Surteco Group SE

Earnings Release • Aug 10, 2007

News Details

Ad-hoc | 10 August 2007 07:31

SURTECO AG continues to make very good progress

SURTECO AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT / Half Year Results

Release of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmitted by
DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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Positive sales and income again provide impressive confirmation of leading
market position for the surface specialist

Buttenwiesen-Pfaffenhofen, 10 August 2007 – SURTECO AG impressively
reaffirmed its leading market position worldwide as specialist for surface
technologies in the first half of 2007 with an increase in sales of 2 % to
€ 209.1 million and a significant rise of 10 % in consolidated net income
to slightly in excess of € 16 million. The Group is among the leading
suppliers of products such as decorative papers, flat foils and
edgebandings to the construction and furnishing industries and these
results continue the good track record of results from the previous year.
SURTECO AG finished the fiscal year 2006 as the best year in the company’s
history with sales of € 403.2 million (+2 %) and consolidated net income of
€ 28.8 million (+32 %).

SURTECO AG has grouped the activities of the Döllken Group in the Strategic
Business Unit (SGE) Plastics and the results of this business unit are
particularly gratifying. Sales rose by 7 % in the second quarter alone.
Sales for the half year amounted to € 122.2 million, 4 % above the
equivalent year-earlier figures. Domestic business again played a tangible
role in this performance, benefiting from a particularly good first quarter
(+7 %) and increasing sales to German customers to € 43.8 million. The
performance of product segment plastic edgings generated significant
momentum for the SBU Plastics. SURTECO AG is a world leader for plastic
edgings and again succeeded in increasing an already high level of sales by
9 %.

The business with coating products applied to papers for technical
applications (e.g. flat foils for the furnishing industry) continued to
present difficulties. SURTECO AG operates this business segment in the
Strategic Business Unit (SBU) Paper. While the Group mainly advanced with
the SBU Plastics abroad (+6 %), sales for the half year generated by the
SBU Paper at € 86.9 million lagged 2 % behind the comparative sales for
2006 on account of a decline in sales for individual foreign markets.
Although the Group succeeded in stabilizing paper sales at € 32.3 million,
the sustained downward price spiral, in particular for pre-impregnated
foils, has been exerting a strong negative impact on the business. However,
SURTECO AG is not dismayed by the situation, rather it is responding to the
situation with innovative specialist solutions and high levels of quality.
Bausch Decor GmbH is a member of the SBU Paper and the company is
demonstrating that 'specialization at a high level is the right strategy by
increasing foreign sales in specialist printed decorative papers for the
first half of 2007 by 21 %, even though the market environment is generally
fraught overall.

The very gratifying performance of SURTECO AG overall during the first half
of the year is more than confirmed by the disproportionate growth in
figures for earnings: EBITDA went up to 8 % to € 39.2 million. EBIT rose
from € 27.2 million to € 29.9 million. The group of companies is making
very good progress with a return on sales of 12.5 % and 10 % increase in
consolidated net income and looks set to continue this trend through to the
end of the year. Provided that there is no change in the key framework
conditions for SURTECO AG, the Group is likely to again improve on the
previous year’s figures for sales and income to report another set of
'record figures'.

The performance of SURTECO AG, which some time ago increased the free float
from 19.9 % to 23.7 % in order further open up the opportunities presented
by the equity market, has also been rewarded by the stock market: The
SURTECO share was listed with a price of € 40.20 on 29 June 2007, 23 % up
on the price quoted at the beginning of the year.

At the Annual General meeting on 31 August, the Board of Management and
Supervisory Board will propose to the shareholders a 25 % increase in
dividend for 2006 to € 1.00. SURTECO AG is not only acknowledging the
gratifying performance in the previous year but also taking account of the
positive trend during the current fiscal year.
DGAP 10.08.2007

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Language: English
Issuer: SURTECO AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
Johan-Viktor-Bausch-Str. 2
86647 Buttenwiesen-Pfaffenhofen
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)8274 99 88-0
Fax: +49 (0)8274 99 88-5 05
E-mail: g.schneller@surteco.com
Internet: www.surteco.com
ISIN: DE0005176903
WKN: 517 690
Indices:
Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), München;
Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart

End of News DGAP News-Service

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