schlott gruppe Aktiengesellschaft / Quarter Results/Preliminary Results
23.01.2008
Release of a Corporate-announcement, 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: Q1 2007/8 in line with forecasts
- Start to financial year meets expectations
- Price levels develop as anticipated; reductions from previous year lead
to decline in VAS and EBT as expected
- Cost streamlining programme in progress; sub-projects implemented
Freudenstadt, January 23, 2008. As part of its financial results press
conference and analysts' meeting, schlott gruppe will today present its
annual report for the 2006/7 financial year and comment in detail on the
company's performance. The results for the financial year ended September
30, 2007, were released on January 11, 2008, following the Supervisory
Board meeting convened for the purpose of adopting the financial
statements.
In addition, schlott gruppe will today announce its preliminary results for
the first quarter of the 2007/8 financial year. Within this context, the
consolidated figures are to be presented on a comparable basis, i.e. the
direct marketing unit, which was disposed of effective from July 31, 2007,
and was thus still part of the Group in the first quarter of 2006/7, will
be presented as discontinued operations with regard to the preceding year,
in accordance with IFRS 5, with data being adjusted accordingly.
In the first quarter of the current financial year business performance at
schlott gruppe as well as the general price situation within the industry
as a whole were in line with forecasts. In contrast to the same quarter a
year ago, however, the anticipated price reductions forced upon the market
over the course of the last financial year impacted on the Group's
first-quarter results.
As a consequence, value-added sales at Group level receded from 69.3
million in the first quarter of 2006/7 to 65.2 million in Q1 2007/8.
Overall, capacity utilisation at schlott gruppe remained satisfactory.
Revenue increased to 127.5 million, up from 122.4 million. This was
attributable mainly to the consolidation of biegelaar and its particular
business structure: in contrast to the first quarter of 2006/7, when
biegelaar had only been part of the consolidated group for a period of two
months, the Dutch-based printer was consolidated for the full three months
in the first quarter of 2007/8. However, the impact on schlott gruppe's
other key financial indicators is minimal.
As anticipated, pricing pressures witnessed throughout the printing
industry over the course of last year led to a decline in earnings before
taxes (EBT) from 8.5 million in Q1 2006/7 to 3.1 million in the first
quarter of 2007/8. These figures do not yet include effects from the cost
reduction programme currently being implemented by the company.
The print business unit generated value-added sales of 64.2 million in the
first quarter of 2007/8, compared with 68.2 million in the same period a
year ago. EBT amounted to 4.1 million, after 9.1 million in the first
quarter of the previous financial year. At 0.3 million, the loss before
taxes incurred by the corporate services unit was significantly lower than
the loss of 1.1 million posted a year ago. This was attributable to
factors relating to the balance sheet date.
The first quarter saw the launch of schlott gruppe's cost reduction
programme, scheduled for a period of three years. The programme has already
been implemented at the Group's gravure printing facility in Freudenstadt,
producing a sustained reduction in costs of two million euros per annum.
The remaining measures within the overall package are to be executed as
scheduled, the aim being to rein back annual expenses within the Group by a
double-digit amount in the million-euro range. This will partially offset
recent price erosion and anticipated further price-related pressures as
early as the current financial year. As announced, the total expense
attributable to the cost reduction programme will amount to 15 million in
the 2007/8 financial year.
Against the backdrop of a challenging market environment, schlott gruppe
has begun the 2007/8 financial year with an encouraging performance
according to plan. In line with expectations, the Group has achieved
pre-tax profits that are well above par, thus laying the foundations for
break-even EBT before one-off charges, as forecast for the annual period as
a whole. The measures relating to the cost reduction programme will be
explained in detail at today's events.
schlott gruppe's report for the first quarter of FY 2007/8 is to be
published on February 6, 2008.
Notes to financial data:
Alongside 'revenue/sales', schlott gruppe uses so-called 'value-added
sales' (VAS) as a financial indicator both in its external communications
and as part of its internal controlling mechanisms. Revenue is subject to
fluctuations that 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 2006/7 financial year,
the so-called paper provision ratio stood at 72.5 per cent. As a financial
indicator, 'value-added sales' eliminates fluctuations relating to paper
supplied by customers, thus reflecting the actual sales performance.
schlott gruppe AG
Marco Walz
Investor Relations & PR
Wittlensweilerstr. 3
72250 Freudenstadt
Germany
Tel.: +49 7441 531-230
Fax : +49 7441 531-204
marco.walz@schlottgruppe.de
www.schlottgruppe.de
DGAP 23.01.2008
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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, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf
End of News DGAP News-Service
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DGAP-News: schlott gruppe: Q1 2007/8 in line with forecasts
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