DGAP-News: schlott gruppe presents provisional figures for 2007/08 and planning for 2008/09

schlott gruppe Aktiengesellschaft / Preliminary Results/Forecast

05.11.2008 

Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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schlott gruppe presents provisional figures for 2007/08 and planning for
2008/09

- Targets for financial year 2007/08 clearly achieved
- Cost reduction programme brings major savings 
- Dividend proposal: €0.50 per share
- No improvement expected in market in FY 2008/09: 
  slight decline in VAS; earnings affected by general economic climate,
  cost of energy and raw materials; results helped by cost-reduction
  programme, EBT expected to reach break-even

Freudenstadt, November 5, 2008. schlott gruppe today publishes its
provisional figures for the financial year 2007/08 and confirms its
previously announced expectations.

Value-added sales (VAS) stood at €239.1 million compared to €251.7 million
in the preceding year. Revenue reached €468.6 million after €482.2 million.
The cost-reduction programme was implemented as planned in 2007/08 and has
already helped to cut staff costs by a significant margin. In total, before
deducting the non-recurring expense associated with the cost-reduction
programme, EBT stood at €0.5 million compared to €11.0 million in the
previous year. The non-recurring expense is expected to be €13.0 million.
In addition, the loss produced by the sale of the group’s sachsendruck
subsidiary, which is anticipated in the near-term, will be accounted for in
the old financial year.

The print division achieved VAS of €236.0 million (€247.8 million) in FY
2007/08, with tonnage practically unchanged. EBT before non-recurring
expenses stood at €3.8 million after €12.9 million in the preceding year.
The non-recurring expense in the print division is made up of €12.5 million
resulting from comprehensive staff reductions related to the cost-reduction
programme.

The group’s results as a whole are predominantly determined by the
performance of the print division. The costs at the corporate services
division, which solely provides in-house services for the group, were
within the planned range, including the attributable part of the
cost-reduction programme of €0.5 million.

The main factor affecting business in the sector was again seasonal excess
capacity. Thus, the trend was for capacity in the print industry as a whole
to be under-utilised; on the other hand, quantities at schlott gruppe
remained stable. Pressure on prices continued in addition to the price
discounts that had to be accepted during the course of the last financial
year. Overall, the situation of the industry weakened further over the
year.

Given the greater uncertainty on the capital marktes in the light of the
banking crisis, the Management Board and the Supervisory Board have already
discussed their dividend proposal to the Annual General Meeting for the
financial year 2007/08. The Management Board and the Supervisory Board will
propose a dividend of €0.50 per share after €1.00 in the previous year.
Boath are thus continuing a long-established dividend policy based on
stability and earnings performance.

Looking ahead to the current financial year 2008/09, schlott gruppe does
not anticipate an improvement in the market situation in the print
industry. Consequently, it expects little change in tonnage and a slight
fall in VAS.

The planned figures for 2008/09 already take into account the sale of the
group’s subsidiary sachsendruck, which is on the point of completion.
Following the sale, schlott gruppe will focus even more closely on the
production of catalogues, magazines and inserts for publishers and the
advertising industry, using gravure and web offset techniques and providing
a comprehensive range of further processing services.

With the loss of VAS from sachsendruck of around €14 million, schlott
gruppe anticipates VAS of over €215 million for the current financial year.

The savings made as a result of the cost reduction programme, which was
implemented in the reporting year and included in the income statement for
FY 2007/08, will take full effect during the course of FY 2008/09 and bring
about a substantial improvement especially in terms of staff costs.
However, on the expenditure side, energy and raw materials costs are
higher.

Overall, the further reduction in personnel costs, lower other operating
costs, scheduled lower levels of depreciation and an improvement in the
financial result due to the consequent further reduction of net debt will
lead to an appreciable cut in the total expense ratio. Accordingly, the
company anticipates a modest but positive figure for EBT despite the
renewed fall in VAS.
Ongoing cost reduction measures remain on the agenda across the entire
group in addition to the cost reduction programme of the reporting year.

Further information about the year under review and the group’s forecasts
for 2008/09 will be available at the analysts’ conference to be held by
schlott gruppe as part of the German Equity Forum on 11 November 2008 in
Frankfurt.

Notes to financial data:
Alongside 'revenue/sales', schlott gruppe uses so-called 'value-added
sales' as a financial indicator – both in its external communications and
as part of its internal controlling mechanisms. Revenue is subject to
fluctuations that are beyond the company’s sphere of influence. These
fluctuations are attributable to the volume of paper supplied by customers
as raw material for certain projects: in contrast to paper purchased
directly by the company, paper supplied by customers is not included in the
accounts of schlott gruppe. In the 2007/8 financial year, the so-called
paper provision ratio was 72.0 per cent. As a financial indicator,
'value-added sales' eliminates fluctuations relating to paper supplied by
customers, thus reflecting the actual business per-formance.


schlott gruppe AG
Marco Walz
Investor Relations & PR
Wittlensweilerstr. 3
72250 Freudenstadt
Deutschland
Tel.: +49 7441 531-230
Fax : +49 7441 531-204
marco.walz@schlottgruppe.de
www.schlottgruppe.de


DGAP 05.11.2008 
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Language:     English
Issuer:       schlott gruppe Aktiengesellschaft
              Wittlensweilerstraße 3
              72250 Freudenstadt
              Deutschland
Phone:        +49 (0)7441 531-230
Fax:          +49 (0)7441 531-204
E-mail:       marco.walz@schlottgruppe.de
Internet:     www.schlottgruppe.de
ISIN:         DE0005046304
WKN:          504630
Listed:       Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
              in Berlin, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, München
End of News                                     DGAP News-Service
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