Grenke AG — Earnings Release 2004

Oct 4, 2004

News Details

Ad-hoc | 4 October 2004 08:15

GRENKELEASING: double-digit growth continues

Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– GRENKELEASING: double-digit growth continues Baden-Baden, October 4, 2004: GRENKELEASING AG reports EUR 257 million in new business in the first three quarters of this year. The margin of new business (contribution margin 1) came to EUR 29 million. GRENKELEASING closed the first nine months of 2004 with earnings in new business – i.e. the total acquisition costs of newly purchased leased assets – of EUR 257 million (against last year’s comparable figure of EUR 220 million). Its new business thus rose by 17 %. The margin of new business (contribution margin1), from which the financial result over the life of a contract is derived and which is thus a key profitability indicator, grew to a level of EUR 29 million in the first nine months of 2004 against last year’s comparable figure of EUR 24 million, representing an increase of 18 %. Its new business in Germany grew by 11 % – despite the continued weakness of the economy. GRENKELEASING’s foreign subsidiaries made a 26 % contribution to the group’s new business. The company will publish its detailed nine-months report for 2004 on November 11, 2004. The Executive Board Should you have any queries, please contact: GRENKELEASING AG, Neuer Markt 2, D-76532 Baden-Baden Renate Hauss Tel: + 49 7221 5007-204 Fax: + 49 7221 5007-112 Email: investor@grenkeleasing.de Internet: http://www.grenkeleasing.de end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 04.10.2004 Issuer’s information/explanatory remarks concerning this ad-hoc-announcement: “New growth in Q3 was somewhat more restrained than in the two first quarters of 2004. This was partly due to the continued moderate economic trend and was also the result of basis effects. What is more, since the share of new business has grown in France, Spain and Italy, the stronger seasonal effects seen there have also made themselves felt. We have now adjusted the growth target of our new business for the full-year 2004: depending on the further economic trend, we believe a figure of between 16 % and 20 % is achievable”, stated Wolfgang Grenke, Chairman of the Executive Board of GRENKELEASING AG. The group recorded 74,904 leasing enquiries in the first nine months of 2004, leading to the generation of 37,386 leasing contracts. The average value per concluded contract came to EUR 6,872 and is thus slightly higher than in the previous year (comparable period in 2003: EUR 6,752). Last year GRENKELEASING submitted to Standard & Poor’s ratings for the first time. The issuer rating of A-2 for short-term liabilities and BBB+ for long- term liabilities was confirmed recently, with the outlook described as stable. The company now has operations in 13 European countries. GRENKELEASING is represented in 20 cities throughout Germany. In addition to its four French branch offices, it has one subsidiary each in Switzerland, Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. Its operational business in Ireland went into operation in August. In the United Kingdom and Poland, GRENKELEASING employs a franchise system. The company expects to open further branch offices in Aix-en-Provence (France) and in Lausanne (Switzerland) in Q4 of this year. GRENKELEASING is the German and Swiss market leader in small-ticket IT leasing, i.e. for products such as PC’s, notebooks, copiers, printers, or software up to an acquisition value of EUR 25,000. GRENKELEASING AG is listed in the Prime Standard segment of the German stock exchange in Frankfurt and has a listing on the SDAX (small-cap) index. Information on the company and its products is available on the Internet under http://www.grenkeleasing.de . ——————————————————————————– WKN: 586590; ISIN: DE0005865901; Index: SDAX Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin- Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart 040815 Okt 04