Ad Hoc News
01.01.1970
Results of the first nine months 2008
The positive sales development in the first nine months of 2008 was due
to a favorable sales trend in the commercial vehicle industry and
foremost to the effects resulting from the acquisitions made in the
previous business year, which contributed to a positive development of
results at group level in addition to a significant increase in sales.
POLYTEC GROUP’s sales grew by 27.2% to EUR 595.2 million. EBITDA
increased in the first nine months of 2008 by 10.1% to EUR 46.6 million.
the equivalent of an EBITDA margin of 7.8%. The year-on-year decline of
the EBITDA margin from 9.1% to 7.8% was due to an unfavorable
development of operations in the Automotive Systems Division.
The unfavorable development was, as reported in the previous
quarters of 2008, not only attributable to a number of factors with a
negative impact on earnings. This downward trend was due to a general
decline in sales as a result of reduced OEM production volumes which had
already started in the third quarter of 2008, This negative trend was
further impacted by higher-than-expected start-up costs for new
projects, which in turn led to increased material costs and
extraordinary expense items (i.e. leased staff). A further contribution
resulted from the price development on the raw material and energy
markets. Against the backdrop of the current challenging market
environment, targeted potentials were not achieved. This situation is
not expected to improve by year-end.
OUTLOOK
Due to the first-time consolidation of PEGUFORM GROUP as of October
1, 2008 and its contribution to both group sales and earnings, the
outlook for the 2008 business year must be boosted. PEGUFORM GROUP will
contribute roughly EUR 300 million to POLYTEC GROUP sales in the fourth
quarter of 2008, which will result in combined sales of approximately
EUR 1.1 billion. The newly acquired business will make a positive
contribution to net income and earnings per share for the full-year of
2008.
ORGANIC DEVELOPMENT OF POLYTEC GROUP
Due to the expected slowdown in the business performance in the
fourth quarter of 2008 as the result of an unfavorable market
development for the automotive supplier industry and the output
reduction announced by the European OEMs, the EBITDA margin target of 8%
(excluding the effects from the first-time consolidation of PEGUFORM
GROUP) will not be met despite expected sales of EUR 800 million for the
full-year of 2008.
The effects from the prolonged company vacation periods and the
temporary suspension of production operations announced by the OEMs
cannot be quantified at present. The impact on results affected by the
aforementioned measures can only be counteracted in the short-term by
reducing overtime and the number of leased staff. For these reasons,
more detailed information about the earnings development cannot be
provided from today’s perspective. However, it is expected that the
original margin target of 8% will not be considerably underperformed. |
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