A.S. Création Tapeten AG / Final Results 17.03.2010 09:54 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Press Release A.S. Création Tapeten AG, Gummersbach/Germany (ISIN DE0005079909) Managing Board satisfied with the performance in 2009 Group sales reach new record in 2009 due to acquisitions Thanks to the takeover of two French wallpaper wholesalers, MCF Investissement SAS und SCE -Société de conception et d'édition SAS, in December 2008, Group sales of A.S. Création reached a new historical high. A 2.9% increase in sales from the previous year's EUR 176.2 million to EUR 181.3 million in 2009 means that A.S. Création expanded its market position as the leading European wallpaper manufacturer. A stronger increase in Group sales was prevented by the situation in the Eastern European markets, where the depreciation of the local currencies, changes in customs regulations as well as financing constraints experienced by Eastern European customers impacted A.S. Création's exports. As a result, gross sales in this region were down by 50.1% on the previous year in 2009. Like-for-like sales (i.e. excluding the two French companies) declined by 17.8% in 2009. EBIT at the prior year level Due to the sales trend described above, A.S. Création was unable to fully utilise its production capacity in 2009. In spite of the resulting deterioration in the cost structure, the operating result came in at EUR 13.4 million, which was on a par with the previous year (EUR 13.5 million). While the EBIT margin deteriorated moderately from 7.7% in the previous year to 7.4% in fiscal 2009, it is still satisfactory given the macroeconomic environment. It is also positive that both the Wallpaper Division and the Furnishing Fabrics Division were profitable in 2009. At EUR 7.5 million, the Group's net profit for the year was down by 16.0% on the previous year's EUR 8.9 million, though. This was attributable to increased interest expenses and, above all, to accounting-related (non-cash) special effects. Excellent financial position As a result of the December 2008 acquisitions, A.S. Création's leverage at the beginning of the fiscal year 2009 was greatly increased. Due to the financing of the purchase price and the financial liabilities of the companies acquired, net financial liabilities rose to EUR 37.8 million as of December 31, 2008. In the course of 2009, the financial position of A.S. Création improved markedly. Between the beginning of the year and December 31, 2009, net financial liabilities were reduced by EUR 17.2 million to EUR 20.6 million. The equity ratio climbed to 51.8% as of the balance sheet date (previous year: 46.8%). The increased equity ratio and the reduced liabilities testify to A.S. Création's excellent financial position Reliable dividend policy A dividend of EUR 1.20 per share (previous year: EUR 1.40) will be proposed to the General Meeting of Shareholders. This dividend is equivalent to a payout ratio of 44.1% (previous year: 43.5%) based on earnings per share of EUR 2.72 (previous year: EUR 3.22). A.S. Création thus continues its traditional dividend policy, which provides for a high payout ratio as long as this is warranted by the company's financial situation, and underlines the excellent reputation of the A.S. Création share as a high-yield paper. Continued sales growth projected for 2010 The Managing Board projects a continued difficult market environment for 2010, which will be characterised by overcapacity and an upward trend in commodity and energy prices. In spite of this adverse environment, A.S. Création should be able to increase its sales, as the course for growing sales was set already in 2009, when the company stepped up its product development activities. In view of the large bandwidth of possible economic scenarios in the year 2010, the Managing Board currently feels unable to issue a reliable earnings forecast. The Group's key figures for 2009 at a glance: |[![CDATA[|[pre|]]]|] 2009 2008 Change Sales EUR '000 181,325 176,216 2.9% Earnings before interest and taxes EUR '000 13,428 13,502 - 0.5% (EBIT) Earnings before income taxes EUR '000 10,834 12,856 - 15.7% Net profit EUR '000 7,499 8,925 - 16.0% Earnings per share EUR/share 2.72 3.22 - 15.5% Cash-flow EUR '000 17,568 18,058 - 2.7% Capital expenditures EUR '000 5,771 23,893 - 75.8% Depreciation EUR '000 9,864 8,215 20.1% Number of employees (average) 787 719 9.5% |[![CDATA[|[/pre|]]]|] Gummersbach, March 17, 2010 A.S. Création Tapeten AG The Managing Board The full annual report is available at: www.as-creation.de or from: A.S. Création Tapeten AG Mrs. Börngen Südstr. 47 D - 51645 Gummersbach phone +49-(0)22 61/542-350 e-mail: investor@as-creation.de Kontakt: 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 17.03.2010 09:54 Ad hoc announcement, Financial News and Media 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 Tapeten AG: Managing Board satisfied with the performance in 2009
| Source: EQS Group AG