Nordex SE — Earnings Release 2004

Feb 21, 2005

News Details

Ad-hoc | 21 February 2005 09:24

Nordex closing stub fiscal year with reduced operating loss

Ad hoc announcement §15 WpHG Nordex closing stub fiscal year with reduced operating loss Ad hoc announcement processed and transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— Nordex closing stub fiscal year with reduced operating loss Preliminary figures: Operating loss reduced to EUR 2.5 million / revenues down due to weak financial situation Hamburg, February 21, 2005. Ahead of its annual general meeting, Nordex AG has announced the preliminary figures for its stub fiscal year (October 1, 2004 – December 31, 2004). In spite of the heavy strain caused by the Company’s difficult financial situation, order receipts rose by 11 percent to roughly EUR 62 million (previous year: EUR 55.5 million). This positive trend is particularly due to the sale of wind farms in France which were developed as part of the Company’s own project development business. As a result, the share of foreign activities in new business widened to 70 percent (previous year: 32%). Revenues declined by 11 percent to EUR 59 million (previous year: EUR 66.7 million), the main reason for this being the Group’s tight financial situation which resulted in a substantial increase in project turnaround times. The Company’s weak capacity utilization was particularly to blame for the sustained operating losses in the stub fiscal year. However, at EUR 2.5 million, the loss before interest, tax and exceptionals was down 62 percent compared with the year-ago figure of EUR 6.7 million. This improvement is particularly due to the reduction in the cost of materials ratio from 84 to 78 percent. As well as this, other operating expenses net of other operating income was trimmed by 15 percent to EUR 4.7 million (previous year; 5.5 million), with personnel costs dropping by 4% to EUR 8.6 million (previous year: EUR 8.9 million). The exceptional expenses of EUR 2.3 million refer to the cost of preparing the planned recapitalization and written-off receivables. As a result of the high operating and extraordinary losses of the past two fiscal years, the Company’s equity capital shrank to EUR 3.6 million as at December 31, 2004. At the same time, Nordex’s liabilities to banks were valued at EUR 37.6 million on this date. The Company is implementing a comprehensive recapitalization plan to reinforce its equity and debt capital situation on a sustained basis. At their annual general meeting on February 21/22, 2005, the shareholders will be asked to approve the necessary adjustments to the Company’s capital structure. In December 2004, Nordex’s creditor banks and a group of investors reached fundamental agreement on measures to restructure the Group’s finances. In the current fiscal year, the Group is striving for order receipts of at least EUR 300 million and revenues of EUR 270 – 280 million. Depending on the revenues generated, the loss before tax, interest and exceptionals will come in at between EUR 2,0 million and zero. The return to profit-making territory is projected for 2006. For more information, please contact: Nordex AG Ralf Peters Telephone: +49 40 500 -522, Telefax: – 333 Mobil: +49 173/523 9719 Nordex AG Bornbarch 2 22848 Norderstedt Deutschland ISIN: DE0005873574 WKN: 587357 Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin- Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart End of ad hoc announcement (c)DGAP 21.02.2005 210924 Feb 05