euro adhoc: Westag & Getalit AG
Quarterly or Semiannual Financial Statements /
Rise in cost of materials weighs on H1 2005 results; AGM endorses 2004 dividend
payments of EUR 0.48 per ordinary share and EUR 0.54 per preference share
Disclosure announcement transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement.
09.08.2005
According to the figures released by the Federal Statistical Office, incoming orders in the German building construction sector continued to decline in 2005, shrinking by 10.0% between January to May. Despite this challenging environment Westag & Getalit AG was able to largely maintain its level of half-year sales which came in at EUR 82.6 million, compared to EUR 84.2 million in the same period of 2004 (-1.8%). Export sales rose by 15.4% to EUR 16.3 million. The export share stood at 19.8% in the first half of the year, meaning that we have effectively reached the 20% export share repeatedly pointed to in our guidance. All three divisions contributed double-digit growth rates to this result.
Earnings before income taxes in the first half of 2005 amounted to EUR 1,460 thousand, which was clearly lower than in the same period of the previous year (EUR 3,246 thousand). This development was chiefly caused by considerably higher raw materials prices. DVFA/SG earnings per share were down to EUR 0.16 (2004: EUR 0.37).
Todays Annual General Meeting in Rheda-Wiedenbrück endorsed the payment of a dividend of EUR 0.48 per ordinary share (previous year: EUR 0.28) and of EUR 0.54 per preference share (previous year: EUR 0.34) for the financial year 2004.
The situation in our industry remains characterised by oversupply and a continuing lack of positive stimulation for consumers to give up their spending restraint. All the indications are that demand in Germany will remain weak. We therefore seek to lower our personnel expense ratio even further by way of additional rationalisation measures as well as through the agreement of more flexible working hours. The third quarter of the year brought the first declines in raw materials prices and we hope that this trend will continue. Notwithstanding the pressure on our prices, we believe that current developments support our expectation of appropriate earnings to be reported also for the full financial year, even though it will not be possible to match the very good profit level of the previous year.
end of announcement euro adhoc 09.08.2005 12:34:04
Further inquiry note:
Felix Huisgen
Tel.: +49 (0)5242 17 5350
E-Mail: huisgen@westag-getalit.de
Branche: Building materials
ISIN: DE0007775207
WKN: 777520
Index: Prime Standard, Prime All Share
Börsen: Berliner Wertpapierbörse / free trade
Baden-Württembergische Wertpapierbörse / free trade
Börse Düsseldorf / free trade
Bremer Wertpapierbörse (BWB) / free trade
Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse / official dealing