euro adhoc: Mühlbauer Holding AG & Co.KGaA
quarterly or semiannual financial
statement
'Ad-hoc message pursuant to § 15 WpHG'
Significant increase in earnings gives Mühlbauer a positive start to the new
financial year - Strong growth in core ...
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3-month report
28.04.2008
Roding, 28 April 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, started the current financial year with a significant increase in order income and sales and thereby continued the positive business development characterizing the previous quarters. The technology group profited from the intensification of orders placed for the introduction of security-oriented ID systems and its strong positioning as provider of complete technology and software solutions.
While the Mühlbauer Group recorded sales of EUR 43.2 million*, surpassing sales in the comparable quarter of the previous year (EUR 34.6 million) by 24.9%, EBIT increased also due to the relative decline in cost of sales by 80.8% to EUR 7.1 million (PY: EUR 3.9 million). This resulted in an EBIT ratio at the reporting date of 16.4% (PY: 11.3%). EBT climbed as a result - profiting from the positive development of the financial result (EUR 0.5 million; PY: EUR 0.2 million) - to EUR 7.6 million from EUR 4.2 million. After the deduction of tax expenses, Mühlbauer generated net earnings for the period of EUR 5.7 million, also significantly higher than in the comparable period of the previous year (PY: EUR 2.5 million). This positive development was primarily due to the impact of the reduced tax rate of 25.4% (PY: 39.5%) as a result of the Corporate Tax Reform 2008. Earnings per share more than doubled. The share price of EUR 0.39 increased markedly over the comparable quarter of the previous year (EUR 0.16).
Free cashflow for the technology group also improved significantly in the reporting period. Despite the expected increase in working capital due to higher business volume, free cashflow increased to EUR +2.3 million (PY: EUR -0.1 million), particularly as a result of the rise in earnings and lower investment expenses. The equity ratio was 80.2%, decreasing only slightly from the previous year (81.2%).
Additionally the order book of the technology group showed a positive trend: Order income improved in the first three months of 2008 by 42.9% to EUR 48.2 million compared to the same period of the previous year (EUR 33.7 million). The largest share of order income was from the business area SmartID, which increased by 79.3% to EUR 32.0 million from EUR 17.8 million and which profited, among other things, from the demand for technology solutions for the personalization of ID documents. Notable growth was also generated in the business areas Traceability and Precision Parts & Systems: Traceability increased its order income by 34.0% to EUR 4.6 million (PY: EUR 3.4 million); Precision Parts & Systems exceeded last year´s order income by 24.3% to EUR 6.0 million (PY: EUR 4.8 million). However, order income from Semiconductor Related Products continued to weaken, falling by 26.3% to EUR 5.6 million from EUR 7.7 million due to the deceleration of the growth dynamics in the semiconductor market. At the end of the first quarter, order backlog for the globally active technology group increased by 1.5% to EUR 76.9 million compared to the previous year´s value (75.8).
The technology group Mühlbauer anticipates positive developments in both sales and earnings for the current year. Mühlbauer expects that sales growth in the core business SmartID area will be strongly affected by the product area Cards & TECURITY®. For this reason, the continuing transformation process undertaken by numerous countries and authorities to introduce new security oriented ID documents in the Smart Card and passport format and the additional conversion of conventional bank/EMV cards to chips as well as the increasing demand for SIM cards is of particular significance for the development of the business area SmartID. In the area of Semiconductor Related Products, Mühlbauer is forcing the market maturity of new product solutions in order to further expand its market position in selected niches. Additionally the positive trend in the business areas Traceability and Precision Parts & Systems should be continued. Strategically, Mühlbauer will continue to press ahead with the company´s internationalization process. By having commenced the construction of a state-of-the-art Customer Relation Center, the company´s positioning in the United States will be strengthened, while the strategic expansion of the development location in the Slovakian city Nitra is progressing as planned.
*Sales figures are gross values before subtraction of any deductions on sales proceeds of EUR 0.1 million (PY: EUR 0.1 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.
end of announcement euro adhoc
Further inquiry note:
Hubert Forster
CFO
+49(0)9461-952-1141
hubert.forster@muehlbauer.de
Branche: Machine Manufacturing
ISIN: DE0006627201
WKN: 662720
Index: Nemax 50, CDAX, Prime All Share, Technologie All Share
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