DGAP-Adhoc: SURTECO SE: Satisfactory result despite

SURTECO SE / Half Year Results/Interim Report

11.08.2009 

Release of a Adhoc News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Buttenwiesen-Pfaffenhofen, 11 August 2009 - The global economic and
financial crisis continues to cause concern at SURTECO SE. The negative
trend experienced during the first three months of this year continued and
the leading international supplier for the construction and furniture
industry continued to have to contend with sales and income figures during
the second quarter of the current business year that were significantly
below comparative levels for the previous year. The significant downturn in
export business exerted a particularly negative impact on the Group. Export
sales plummeted by 26 percent during the first half year of 2009 to 105.7
million euros. The effects of the crisis were particularly evident in
European countries outside Germany: SURTECO had to accommodate falls in
sales amounting to 29 percent. By contrast, domestic business only declined
by 15 percent to a half-year figure of 63.0 million euros. This can almost
be referred to as a 'success' in a market where industries across the world
are having to implement cutbacks in production capacities, and shutdowns.

SURTECO responded in good time to the absence of improvement in the
economic situation and introduced appropriate restructuring and
optimization measures at its production sites. This involved the closure of
the edging-tape plant in Canada and transfer of melamine edgebanding
production from Buttenwiesen to Sassenberg. Appropriate action such as
implementation of flexible employment models was part of the package of
measures adopted by SURTECO to safeguard the short-term liquidity and
income of the company. The aim is to build on this platform to reinforce
the company's leading position in the markets served by SURTECO over the
long term. These measures are essential because there are currently no
tangible reference points indicating any improvement in the general
economic situation.

SURTECO operates with two independent divisions in the segments plastic
products and surface coating materials based on specialist technical
papers. The Strategic Business Unit (SBU) Plastics and the SBU Paper were
subject to sales deficits in the same order of magnitude (-22 percent)
during the first half of 2009. These falls are almost exclusively due to
economic influences. Based on the sales revenues for the half year
amounting to 106.0 million euros at the SBU Plastics and 62.7 million euros
at the SBU Paper, the SURTECO Group generated an operating result of 28.4
million euros (2008: 39.1 million euros) on total sales of 168.7 million
euros. The EBITDA margin changed from 18.1 percent to 16.9 percent during
the period under review. EBIT fell back by 37 percent and amounted to 18.4
million euros after six months.

Despite the exceptionally difficult framework conditions, SURTECO SE
continued to reduce its net indebtedness by 30 million euros to 141.3
million euros during the first six months of the current year. In
conjunction with an increase in equity ratio from 36.8 to 39.4 percent,
gearing improved to 76 percent. It is evident here that the cost reduction
programmes of the company are taking effect. The same principle applies to
the long-term 'PREIS' project (productive, return, efficient, innovative,
speedy). This project is intended to make annual savings totalling more
than 10 million euros from 2010 onwards.
DGAP 11.08.2009 
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Language:     English
Issuer:       SURTECO SE
              Johan-Viktor-Bausch-Str. 2
              86647 Buttenwiesen-Pfaffenhofen
              Deutschland
Phone:        +49 (0)8274 99 88-0
Fax:          +49 (0)8274 99 88-5 05
E-mail:       g.schneller@surteco.com
Internet:     www.surteco.com
ISIN:         DE0005176903
WKN:          517 690
Listed:       Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), MÃ¼nchen;
              Freiverkehr in Berlin, DÃ¼sseldorf, Stuttgart
 
End of News                                     DGAP News-Service
 
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DGAP-Adhoc: SURTECO SE: Satisfactory result despite economic crisis
