HELMA Eigenheimbau AG — Earnings Release 2008

Jul 3, 2008

News Details

Corporate | 3 July 2008 12:52

HELMA Eigenheimbau AG: Marked rise in new orders in the first half of 2008 / Restructuring delivers perceptible positive effects

HELMA Eigenheimbau AG / Miscellaneous

Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory
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The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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HELMA Eigenheimbau AG: Marked rise in new orders in the first half of 2008
/ Restructuring delivers perceptible positive effects

Isernhagen, 3 July 2008 – In the first six months of the 2008 financial
year, the HELMA Group succeeded in further advancing the number of units
sold to 215 (H1 2007: 200). Net new orders received improved
correspondingly from EUR 29.7 million to EUR 35.5 million. This is
equivalent to a 19.5% increase compared with the sales figures of the prior
year period. Particularly pleasing growth was reported in the new sales
regions of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, where more houses were sold in
the first half of 2008 than in the whole of the 2007 financial year, and
which in turn reflected a significantly rising trend. As the showhouses
that were created last year in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg become
increasingly established in their regions, continued above-average growth
can be anticipated in these regions for the second half of 2008.

Incoming order flows also make it clear that the new introduction of the
solar house is increasingly developing into a success story. The solar
house not only documents the HELMA Group’s strong expertise in the
construction of energy-efficient homes. Half a year after the opening of
the two showhouses of the solar house type in Lehrte and Offenburg, the
Group is now reporting incoming orders from the whole of Germany. A total
of 19 solar houses were sold in the first half of 2008. In this case too,
there was also a significant rise in demand over the course of the
half-year.

COST REDUCTION MEASURES TAKING EFFECT / THROUGHPUT TIMES SHORTENED:

The Management Board reported in detail in the 2007 annual report about the
completion of the restructuring of the HELMA Group, and the implementation
of the cost reduction programme that was launched in October 2007. The
resultant savings are already tangible both in terms of personnel and
materials costs. The HELMA Group has also achieved significant successes in
cutting its throughput times (timespan between the signing of a purchase
agreement until the handover of the house to the owner). Firstly, and as
already explained in the annual report, various start-up problems that
occurred in newer sales regions in 2007 have now been permanently solved.
Secondly, internal processing times have been reduced through various
measures such as paperless job-router processing. The HELMA Group will
continue to drive ahead in 2009 on its path to long-term cost-optimisation,
and is convinced that further cost-efficiency improvements can be achieved
in the medium term. In combination with the expected rises in sales, this
will result in a significant improvement in profitability.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW ADMINISTRATION BUILDING RUNNING TO SCHEDULE:

HELMA will occupy its new corporate headquarters in Lehrte near Hanover in
early August 2008, following a construction period of only 11 months. This
means that, from the second half of the year, all departments will once
again operate from a shared location in the direct vicinity of the HELMA
showhouse park. Construction and ancillary costs totalling around EUR 3.0
million have been incurred for the new administration building, which was
financed with a balanced mix of equity and debt, as communicated in the
last annual report.

HELMA COMES FIRST IN A TEST SURVEY IN SAXONY:

In the first serious comparison of the 17 top selling providers of
solid-construction houses in Saxony Helma Eigenheimbau AG took first place.
The survey was conducted by the independent online magazine
www.hausbaufirmenimtest.de.

According to the test's evaluations, HELMA Eigenheimbau AG's particular
strengths include the security it offers homeowners, the range of services
related to house construction, and the support provided in seeking
appropriate land and financing. The user-friendly and content rich website,
the high quality and rapid preparation of offers, a good price-product
relationship, and planning adjusted to individual requirements at no extra
cost were additional plus points commended. The company's innovative
strengths were also highlighted positively, since HELMA is the only
provider of solar houses across Germany.

HELMA EIGENHEIMBAU AG:

HELMA Eigenheimbau AG is a customer-oriented, full-service construction
service provider. The company’s focus lies in the development, planning,
sale, and construction management of turnkey or partly finished detached
and semi-detached houses in solid construction or element solid
construction. The tailored planning and individualisation that the company
offers at no extra cost, as well as its in-depth expertise in the field of
energy-efficient construction, are perceived by the market as a
particularly unique selling point of HELMA Eigenheimbau AG. As a property
developer, the HELMA Wohnungsbau GmbH & Co. KG subsidiary complements the
service range of the HELMA Group. HELMA Eigenheimbau AG (ISIN:
DE0000A0EQ578) has been listed in the Entry Standard of the Frankfurt Stock
Exchange since 19 September 2006.

FINANCIAL CALENDAR:

4 July 2008: Regular Shareholders' General Meeting,
Mid-September 2008: Preliminary H1 2008 figures,
30 September 2008: 2008 half-year report,
Early October 2008: 2008 Q3 sales figures,
20-21 October 2008: Specialist conference of the Real Estate Share
Initiative, Frankfurt

NOTE CONCERNING THE PUBLICATION OF SALES FIGURES:

With today's Corporate News, and as announced in the last annual report,
HELMA Eigenheimbau AG is publishing the success of the sales it has
generated within the first two weeks following the end of the quarter. The
company has introduced this type of publication in order to further raise
its transparency, and will retain this policy in the future (next
publication Calendar Week 40/41).

INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT:

UBJ. GmbH, Gerrit Janssen
Haus der Wirtschaft, Kapstadtring 10
D-22297 Hamburg
Telephone: +49 (0)40 – 63 78 – 54 14
Telefax: +49 (0)40 – 63 78 – 54 23
E-mail: gerrit.janssen@ubj.de

03.07.2008 Financial News transmitted by DGAP

Language: English
Issuer: HELMA Eigenheimbau AG
Jathostrasse 10
30916 Isernhagen
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)511 90190 13
Fax: +49 (0)511 90190 11
E-mail: rieger@helma.de
Internet: www.helma.de
ISIN: DE000A0EQ578
WKN: A0EQ57
Listed: Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart; Entry
Standard in Frankfurt

End of News DGAP News-Service

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