A.S. Création Tapeten AG / Half Year Results/Interim Report
02.08.2010 08:09
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A.S. Création reports 21% earnings growth in H1 2010 and projects
significant improvement in earnings for the full year 2010.
A.S. Création Tapeten AG, Europe's leading wallpaper manufacturer, today
published the report for the six-month period ended June 30, 201. A summary
is provided below:
Sales hit new record
A.S. Création boosted its consolidated first-half sales by 2.0% from EUR
91.9 million in the previous year to a new historical high of EUR 93.8
million in 2010. This successful performance is attributable to sales
revenues generated in the European Union, which increased by 3.2%. This
region meanwhile accounts for 82.3% of A.S. Création's total Group sales.
The Managing Board was disappointed with the sales trend in non-EU Eastern
European countries, where first-half sales were 9.7% below the low level of
the previous year.
Improved earnings position in both divisions
Commodity prices have picked up markedly since the end of the first quarter
2010. Nevertheless, A.S. Création's product range policy enable the company
to maintain the gross profit margin at 50.0%, i.e. above the prior year
level of 48.6%. Together with the higher sales revenues, this led to an
improved earnings position. At EUR 7.0 million, earnings before taxes were
up by 24.1% on the previous year's EUR 5.7 million, while the return on
sales before taxes rose to 7.5% (previous year: 6.2%). The Managing Board
of A.S. Création is extremely satisfied that both the Wallpaper Division
and the Furnishing Fabrics Division contributed to the improvement in
earnings and that the Furnishing Fabrics Division was profitable and
reported a pre-tax profit of EUR 0.1 million, compared to a loss of EUR 0.2
million in the first half of 2009. Net income after taxes amounted to EUR
4.8 million in the first half of the year, which represents an increase by
20.7% on the previous year's EUR 4.0 million.
Very stable financial position
The improvement in the company's financial position, which began already in
2009, continued in the first six months of 2010. Net financial liabilities
were reduced by EUR 1.3 million from EUR 20.6 million on December 31, 2009
to EUR 19.3 million on June 30, 2010 and the equity ratio stood at 51.5% on
June 30, 2010 (June 30, 2009: 49.8%). The financial structure of A.S.
Création thus remains robust and sound.
Guidance for 2010 put into more concrete terms
The Managing Board is satisfied with the results of the first half of 2010.
Uncertain conditions are expected for the second half of the year. In
particular, the continued upward trend in commodity prices and the
aggressive price competition on the sales side are likely to weigh on the
gross profit margin. The Managing Board of A.S. Création nevertheless
expects both sales revenues and earnings to improve, with Group sales
projected to come in at EUR 185 million to 190 million (2009: EUR 181.3
million) and net income expected to amount to EUR 8.5 million to 9.5
million (2009: EUR 7.5 million).
The Group's key figures for the first six months of 2010 are summarised
below:
01.01.- 01.01.-
30.06. 30.06.
2010 2009 Change
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Sales EUR' 000 93,764 91,900 2.0 %
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) EUR' 000 8,046 6,712 19.9 %
Earnings before income taxes EUR' 000 7,034 5,667 24.1 %
Net profit EUR' 000 4,800 3,976 20.7 %
Earnings per share EUR/share 1.74 1.44 20.8 %
Cash-flow EUR' 000 9,434 8,450 11.6 %
Capital expenditures EUR' 000 3,348 2,557 30.9 %
Depreciation EUR' 000 4,892 4,558 7.3 %
Number of employees (average) 769 802 -4.1 %
Gummersbach, August 2, 2010
A.S. Création Tapeten AG
The Managing Board
The full interim report is available at:
www.as-creation.de
or from:
A.S. Création Tapeten AG,
Mrs. Börngen,
Südstr. 47,
D - 51645 Gummersbach,
phone +49-22 61-542 350,
e-mail: investor@as-creation.de
Contact:
Maik Krämer
Vorstand Finanzen
Südstr. 47
D-51645 Gummersbach
Telefon + 49 - (0)22 61/542-387
Fax + 49 - (0)22 61/542-304
E-Mail: m.kraemer@as-creation.de
02.08.2010 08:09 Ad hoc announcement, Financial News and Press Release distributed by DGAP. Medienarchiv at |[![CDATA[|[a href="http://www.dgap-medientreff.de"|]www.dgap-medientreff.de|[/a|]]]|] and |[![CDATA[|[a href="http://www.dgap.de"|]www.dgap.de|[/a|]]]|]
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Language: English
Company: A.S. Création Tapeten AG
SüdstraÃe 47
51645 Gummersbach
Deutschland
Phone: +49 22 61 54 2-0
Fax: +49 22 61 54 2-3 04
E-mail: investor@as-creation.de
Internet: http://www.as-creation.de
ISIN: DE0005079909
WKN: 507990
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin, München, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Hamburg
End of News DGAP News-Service
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DGAP-News: A.S. Création reports 21% earnings growth in H1 2010 and projects significant improvement in earnings for the full year 2010
| Source: EQS Group AG