Earnings Release • Sep 15, 2009
Earnings Release
Open in ViewerOpens in native device viewer
World leader for aluminium anodising – www.coil.be ISIN: BE0160342011 - Reuters: COIL.PA - Bloomberg: COI FP
PRESS RELEASE Brussels, September 15th , 2009
Brussels - September 15th, 2009 (5:45 pm) – United Anodisers (formerly COIL), the world leader for aluminium anodising, is releasing its earnings for the first half of 2009, with an operating loss of €281,000 and €727,000 in negative net income.
The major global recession that has affected all industrial sectors had a significant impact on all of the Group's activities over the first half of 2009. The sudden and sharp drop in laminated aluminium prices at the end of 2008 notably led to a major destocking movement in the distribution chain over the period.
Set against this unprecedented context in the history of the Group, United Anodisers posted €11,094,000 in consolidated sales at June 30th, 2009, down 27.4% at constant exchange rates and 30.3% on a reported basis compared with the same period the previous year. The downturn in business, linked to an economic environment marked by a very clear wait-and-see approach, has been seen across the Group's various areas of expertise:
Face with this situation, United Anodisers has rolled out an active policy to drive down its costs, while adapting its investments and production capacity to the level of demand.
On continuous anodising, these measures have focused primarily on scaling down production capacity and concentrating production on a few lines. These actions have made it possible to maintain and even improve the gross margin rate, thanks to the savings achieved on energy, chemicals and packaging costs. Staff costs have also been able to be temporarily reduced, thanks to the implementation of temporary layoff measures.
On batch anodising, the improvement in business over the second quarter required production capacity to be maintained.
The other initiatives to safeguard the Group's financial resources have included improving the management of working capital, scaling down investments - except for those with quick paybacks – and reducing costs on non-operational functions.
United Anodisers recorded around €190,000 in total restructuring costs over the period. In the longer term, these efforts will pave the way for an improvement in profitability and cash flow when activity levels pick up again.
The marked drop in sales has had a major impact on the Group's earnings, with variable costs representing only around 30% of sales.
The gross profit came to €2,452,000, representing 22.1% of sales, compared with €3,752,000 at June 30th, 2008.
EBITDA totalled €982,000, compared with €2,902,000 for the same period the previous year, representing 8.8% of sales, versus 18.2% at June 30th , 2008.
Despite the positive contribution by the UK subsidiaries for €265,000, the sharp contraction in volumes on continuous anodising has had a major impact on consolidated operating income, which fell €1,599,000 to give a €281,000 loss, compared with €1,318,000 in income at June 30th , 2008.
On account of the reduction in the level of debt, interest expenses are down to €449,000 from €657,000 one year earlier.
On the whole, net income is negative at June 30th , 2009, coming in at €-727,000, compared with €409,000 in positive net income at June 30th , 2008.
After factoring in earnings for the first half of the year, the Group's shareholders' equity totalled €12.5 million at June 30th, 2009, compared with €14.7 million one year earlier.
Net financial debt is down to €12.4 million, compared with €14.1 million at June 30th, 2008, due to the repayment of debt on schedule, as well as the early repayment in March 2009 of a €320,000 acquisition loan in the UK.
A significant percentage of the remaining debt is covered by long terms, through to 2019 in Germany and 2022 in the UK.
Despite certain signs that the economic environment is stabilising, the recovery's scale and longevity are still very uncertain. In this climate, the Group is maintaining a cautious approach for its forecasts.
On continuous anodising, the significant upturn seen in aluminium prices since the end of the second quarter could point to an improvement in demand sooner or later.
On batch anodising, the Group expects the level of demand to be lower than 2008 (all time high in terms of sales), while business looks set to remain at 2007 levels.
In light of the usual impact of the annual closure of continuous lines for maintenance in the third quarter, it seems inevitable that earnings for the full year will be negative.
Following the adoption of the new corporate name "United Anodisers", the Company is informing the financial community about a change to its share's ticker symbol. From September 9 th , 2009, United Anodisers' 1,710,994 shares will now be identified with the following ticker: UAS. The ISIN (BE0160342011) is still the same following this change.
This change has been made following the adoption of the new corporate name by the Company's shareholders at their extraordinary general meeting on August 11th, 2009, coming into force on the same day. In this way, the Company's corporate name is now United Anodisers.
NYSE Euronext Paris published a bulletin on September 7 th , 2009 announcing that the new ticker symbol would be applicable as of the start of trading on September 9 th , 2009.
NEXT DATE: 2009 third-quarter sales in Week 43
UNITED ANODISERS, a Belgian Group listed on Euronext Paris Eurolist C since June 26th , 1996, is the world's largest architectural and industrial anodiser, specialising in the surface treatment of aluminium extrusions, castings and flat-rolled products.
Anodising is an electrochemical process - electrolysis - that develops a natural and protective exterior layer on aluminium that can be coloured, providing exceptional corrosion protection and/or increased functionality for the metal.
Anodising preserves all the natural and ecological properties of aluminium - it retains its high strength-to-weight ratio, non-magnetic properties and exceptional corrosion resistance without any impact on the total and repeated recyclability of the metal.
Anodised aluminium is used across a wide range of architectural, designer, industrial and automotive applications.
UNITED ANODISERS - Tim Hutton -Chief Executive Officer – [email protected] - Tel: +32 (0)11 88 01 88
CALYPTUS – Cyril Combe - [email protected] -Tel: +33 (0)1 53 65 37 94
***
United Anodisers' statutory auditor, BDO Atrio Réviseurs d'Entreprises Soc. Civ. SPRL, has completed the majority of its controls concerning the consolidated earnings and balance sheet at June 30th , 2009, as presented in this press release.
The statutory auditor confirms that its controls have not revealed any material corrections to be made either to the accounting information or the management comments included in the press release concerning the consolidated balance sheet and earnings at June 30th , 2009 for United Anodisers. The statutory auditor also believes that there are not any material omissions of information relative to the abovementioned consolidated balance sheet and earnings in the press release.
Definitions: EBITDA = earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation
| 6 months ended June 30th (€'000) audited data |
2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|
| Sales | 11,094 | 15,937 |
| Production costs | (8,642) | (12,185) |
| Gross profit | 2,452 | 3,752 |
| Selling and administrative expenses | (2,674) | (2,410) |
| Research and development expenses | (59) | (24) |
| Operating profit | (281) | 1,318 |
| Net interest expenses | (449) | (657) |
| Pre-tax net income | (730) | 661 |
| Deferred tax recognised | 14 | 20 |
| Corporate income tax | (11) | (272) |
| Net income after tax | (727) | 409 |
| Other comprehensive income items | ||
| Hedged cash flow | (51) | 92 |
| Exchange gains / losses | 285 | (231) |
| Total comprehensive income | (493) | 270 |
| Group share | (493) | 270 |
| Third parties | - | - |
| Earnings per share | ||
| Net earnings per share | €(0.43) | €0.25 |
| Weighted average number of shares in issue | 1,622,798 | 1,622,798 |
| EBITDA | 982 | 2,902 |
| EBITDA/sales | 8.8% | 18.2% |
| Free cash-flow (EBITDA - investments) | 819 | 2,523 |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Tangible fixed assets | 20,916 | 23,553 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 1,173 | 1,807 |
| Total assets | 32,372 | 37,716 |
| Short-term bank borrowings | 6,572 | 2,633 |
| Long-term bank borrowings | 6,977 | 13,925 |
| Shareholders' equity | 12,495 | 14,661 |
| Cash-flow and use of funds | ||
| Cash-flow from operating activities | 1,038 | 2,216 |
| Cash-flow from investment activities | (163) | (379) |
| Net cash-flow before financing | 875 | 1,837 |
| Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | (519) | - |
Building tools?
Free accounts include 100 API calls/year for testing.
Have a question? We'll get back to you promptly.