Masterflex SE — Regulatory Filings 2008

Jul 25, 2008

News Details

Corporate | 25 July 2008 14:16

Masterflex AG focuses on core competences

Masterflex AG / Strategic Company Decision/Statement

Announcement, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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P R E S S R E L E A S E

Masterflex AG focuses on core competences to maintain sustained successful
development

Statement by CEO Dr. Andreas Bastin on the new strategic thrust of
Masterflex AG and its financing

'With our outstanding material and processing competence we have positioned
ourselves successfully and see much potential. Sustained growth and value
enhancement in the core business are the clear benchmark for our activities
in the interest of our customers, shareholders and staff'.

Gelsenkirchen, July 2008

For over 20 years the name Masterflex has stood for outstanding competence
in the market for high-tech hose systems. Over the years, this has been
supplemented by Medical Technology, Advanced Material Design, Mobile Office
Systems and Fuel Cell Technology as additional business units of Masterflex
AG. It has since emerged that the synergies achievable between the business
units and on the markets vary greatly.

Owing to the expansion of business activities, the hose business alone now
only accounts for one third of revenue. In spite of this, the core business
represents significantly more than 50 percent of consolidated earnings.

We have therefore started to carry out a focus on our business models and
to consolidate our corporate structure. Our future vision places the
spotlight on the successful and superior core competences of Masterflex AG
and determines our corporate activities.

Specifically, this means that in future Masterflex AG will concentrate
clearly on the development and manufacture of high-quality connector and
hose systems using innovative high-tech plastics.

Our investments and acquisitions will pursue this vision and contribute to
expanding Masterflex AG into a focused technology enterprise over the next
few years.

Our growth philosophy is based in particular on the following factors:

• Expansion of our product portfolio

We will increasingly offer entire systems, e.g. hoses with accompanying
connecting elements and application-oriented systems as integrated supply
solutions.

• Accelerated internationalisation

Following their successful launch, we are initially boosting our marketing
activities in North America and Eastern Europe. In the USA in particular we
have made an even more successful start this year than was expected. In
Asia and overseas we have so far only carried out sporadic activities. We
are currently reviewing strategic options for entering the market.

• Expansion of material competence

While ten years ago we were still using polyurethane (PUR) to carry out 80%
of processing, the share of other high-tech plastics has risen steadily in
recent years, so that the share of PUR is today around 50%. The
high-performance plastics deployed by us entail extremely sophisticated
processing and a large amount of experience. This technological competence
has been a distinguishing feature of Masterflex for over 20 years and hence
opens up for us further potential opportunities.

In order to put these growth factors into practice, we will make further
investments and carry out targeted acquisitions in addition to the projects
already under way.

We also foresee good prospects for fuel cell technology, which we intend to
spin off from our core business area at the end of 2008 under the name of
'climate-neutral mobility' and supplemented by our successful electric and
load-carrying bikes. We will only decide over the medium term whether to
make these activities a second main pillar of Masterflex AG or whether a
lucrative exit would be more sensible from a strategic perspective.

In the case of all other activities in the Group we will be carrying out a
thorough review of their long-term strategy and contribution to corporate
value and drawing clear conclusions from this.

We will achieve our targets in the best and most effective manner on the
basis of our Group strategy, thereby also enabling us to return to an
enhanced equity capital basis.

We are already aiming towards a stable equity ratio of around 30% in the
short-to-medium term. We will achieve this by means of our strategic focus
thanks to targeted disinvestments and the high profitability of our core
business, which will continue to generate positive cash flows in a
sustained manner. On the debt side we will continue to maintain our
successful long-term financing structure with our banks.

All in all it can be concluded that Masterflex AG is a successful
enterprise with promising and tangible future potential thanks to its
outstanding material and technological competence. We are gearing our
schedule and activities in a consistent manner to growth and value
enhancement in the core business. This lies in the interest of our
customers, shareholders and staff.

For more information please contact: Masterflex AG, Investor Relations,
Willy-Brandt-Allee 300, D-45891 Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Tel. +49 209-97077
44, Fax +49 209 97077 20, stephanie.kniep@masterflex.de

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25.07.2008 Financial News transmitted by DGAP

Language: English
Issuer: Masterflex AG
Willy-Brandt-Allee 300
45891 Gelsenkirchen
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)2099 70 77-44
Fax: +49 (0)2099 70 77-20
E-mail: stephanie.kniep@masterflex.de
Internet: www.masterflex.de
ISIN: DE0005492938
WKN: 549 293
Indices: Prime all share
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart

End of News DGAP News-Service

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