Dürr AG — Earnings Release 2005

May 12, 2005

News Details

Ad-hoc | 12 May 2005 08:30

Dürr AG:Dürr AG Q1 2005 business figures

Ad hoc announcement §15 WpHG Interim Report Q1/2005 Dürr AG:Dürr AG Q1 2005 business figures Ad hoc announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— Dürr AG Q1 2005 business figures Stuttgart, May 12, 2005 – The Dürr Group (continuing operations) increased incoming orders in Q1 2005 by 4% versus the same period last year despite ongoing restrained capital expenditure in the automobile industry. In first- quarter 2005, incoming orders rose to EUR 375.6 million (Q1 2004: EUR 361.9 million). Consolidated sales came to EUR 337.6 million and as expected fell short of the level for Q1 2004 (EUR 429.8 million). However, the figure for the previous year’s quarter was disproportionately high owing to the strong contribution a large-scale order made to sales. The decline in Group sales also reflects the automotive industry’s restrained capital expenditure over the last six months. Given the lower sales, earnings before income taxes amounted to EUR -6.8 million and were thus lower than in the first three months of 2004 (EUR 2.1 million). We expanded our industrial business, which performed gratifyingly. The key factor underlying the decrease in earnings in Q1 was not only the lower level of sales but also the rise in interest expense by EUR 3.7 million to EUR 8.9 million. The company also made progress in first-quarter 2005 as regards cost of sales, which were lowered far further than the decline in sales. Dürr’s gross margin increased from 17.1% to 19.4%. EBITDA came to EUR 7.0 million, as against EUR 12.7 million one year earlier. Amortization and depreciation of EUR 5.5 million was on a par with the previous year’s figure of EUR 5.8 million. EBIT amounted to EUR 1.6 million compared with EUR 7.0 million one year before. Net interest expense totaled EUR 8.4 million, up from EUR 4.9 million for Q1 2004. First-quarter 2005 closed with a net loss of EUR 4.2 million as against net income of EUR 0.7 million for Q1 2004. After minority interests, the loss per share was EUR 0.29, as compared with EPS of EUR 0.03 one year earlier. The company expects that compared with Q1 earnings will develop better in the further course of the year than in the first three months. The expansion of operations in the general industrial business will be of great importance in this context, as will be first cost savings achieved by creating a leaner Group structure. Dürr expects that consolidated sales for 2005 will be down on the year. Incoming orders over the next few months hold the key to the overall performance during the year. Negotiations with several clients are advanced. Given this scenario, Dürr plans with EBT for 2005 exceeding 2004’s level. Contact: Dürr AG Stephan Haas Corporate Communications & Investor Relations Tel.: +49 (0)711 136-1785 Fax: +49 (0)711 136-1034 e mail: corpcom@durr.com Dürr AG Otto-Dürr-Strasse 8 70435 Stuttgart – Zuffenhausen Deutschland ISIN: DE0005565204 (SDAX) WKN: 556520 Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard) und Stuttgart; Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg und Hannover End of ad hoc announcement (c)DGAP 12.05.2005 120830 Mai 05