GEA Group AG

Earnings Release • Nov 5, 2004

News Details

Ad-hoc | 5 November 2004 17:00

mg technologies ag: earnings forecast more cautious

Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– mg technologies ag: earnings forecast more cautious Frankfurt am Main, November 5, 2004: mg technologies confirms the positive turnaround in its earnings in 2004. At the same time, the Executive Board is giving a more cautious earnings forecast for the year as a whole. In the third quarter of 2004, mg technologies ag generated pre-tax earnings of Euro 10.2 million (Q3 2003: pre-tax loss of Euro 8.1 million) and sales of Euro 998.7 million (Q3 2003: Euro 1,032.6 million). Its performance was characterized by a marked earnings improvement at GEA, while the situation in the Industrial Plant Engineering division remained virtually unchanged on the first half of the year. The volume of new orders received in the third quarter amounted to Euro 996.8 million compared to Euro 928.1 million in the corresponding quarter last year. In the fourth quarter of this year, mg expects to see a continuation of the turnaround in its pre-tax earnings that began in the third quarter – despite the rise in the cost of raw materials and the weak U.S. dollar. Nonetheless, mg’s Executive Board is adapting its forecast for 2004 as a whole and now expects pre-tax earnings to turn out lower than its previous target. The reason for this is that although Lurgi’s volume of new orders increased year on year, it still fell short of expectations. Furthermore, expenses arising from the change on the Executive Board need to be taken into account. As things stand, a return on sales of around four percent appears feasible for 2005. mg will be announcing details of its third-quarter financial results next Tuesday, November 9. end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 05.11.2004 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 660200; ISIN: DE0006602006; Index: MDAX Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Hamburg und München; Freiverkehr in Hannover und Stuttgart 051700 Nov 04