SW Umwelttechnik Stoiser & Wolschner AG

Earnings Release • May 29, 2002

News Details

Ad-hoc | 29 May 2002 09:11

SW Umwelttechnik english

SW-Umwelttechnik announces results for first quarter of 2002 Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– – Improvement in revenue and earnings – Cash flows from operating activities 40% up – Build-out of capacity at new Hungarian factory under way SW Umwelttechnik posted a 5% year-on-year increase in revenue to EUR 9.5 million (m) in the first quarter of 2002. Due to the small rise in inventories however, total output was unchanged at EUR 10m. Central and Eastern Europe accounted for 60% of revenue, Austria 33% and other EU member states 7%. In business segment terms, there were increases in the contributions to revenue of the Water Conservation and Infastructure sectors to 41% (2001: 38%) and 33% (2001: 31%) respectively, while that of Engineering was down to 26% (2001: 31%). Due to the usual seasonal weakness at the start of the year, results were negative in the first quarter, but earnings reflected the improvement in revenue. Losses before interest and tax narrowed to EUR 1.3m from EUR 1.6m in the like quarter of the previous year, while the loss on ordinary activities was down from EUR 1.7m to EUR 1.5m. The loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell by 43%, from EUR 0.7m to EUR 0.4m. Profitability, measured by EBITDA as a percentage of revenue, improved to -4.1% from -7.6% in the like period of 2001. Heavy investment with focus on Hungary Of the EUR 5.1m investment budget for 2002 as a whole, some 16% was spent in the fi9st quarter. Capital expenditure mainly went towards continued development of the new south Budapest site, where the second stage of the current factory construction project is expected to be commissioned in the autumn. The headcount at SW Umwelttechnik declined to 734, from 784 at the end of the first quarter of 2001. end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 29.05.2002 Issuer’s information/explanatory remarks concerning this ad-hoc-announcement: Outlook Management anticipates a continuation of the improvement seen in the first quarter of 2002, and sees earnings approaching the record levels of 2000. The Water Conservation and Infrastructure sectors are expected to register major gains in market shares in Hungary, as a result of increased sales by existing operations and rising capacity at the south Budapest factory. The Engineering sector encountered delays in contract awards due to the Hungarian elections, but the backlog should be made up in the course of the year. Because of the Hungarian situation order books were well below the previous year’s level of EUR 32m, at EUR 22.2m. However management anticipates strong order bookings in the next few months. Management planning is based on marked improvements in earnings from the company’s Austrian and German operations as a result of the innovative niche products developed by its research and development programme, and the effectiveness of recent restructuring exercises. Contacts Heinz Wolschner, member of the Management Board Tel: +43 (0)4358 0; fax: +43 (0)463 37667 Christian Riel, Finance & Investor Relations Tel.: +43 (0)664 4337105; fax: +43 (0)1 3688686; e-mail: christian.riel@sw- umwelttechnik.at Website: www.sw-umwelttechnik.at ——————————————————————————– WKN: 080820; ISIN: AT0000808209; Index: Listed: Amtlicher Handel in Wien; Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf und Stuttgart 290911 Mai 02