Wolford AG — Earnings Release 2005

Mar 15, 2005

News Details

Ad-hoc | 15 March 2005 08:46

Wolford AG: WOLFORD ACHIEVES PROFIT IMPROVEMENT IN FIRST THREE QUARTERS

Ad hoc announcement Wolford AG: WOLFORD ACHIEVES PROFIT IMPROVEMENT IN FIRST THREE QUARTERS Ad hoc announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— – EBIT up 17.9%, EBT up 41.0% – Further significant debt reduction – Equity ratio of 49.1% Bregenz, Austria, March 15, 2005 EBIT in the first three quarters of the fiscal year (May 1, 2004 – January 31, 2005) rose by a cumulative 17.9 percent compared to the corresponding prior- year period, to EUR 3.23 million (Q1-Q3 2003/04: EUR 2.74 million). EBITDA increased by 2.7 percent to EUR 7.97 million. EBT grew 41.0 percent to EUR 2.27 million. This profit improvement is attributable to optimized cost and financial management and an increase in operating output*). The negative financial result improved from EUR -1.14 million to EUR -0.96 million. The reduction in net debt from EUR 25.67 million to EUR 21.99 million led to an improvement in the debt-equity gearing from 38.8 percent to 33.0 percent. The equity ratio rose slightly to 49.1 percent (January 31, 2004: 47.9 percent). The announced cut in the Austrian corporate income tax rate from 34 to 25 percent led to a reduction in deferred tax credit, and thus to a tax expense. This had the direct effect that, compared to the first three quarters of 2003/04, net profit fell from EUR 1.71 million to EUR 1.09 million, or by 36.3 percent. Earnings per share were EUR 0.23 compared to the year-earlier result of EUR 0.36. Sales of the Wolford Group in the third quarter (November 2004 – January 2005) grew by 2.5 percent compared to the year-earlier period. Cumulative sales in the first three quarters of the 2004/05 fiscal year (May 2004 – January 2005) effectively matched the prior-year level (off just 0.1 percent from EUR 90.55 million to EUR 90.48 million). The chief reasons for this trend were the significant cumulative sales growth of 8.7 percent this fiscal year to date in Austria, a stabilization in revenue in Germany (the Group’s most important market), and double-digit growth in CEE (24.8 percent), Scandinavia (15.4 percent), Italy (14.1 percent), U.K. (12.3 percent, or 9.4 percent in local currency) and the Netherlands (11.4 percent). As a result of the weak American dollar, sales in the U.S. declined by 6.5 percent. However, U.S. sales were constant in local currency. Whether the positive trend continues in the final quarter of the year will depend very much on follow-up order volume and at present is still difficult to predict with sufficient accuracy. For the 2004/05 fiscal year the management aims for a profit improvement. *) Operating output represents the following: Sales plus Other operating income (loss) plus Change in inventories of finished goods and work in progress plus Other internally generated assets The full consolidated balance sheet and income statement are available on the Internet in the Investor Relations section of 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 15.03.2005 150846 Mär 05