Increasing revenue from international business
Prenzlau (euro adhoc) -
aleo solar releases final nine-month figures for 2006
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After having announced preliminary figures on 7 November, aleo solar releases its final figures for the first 9 months of 2006. Total revenue was EUR 77.6 million (prior-year period: EUR 76.6 million). 9.2% of this figure was generated abroad, in comparison to only 0.3% in the prior-year period. Following the weak performance of the German market in the third quarter of 2006, Heiner Willers, Management Board member of aleo solar AG, sees the Company on track: "Major orders for customers in southern Europe are partially compensating for the slump on the German market. In addition, our German sales activities recorded a tangible recovery at the end of the third quarter. Further orders in the fourth quarter will allow us to reduce inventory levels significantly." The aleo solar Groups EBIT was EUR 6.8 million as at 30 September 2006 (prior-year period: EUR 11.8 million). This corresponds to an EBIT margin of 8.7%. Consolidated profit in the first nine months of 2006 was EUR 3.9 million, as opposed to EUR 7.1 million in the comparable period. For the year as a whole, aleo solar is confirming the forecast for fiscal year 2006 contained in its disclosure of 7 November 2006, and is continuing to anticipate target annual revenue of at least EUR 116 million. That means that growth will amount to at least 8.5%. In addition, the Management Board is continuing to expect a sound EBIT margin of 6-7% for full-year 2006 "We expect the procurement situation to ease in 2007: on the one hand, the procurement prices for solar cells are falling, while on the other new solar cell manufacturers, located primarily in Asia, are leading to increased competition on the supply side", said Jakobus Smit, the second Management Board member of aleo solar AG. "Purchase prices will start to improve in 2007 and we are anticipating even more pronounced easing on the silicon market from 2008 onwards. Linked to this, we expect aleo solars purchasing power to grow", Smit added.
"We shall systematically continue our strategy", he stressed, and sees aleo solar on the right track: "We are focusing on producing high-quality solar modules, ensuring access to thin-film technology and leveraging the premium aleo brand. Our internationalisation strategy is also paying off: for example, we are producing in Spain with Spanish employees and a Spanish sales force, which maintains contact with our customers and their financing partners, who know the local conditions extremely well." For 2007, aleo solar is expecting organic revenue to top the EUR 140 million mark, along with an ongoing sound EBIT margin.
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The company aleo solar AG, with its sales and distribution facilities in Oldenburg (Lower Saxony) and manufacturing facility in Prenzlau (Brandenburg), was founded in September 2001 and manufactures solar modules based on silicon cells. The manufacturing facility in Prenzlau has an annual capacity of 90 megawatts and is thus one of the largest solar module production sites. In 2005, the company achieved a turnover of 106.9 million euros with around 230 employees. Since July 2006, aleo solar AG (DE000A0JM634) has been listed on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. By acquiring shares in the Brandenburg-based technology company Johanna Solar Technology GmbH, aleo solar AG has gained access to the promising future of thin-film technology.
end of announcement euro adhoc 28.11.2006 00:30:39
Further inquiry note:
Yvonne Meyer
Investor Relations, Legal & Compliance
Telefon: +49(0)441-21988-77
E-Mail: Meyer@aleo-solar.de
Branche: Alternative energy
ISIN: DE000A0JM634
WKN: A0JM63
Index: CDAX, Technologie All Share, Prime All Share
Börsen: Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse / official dealing/prime standard
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