PVA TePla AG — Earnings Release 2002

Nov 27, 2002

News Details

Ad-hoc | 27 November 2002 08:29

PVA TePla AG english

PVA Tepla AG: Revenue growth in Q3 / Improved earnings and gross margin Ad-hoc-announcement processed and transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– PVA Tepla AG: Revenue growth in Q3 / Improved earnings and gross margin Feldkirchen, near Munich, 27.11.02: In the first nine months of the current business year, Tepla AG (securities code 746100), a producer of plasma systems for the semiconductor industry and industrial surface treatments, generated sales totalling EUR 8.2 million, compared to EUR 16.9 million in the same quarter of 2001. Although quarterly revenues, at EUR 3.7 million, were still 23 percent below the figure for Q3/2001 (EUR 4.9 million), they were up almost 70 percent from the second quarter of 2002 (EUR 2.2 million). The third quarter was therefore the strongest in a year – principally due to increasing demand from the semiconductor industry. As a result of greater utilisation of production capacities and the mounting impact of cumulative cost-cutting measures, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were EUR -0.2 million – an improvement not only in relation to the previous quarter (EUR -1.6 million) but also in comparison with the third quarter of 2002 (EUR -0.7 million). Due to a fall in sales during the first half of the year, the operating result for the first nine months of 2002 now totals EUR -3.4 million (previous year: EUR -2.4 million). Capitalisation of deferred taxes in accordance with US GAAP caused a reduction in the net loss during the latter period to EUR -2.5 million (previous year: EUR -1.9 million), while earnings per share, calculated according to DVFA accounting rules, were EUR -0.64, compared to EUR -0.58 for the first nine months of 2001. The increase in incoming order volume from EUR 5.6 million at the end of the second quarter to EUR 9.7 million at the end of third quarter 2002 is an indication that demand is recovering. Against this background, TePla could, on a quarterly basis, potentially reach the operative breakeven zone again in the fourth quarter of 2002, after two loss-making years. The published figures relate exclusively to the business development of the former TePla AG if not particularly otherwise remarked. On 5 November this year, the merger between TePla and PVA to form PVA TePla AG was entered in the Munich Commercial Register and has therefore become legally effective. The activities of the former TePla AG will in future be disclosed as those of the plasma systems division within the PVA TePla Group. Since the merger has retroactive effect as from the beginning of the year; this will be reflected in the revenues and earnings of the company. PVA TePla, the new company created by the merger, will generate a much greater scale of expected revenues reaching approximately EUR 50 million in the 2002 financial year. Contact Peter Banholzer (IR Manager), +49 (0)89/90503-106, eMail: peter.banholzer@pvatepla.com end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 27.11.2002 Issuer’s information/explanatory remarks concerning this ad-hoc-announcement: Background Incoming orders in the third quarter, at EUR 4.1 million, were once again in excees of revenues (EUR 3.7 million), as in the second quarter. Positive indications came not only from the semiconductor market, for which market researchers – e.g. World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) – forecast a substantial recovery in 2003 with growth rates of up to 17 percent. The situation in the Industrial/Medical field also appears to be ameliorating – two major orders from the USA that were postponed indefinitely in early summer were finally placed in the third quarter of 2002. Major opportunities will be offered in future by the combined market presence of PVA TePla as one of the world’s largest suppliers of vacuum systems for producing and treating high-quality materials for industrial uses. The company will be less dependent on business cycles in particular sectors of industry, owing to the broad product range it now supplies. The divisions for vacuum and crystal growing systems, added through the merger, represent a major extension of the products and services offered by the newly created Group. This boost in sales power of the two companies will enable new markets – such as photovoltaics, in which the company has already scored first successes – to be handled with greater intensity. Synergies in all areas – from research to order processing – will also enhance the revenues and earnings of the company as a whole. ——————————————————————————– WKN: 746100; ISIN: DE0007461006; Index: Listed: Neuer Markt in Frankfurt; Freiverkehr in Berlin, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart 270829 Nov 02