Wolford AG — Earnings Release 2005

Jul 21, 2005

News Details

Ad-hoc | 21 July 2005 08:29

Wolford AG: Earnings for fiscal year 2004/05

Ad hoc announcement AD HOC NEWS RELEASE Earnings for fiscal year 2004/05 Wolford AG Wolford AG: Earnings for fiscal year 2004/05 Ad hoc announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— DECLINE IN SALES AND EARNINGS IN 2004/05 – Sales down by 2.4 percent (currency-adjusted: down 1.6 percent) – Steep drop of EUR 4.7m in earnings through once-off factors – The Executive Board is optimistic for the current fiscal year Bregenz/Vienna, 21st July 2005 Earnings 2004/05 EBITDA fell by EUR 9.4m to EUR 6.2m. The EBITDA margin narrowed accordingly from 7.9 to 5.3 per cent. EBIT and EBT developed analogously: EBIT fell by EUR 3.1m to minus EUR 0.5m and EBT too veered from EUR 1.0m in fiscal 2003/04 to minus EUR 2.2m. Financial earnings remained stable at minus EUR 1.7m, which was more or less last year’s level (minus EUR 1.6m). The Wolford Group suffered an appreciable drop in earnings for the year: from EUR 0.9m in 2003/04 to now minus EUR 4.7m. The cash flow from business operations, at EUR 9.9m is lower than in the previous year (EUR 12.9m) – mainly on account of declining EBT. Earnings per share amount to minus EUR 0.99 (2003/04: EUR 0.18). Earnings squeezed by once-off expenses According to CFO Peter Simma, the negative development in earnings was due primarily to once-off expenses. Thus, for example, alone the lowering of the corporate tax rate from 34 to 25 per cent and the resulting re-assessment of deferred tax assets led to deferred tax expenses of EUR 1.4m in the income statement, and an additional deferred tax expense of EUR 0.6 million. Earnings were also reduced by the departure of a member of the Executive Board and the expenses this entailed, plus unscheduled write-downs and other provisions totalling about EUR 2.7m. “Without these burdens, EBT would have been a positive EUR 0.5m or a break-even result for the year”, explained Mr Simma. In fiscal 2004/05, the Wolford Group suffered a decline in revenue from EUR 119.2m (in fiscal 2003/04) to EUR 116.3m (down 2.4 per cent). Compared with the previous year – when sales dropped by 7.4 per cent – the company succeeded in curbing the downward development appreciably. In the current fiscal year, the Executive Board expects a much more positive development in sales and earnings, with envisaged minimum revenues of EUR 120m. The annual report in German or English can be downloaded via the Internet at http://www.wolford.com. Contacts:Holger Dahmen, Chief Executive Officer Peter Simma, Chief Financial Officer investor@wolford.com Wolford AG, Wolfordstraße 1, A-6901 Bregenz, Austria +43 (0) 5574/690 0 http://www.wolford.com Wolford AG Wolfordstraße 1 6901 Bregenz Austria ISIN: AT0000834007 WKN: 083400 Listed: Amtlicher Handel in Wien; Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, München und Stuttgart End of ad hoc announcement (c)DGAP 21.07.2005 210829 Jul 05