DGAP-News: H&R WASAG AG achieves a good quarterly result in difficult circumstances

H&R WASAG AG / Quarter Results

14.05.2009 

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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- Especially due to the price of crude oil, turnover falls to EUR
159.4million (Q1 2008: EUR 229.1 million)
- EBITDA margin increases to 11.4 % (Q1 2008: 9.3 %)
- EBITDA at EUR 18.2 million (Q1 2008: EUR 21.2 million)
- Approval issued for silica sand mining

Salzbergen, 14 May 2009

In extremely difficult circumstances, H&R WASAG AG increased the EBITDA
margin to 11.4 % (Q1 2008: 9.3 %) in the 1st quarter. Although the company
had already partially passed on the falling raw materials costs to the
customers, in the 1st quarter it was possible to significantly compensate
for the drop in turnover due to previously fixed price agreements with the
customers. While turnover fell by 30.4 % to EUR 159.4 million, the
operating earnings clearly fell disproportionately by comparison. At EUR
18.2 million, EBITDA was only 14.2 % below the figure for the previous
year. EBIT reached EUR 13.9 million (Q1 2008: EUR 17.3 million), and the
annual surplus for the group came in at EUR 8.5 million (Q1 2008: EUR 11.0
million), with the result per share at EUR 0.28 after EUR 0.36 in the 1st
quarter of 2008. 'The chemical-pharmaceutical segments were still profiting
at the start of the quarter from price agreements with customers that were
made on the basis of higher crude oil prices,' says Gert Wendroth, Chairman
of the Executive Board at H&R WASAG AG.

Economic crisis affects divisions to varying degrees

The Chemical-Pharmaceutical Raw Materials Division therefore initially
recorded a good margin level for crude oil-based specialty products at the
beginning of the quarter. However, the falling sales prices over the course
of the quarter - while crude oil prices were once again increasing slightly
- worsened the revenue situation considerably. The production of the
groups' own refineries was readjusted to the poor demand resulting from the
state of the market. The 'Project 40' capacity-expansion project, which was
only just successfully completed in the 1st quarter of 2009, has thus not
yet been able to display its full effect. Wendroth says, 'The investment
decision will still pay off in full, just as soon as the demand for crude
oil-based specialty products goes up again.'
An increase in orders is already becoming perceptible.
The considerably smaller Plastics Division suffered significantly worse
under the market downturn. The slump in orders, particularly in the
automotive business, brought turnover down to EUR 8.9 million (Q1 2008: EUR
13.0 million). Cost reduction measures such as the introduction of reduced
working hours have cushioned the effects on the business result, however.
Despite the considerable reduction in turnover, the EBITDA still stood at
EUR 0.1 million (Q1 2008: EUR 1.2 million).

Approval obtained for mining deposits of silica sand

After a complex application process, H&R WASAG AG has finally obtained the
licence for the overall operations plan to mine deposits of silica sand on
the property owned by the group at Haltern am See. This licence is an
essential prerequisite in obtaining further licences for sand mining and
processing. The company will investigate the various options for the
extraction of the deposits. 'We will consider carefully, and select the
technical solution that creates the most value for our shareholders,'
explains Financial Director Andreas Keil.

Cautious outlook for the fiscal year 2009

The current slim margin level for many products of theChemical-Pharmaceutical Raw Materials Division leaves a repetition of the
very good results achieved in the 1st quarter looking very ambitious from
today's perspective.
'For the second half of the year, however, we are once again assuming that
margins and sales figures will be increasing both domestically and
internationally,' says Niels H. Hansen. The considerably smaller Plastics
Division, by contrast, is anticipated to suffer throughout the entire
fiscal year under the slump in demand, particularly from the automotive
industry. Despite the efficiency-boosting and cost reduction measures, an
improvement of the situation there is expected in 2010 at the earliest.

The next scheduled dates:
28 May 2009  Shareholders' Meeting in Hamburg
14 August 2009   Publication of the report on the 2nd quarter 2009
12 November 2009 Publication of the report on the 3rd quarter 2009


H&R WASAG Group:
The SDAX-listed company H&R WASAG AG is active in the field of specialty
chemicals, in the development and manufacture of chemical-pharmaceutical
specialty products based on crude oil, and in the production of precision
plastic parts. In the individual divisions, the group company is positioned
as a market and/or technological leader with excellent perspectives.


Contact:
H&R WASAG AG
Investor Relations / Public Relations 
Christian Pokropp
Neuenkirchenerstraße 8, 48499 Salzbergen
Tel.: 040-43218-321, Fax: 040-43218-390 
Mail: Christian.Pokropp@hur-wasag.de
www.hur-wasag.com


DGAP 14.05.2009 
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Language:     English
Issuer:       H&R WASAG AG
              Neuenkirchener Str. 8
              48499 Salzbergen
              Deutschland
Phone:        +49 (0)40 43 218 321 
Fax:          +49 (0)40 43 218 390
E-mail:       investor.relations@hur-wasag.de
Internet:     www.hur-wasag.de
ISIN:         DE0007757007
WKN:          775700
Indices:      SDAX
Listed:       Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Hamburg,
              Düsseldorf; Freiverkehr in Berlin, Hannover, München,
              Stuttgart
End of News                                     DGAP News-Service
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