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KRONES AG — Earnings Release 2007
Oct 29, 2007
251_rns_2007-10-29_16f729a4-aee4-4414-9d03-f5c3c4af2dac.html
Earnings Release
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Ad-hoc | 29 October 2007 07:49
KRONES AG:KRONES reports an exceptionally strong third quarter
Krones AG / Quarter Results
Release of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmitted by
DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
KRONES AG, Neutraubling, Germany, the world’s market leader for beverage
filling and packaging technology, improved its figures in all significant
categories during the first nine months of 2007. KRONES has profited from
the good macro-economic situation and the cyclical peak in its chosen
sector. Moreover, the company also benefited from its ability to operate as
a complete-system vendor on its chosen markets, with concomitant gains in
terms of large orders.
At € 1,569.7 m, consolidated sales were up by 17 % on the preceding year.
Domestic earnings in the year’s first three quarters climbed by 51 % to
reach € 282.4 m. Domestic sales thus account for 18 % of consolidated
turnover (preceding year: 14 %). The figures were equally gratifying in the
year’s first nine months for South America, Russia and China.
In the months of July to September 2007, KRONES’ growth accelerated. On a
like-for-like basis, sales were up by 22.8 % at € 515.8 m. in contrast to
the preceding years, the third quarter of 2007 did not see the customary
severe seasonal dip in the figures. Besides the favourable state of the
business cycle, this is also attributable to improved internal processes
Order bookings and backlog at record levels
Order bookings improved during the year’s first nine months by 20.9 % on a
like-for-like basis, to reach € 1,762.8 m. In the year’s third quarter
alone, the company booked orders worth € 653.3 m (preceding year: € 516.5
m). In the months of July to September, major orders were booked from
Germany and abroad.
On 30 September 2007, the order backlog was 16.2 % up on the preceding
year’s figure, at € 939.9 m. Thanks to good production capacity
utilisation, the company is able to adopt a selective approach to order
acceptance, and ignore those that are commercially unappealing.
Pretax earnings after nine months 37.4 % up on the preceding year
Pretax earnings rose in the year’s first three quarters by 37.4 % to reach
€ 105.0. The pretax return on sales (EBT margin), at 6.7 % after nine
months, still hovers below our margin target for the year as a whole, which
is more than 7 %. The reason for this is that due to seasonal factors
earnings in the year’s third quarter are not as strong as in the others.
Compared to the preceding year’s equivalent period (EBT margin: 5.7 %),
however, the return has risen significantly. Besides the measures taken in
the past for optimising internal processes and cutting costs, the rise in
margin is also attributable to the better quality of earnings.
In the year’s third quarter, KRONES achieved earnings before taxes of €
29.3 m, 81 % up on the preceding year’s figure. The EBT margin was 5.7 %
(preceding year: 3.9 %).
Profits after taxes rose in the first nine months of 2007 by 36.3 % to
reach € 66.1 m. Earnings per share improved to € 2.10 (preceding year: €
1.52).
Outlook
KRONES is profiting from the favourable status of the business cycle, and
the firm’s strong position on its chosen markets. The demand for our
products from Germany and abroad is accordingly expected to remain high
over the further course of the year.
The Executive Board anticipates that in the 2007 business year sales will
exceed € 2 bn for the first time. Growth in earnings is expected to reach
more than 12 %. The corporate focus, however, will continue to lie not on
sales growth alone, but also on profitability. We have already upgraded the
firm’s efficiency, and will be continually improving the processes
involved.
KRONES is therefore aiming to significantly increase its pretax earnings in
2007 as a whole. The target for the pretax return on sales is more than 7
%. For the return on capital employed (ROCE), we are aiming for 20 %. With
the sales and earnings achieved in the first nine months of 2007, we have
come significantly closer to our targets for the 2007 business year, and
are more than confident that we will also achieve them.
The complete nine-month report is available for downloading under
http://www.krones.de/downloads/Q3_2007_e.pdf.
Your contact person:
Hermann Count of Castell-Rüdenhausen
Head of Corporate Communications at Krones AG
Tel.: +49 9401 703258
Mobile: +49 170 6305916
Email: [email protected]
Contact:
Hermann Graf zu Castell-Rüdenhausen
Leiter Corporate Communications - Investor Relations
Tel.: +49 (0) 9401 - 703258
E-Mail: [email protected]
29.10.2007 Financial News transmitted by DGAP
Language: English
Issuer: Krones AG
Böhmerwaldstraße 5
93073 Neutraubling
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)9401 703258
Fax: +49 (0)9401 703786
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.krones.com
ISIN: DE0006335003
WKN: 633500
Indices: MDAX
Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), München;
Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service