Eckert & Ziegler Strahlen- und Medizintechnik AG

Earnings Release • Mar 28, 2008

News Details

Corporate | 28 March 2008 07:45

Successful 2007 financial year: Eckert & Ziegler increases sales and pre-tax profit

ECKERT & ZIEGLER Strahlen- und Medizintechnik AG / Final Results

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Berlin, 28 March 2008 -- In the past 2007 financial year, Eckert & Ziegler
Strahlen- und Medizintechnik AG again increased its sales and, thanks to
largely organic growth, it surpassed the new Group record high of EUR 54
million. In December, quarterly sales of over EUR 15 million were recorded
for the first time. Compared with the previous year, the increase in annual
sales equates to growth of 8%. When adjusted to take account of the effects
of exchange-rate fluctuations, the Group’s total sales were roughly EUR
56.4 million and therefore 12% higher than in the previous year.

At EUR 2.2 million, Group profit for the year was 12% below the profit of
2006 (EUR 2.5 million) and therefore EUR 0.28 per share below the forecast
presented by the Group management at the start of the year. The reason for
the difference was essentially the business tax reform, which was passed
after the forecast was published and forced a reassessment of the Group’s
deferred taxes and therefore value adjustments which do not have an effect
on cash amounting to EUR 0.27 per share. The value adjustments appear in
the Group profit and loss account in the Income tax expense row.

Without the special effect resulting from the business tax reform, profit
would have been around EUR 2.8 million and therefore EUR 0.89 per share as
forecast. It would thus have increased by 25% compared with the previous
year (EUR 0.71). A substantial part of this improvement is down to the fact
that in the year under review no special amortization was required for
development projects which were dropped. In the previous year, they had
reduced revenue by EUR 0.6 million. In addition, the Group’s financial
result and minority shares combined were EUR 0.2 million better than in
2006.

In the case of profit before tax and minorities, the Group result for 2007
was EUR 4.9 million, an increase of 4% over the previous year’s result (EUR
4.7 million). With roughly the same burden of interest (EUR 0.8 million) as
in 2006, this resulted in EBIT of EUR 5.7 million in 2007. In relation to
sales, this equates to an EBIT margin of approx. 10%.

Compared with the previous year, earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell by 7 % to EUR 9.4 million. This
was caused by amortization that fell by EUR 0.8 million to 3.7 million
compared with the previous year. This resulted from the fact that in 2007
in the Therapy segment a series of capital-intensive production lines
became entirely self-financing. In addition, 2006 was a year with a
particularly high amortization volume which stands out from the trend seen
over previous years. By contrast, the values for 2005 and 2004, namely EUR
3.9 million and 3.7 million, correspond roughly to the 2007 value stated
above.

Segment developments

The main driver of growth in sales in 2007 was the Radiopharmaceuticals
segment, which increased by 59% from EUR 5,4 million to EUR 8,6 million.
Half of the increase in sales was attributable to the new Modular Lab range
of synthesis equipment, with the other half resulting from the successful
expansion of the contrast media business to Poland and the sales achieved
by the new subsidiary company Eckert & Ziegler EURO-PET Köln/Bonn GmbH
(previously MC Pharma). Sales also developed well in the Therapy segment
and reached a level of EUR 20.8 million, which corresponds to an increase
of 5% compared with the previous year.

The Group’s largest segment, the Nuclear Imaging and Industry segment, is
predominantly active in the dollar zone and achieved nominally consistent
sales (EUR 25.0 million). When adjusted to take account of exchange rates,
this resulted in an increase in revenue for the segment of approx. 7% and
an accounting increase in sales to EUR 26.9 million. The segment
contributed EUR 0.90 per share prior to minorities to the Group’s earnings
and was thus again the most profitable segment for the Group, which has
three divisions. EUR 0.24 per share were generated in the Therapy segment.
In the Radiopharmaceuticals segment, the loss was reduced, with an almost
balanced operating result, by 45% from EUR 0.53 to EUR 0.29 per share.

Balance sheet and capital flow

The changes on the balance sheet were relatively minor in 2007 and
dominated by the acquisition of the new subsidiary Eckert & Ziegler
EURO-PET Köln/Bonn GmbH. The balance sheet total rose slightly by EUR 3.4
million or 5% to EUR 67.6 million; the equity ratio fell slightly by 3% to
54%. The fluctuations were relatively stable within the parameters of
recent years, including with the equity yield and total equity yield, which
were each one percent lower than in the previous year and were 5% and 3%,
respectively.

The Group’s key liquidity figures displayed an excellent trend. Cash flow
from operating activities in particular was robust, achieving a record
level of EUR 6.6 million, the highest level seen in the last four years. It
was EUR 2.0 million or 45% above the equivalent figure for the previous
year.

Outlook

Within the scope of a merger of the implant divisions of Eckert & Ziegler
and the Belgian company International Brachytherapy S.A. (IBt), in February
2008 Eckert Ziegler became the principal shareholder in its former
competitor. As international accounting regulations mean that Eckert &
Ziegler will have to consolidate IBt in future, the Group expects this to
yield additional sales of roughly EUR 10 million in 2008. Together with its
own organic growth and the boost to sales resulting from the initial
consolidation of the company MC Pharma acquired over the course of the last
year, total revenue of roughly EUR 70 million is anticipated. In terms of
earnings, the Executive Board expects to generate one euro per share.

Both the sales and earnings forecasts assume that the dollar is able to
roughly maintain its value against the euro, and that no one-off effects
which have an impact on earnings result from the entering in the books of
the purchase price and initial consolidation of IBt.

The Executive Board

Your contact:

Eckert & Ziegler AG
Thomas Scheuch, Investor Relations, Robert-Rössle-Str. 10, D-13125 Berlin
phone: +49 (0) 30 / 94 10 84-139; fax –112; e-mail: thomas.scheuch@ezag.de,
www.ezag.de

28.03.2008 Financial News transmitted by DGAP

Language: English
Issuer: ECKERT & ZIEGLER Strahlen- und Medizintechnik AG
Robert-Rössle-Str. 10
13125 Berlin
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)30 941 084-0
Fax: +49 (0)30 941 084-112
E-mail: thomas.scheuch@ezag.de
Internet: www.ezag.de
ISIN: DE0005659700
WKN: 565970
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Stuttgart;
Freiverkehr in Berlin, München, Hamburg, Düsseldorf

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