KRONES AG — Earnings Release 2004

Mar 21, 2005

News Details

Ad-hoc | 21 March 2005 07:43

Krones AG: Higher sales and profits for KRONES in 2004.

Ad hoc announcement §15 WpHG Periodenergebnisse Krones AG: Higher sales and profits for KRONES in 2004. Ad hoc announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— Executive Board expects further growth for the ongoing business year. The machinery and plant manufacturer KRONES from Neutraubling, Germany, ended the 2004 business year as well with improved figures. With sales up by 6.2 % at 1.52 billion euros, the single-source vendor for beverage bottling/canning lines and packaging machinery consolidated its front-runner ranking worldwide. In addition, a continuingly high level of demand for packaging solutions – traditionally from the beverage industry, but increasingly, too, from companies operating in the food, dairy product, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors – boosted KRONES’ order bookings by 7.7 %, to reach 1.55 billion euros. Profits rose by 2.3 %, though as expected the increase lagged behind the growth in sales, a result attributable to continuingly severe pressure on prices and more particularly to the higher costs for raw materials. Nonetheless, earnings were up again, at 61.8 million euros. Orders on hand as per the reporting date of 31 December 2004 totalled 649 million euros, another new high, auguring well for further growth in sales during 2005, forecast at 5 to 10 per cent. For the ongoing business year, moreover, KRONES anticipates an overproportional rise in profits. Sales and earnings will be boosted by the “Employment – Success – Future” pact, operative since the beginning of this year, in which KRONES reached an agreement with the workforce on longer and more flexible working hours. The Executive Board anticipates additional benefits from the change-over to new accounting procedures in line with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which will replace the previously used German HGB standard for the consolidated financial statements. You will also find this press release on the internet for downloading, under http://www.krones.com . Brief portrait: the KRONES Group The KRONES Group is headquartered in Neutraubling/Upper Palatinate, Germany; it plans, develops and manufactures machines and complete lines for bottling, canning and packaging processes in the beverage, food, chemical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. It operates plants in Neutraubling, Nittenau, Flensburg, Freising and Rosenheim. Besides KRONES AG (M-DAX), the group also includes the production subsidiaries Steinecker (brewing technology), Sander Hansen (pasteurisers), Syskron (process automation) and Kosme (machines for the lower output range), plus more than 40 companies abroad, which ensure comprehensive service support during a line’s entire lifetime. Krones AG Böhmerwaldstraße 5 93073 Neutraubling Deutschland ISIN: DE0006335003 (MDAX) WKN: 633500 Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard) und München; Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg und Stuttgart End of ad hoc announcement (c)DGAP 21.03.2005 210743 Mär 05