Manz AG — Earnings Release 2009

Aug 11, 2009

News Details

Corporate | 11 August 2009 07:59

Manz Automation AG publishes 6-month report for 2009

Manz Automation AG / Half Year Results

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• Revenues of EUR 28.28 million in H1 2009 (previous year: EUR 101.6
  million)
• EBIT falls from EUR 12.02 million to EUR -12.56 million
• Balance sheet structure remains solid to realize corporate strategy
• Forecast depends on timing of the anticipated recovery of the solar
  industry market

Reutlingen, August 11, 2009. Manz Automation AG, one of the world's leading
technology providers for the photovoltaic and LCD industries, recorded
revenues of EUR 28.28 million in the first six months of 2009 (previous
year: EUR 101.6 million). At the same time, total operating revenue totaled
EUR 38.11 million compared to EUR 102.44 million in the first six months of
2008.

In this time period consolidated EBIT fell to EUR -12.56 million (previous
year: EUR 12.02 million). Pre-tax earnings (EBT) sank to EUR -12.11 million
after EUR 11.38 million in the same period of the previous year. At the
same time, a consolidated net loss for the first half of 2009 of EUR -9.82
million was generated compared to net income of EUR 8.82 million last year.
This corresponds to earnings per share for the first six months of 2009 of
EUR -2.08 (previous year: EUR 2.41). During the same period, the cash flow
from operating activities fell to EUR -2.89 million (previous year: EUR
-1.21 million).

The substantial downturn in results is due, in particular, to the current
situation in the solar sector. This is caused by the financial crisis,
since the fall of last year almost all of the scheduled new investments in
and extensions to production facilities have been put on ice. However,
there were positive signals from the LCD industry in the second quarter of
2009. Positive factors such as the Chinese economic program enabled demand
to pick up perceptibly in this segment. Capacity uptake in this division
will thus grow again significantly in the second half of the year.

After the first half of 2009, the company continues to enjoy a very solid
balance sheet as of June 30, 2009. Its equity ratio of 77% and its cash and
cash equivalents of around EUR 59 million put Manz Automation into an
excellent position to be able to implement its long-term strategy in a
target-oriented manner even in the current market phase. Therefore, the
group is able to continue to drive its R&D activities resolutely in future,
in order to develop the innovations required for the next generations of
machines for the solar and LCD industries.

The current difficult situation on the market for the photovoltaic industry
is due, in particular, to the financial crisis and the thus significantly
more difficult financing for production lines and solar systems. At the
same time, customers' inventories have increased significantly as a result
of the lack of demand for solar modules. As a result, Manz Automation is
being confronted with customers postponing orders during the current year,
however only very few orders have yet been cancelled. The order book on
June 30, 2009 totaled EUR 87.5 million.

As the timing of the upswing in the solar sector is difficult to forecast,
there are various scenarios for Manz for fiscal year 2009. If the current
order book is fully called up by customers this year, the previously
published target of recording balanced EBIT in fiscal year 2009 remains
realistic. However, this is subject to a strong upturn in the solar
industry in the second half of the year, and the probability of this
happening has fallen over the past few weeks. If this upswing fails to
materialize, the company can no longer expect to record balanced operating
results over the year as a whole.

In spite of this, Dieter Manz, Manz Automation AG's CEO, is still
optimistic about the future: 'We recognized the signs of the times at an
early stage, and reduced our costs by introducing short-time work and
adjusting capacity. The investments that we made last year in new
production facilities in Slovakia, Taiwan and China will help us to cut
costs significantly and to further expand our competitive position. The
focus for 2009 is on research and development. Our innovations enable us to
provide our customers with highly efficient, low-cost production processes,
allowing them to compensate for the lower module prices. This means that
Manz Automation is excellently equipped for manufacturers' next innovation
cycle, making it possible for us to benefit substantially from the coming
upswing.'

The diversification into production technology for Li-Ion batteries for
electric cars which was started at the beginning of the year is already
bearing its first fruit and will already make a positive contribution to
revenues and earnings in the second half of 2009.

The full report for the first six months of 2009 can be downloaded from
www.manz-automation.com in the Investor Relations section.

Company profile: Manz Automation AG

Reutlingen-based Manz Automation AG (ISIN: DE000A0JQ5U3) is one of the
world's leading technology providers in terms of market shares for systems
for automation, quality assurance and laser process technology for the
photovoltaic industry and for automation and wet chemicals for the LCD
industry. The Manz Group's core competences are in robotics, image
processing, laser technology, metallization and wet chemicals as well as
control and drive technology. The Manz Group's key strategic divisions are
photovoltaic (systems.solar), LCD (systems.lcd) and OEM systems
(systems.aico) for automation in various industrial sectors and the life
science industry. The Manz Group has sales and service branches in Germany,
Taiwan, the USA, China, South Korea, India and Spain. In addition, the Manz
Group has its own production facilities in Germany, Slovakia, Hungary,
Taiwan and China.

Investor relations contact

cometis AG
Ulrich Wiehle / Dominic Großmann
Tel.: +49 (0)611 - 205855-15
Fax: +49 (0)611 - 205855-66
E-Mail: grossmann@cometis.de

11.08.2009 Financial News transmitted by DGAP

Language: English
Issuer: Manz Automation AG
Steigäckerstr. 5
72768 Reutlingen
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0) 7121 9000-0
Fax: +49 (0) 7121 9000-99
E-mail: info@manz-automation.com
Internet: http://www.manz-automation.com
ISIN: DE000A0JQ5U3
WKN: A0JQ5U
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin, München, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart

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