A.S. Création Tapeten AG / Half Year Results/Interim Report 02.08.2010 08:09 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 -------------------------------------------------- ------ ------ ------- 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|]]]|] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DGAP-News: A.S. Création reports 21% earnings growth in H1 2010 and projects significant improvement in earnings for the full year 2010
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