesch Group sales network. In all, we assume that the Raesch Group will experience sustained positive development as we see good growth potential for quartz glass tubing in the most varied segments of industry. Consolidation of the Raesch Group takes place as of 1 January, 2012. A new investor was found for Manroland AG's sheetfed offset division at the Offenbach production site, which will operate under the name of Manroland Sheetfed GmbH in the future. Langley Holdings plc. acquired Manroland Offenbach in February 2012. The British engineering group, Langley Holdings plc., specializes in mechanical and plant engineering. As a result of the acquisition, a sound investor that offers the company a long-term perspective was found. Following sales with Manroland that were still strong in the first quarter, Hönle expects that Manroland's insolvency will impact on sales and earnings in the second quarter. Sales revenues from business with Manroland are expected to increase again starting from the third quarter, while the positive effects provided by the drupa trade fair will probably be reflected in the fourth quarter. Despite a lower sales volume due to Manroland's insolvency, the initiated cost reduction measures are expected to lead to earnings from business with Manroland in the future that will be on par with the level reached prior to the insolvency. However, a prerequisite for this is that the future quarterly sales generated from business with Manroland amount to at least 70 % of the sales revenues achieved in the previous year. Negative earnings effects from Manroland's insolvency are therefore likely to impact only on the first six months of the 2011/2012 financial year. Owing to consolidation of Mitronic GmbH and of UV-Technik Speziallampen GmbH in the consolidated financial statements, the Hönle Group's portfolio of incoming and existing orders in the current financial year exceeds the previous year's level. After a sluggish order situation in October and November, incoming orders have picked up noticeably since December. In addition, the Hönle Group has again noticed an improved mood on the sales markets lately. Provided that the general economic conditions do not deteriorate, the Management Board´s expectations for the Hönle Group are of sales revenues ranging from EUR 75 million to EUR 80 million in the 2011/2012 financial year, which includes the consolidated sales revenues generated by the Raesch Group as from January 2012. The operating result is expected to be between EUR 1.5 to 2.0 million in the second quarter and between EUR 2.5 to EUR 3.5 million in the third and fourth quarter. About Hönle: Dr. Hönle AG is a listed technology company with head office in Gräfelfing near Munich. With a staff level of ca. 500 employees, the Hönle Group is one of the world´s leading systems suppliers in the UV technology segment. The systems are used for drying inks and coatings, curing adhesives and plastics, disinfecting surfaces, and in the simulation of natural sunlight. The Company´s business activities focus also on the development and sale of industrial adhesives and casting compounds. The Group is represented worldwide at 50 locations in more than 20 countries by own companies and sales partners. Further inquiry note: Peter Weinert Tel.: +49 89 85608 173 E-Mail: peter.weinert@hoenle.de Web: www.hoenle.de end of announcement euro adhoc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- company: Dr. Hönle AG Lochhamer Schlag 1 D-82166 Gräfeling/München phone: +49 89 85608 0 FAX: +49 89 85608 101 mail: ir@hoenle.de WWW: www.hoenle.de sector: Instrument Engineering ISIN: DE0005157101 indexes: CDAX, Prime All Share, Technology All Share stockmarkets: free trade: Hannover, Berlin, München, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, regulated dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt language: English