In the first six months of 2005/06 the HIRSCH Servo Group posted substantial increases in both sales and earnings in its two business segments. The profit on ordinary activities (POA) rose more than ten fold from 0.2 MEUR to 2.3 MEUR and total sales were up 22% from 26.0 MEUR to 31.8 MEUR.
EPS Processing, the primary business segment with a 67% share of total sales, succeeded in improving the POA by 62% from 1.3 MEUR to 2.1 MEUR. Sales rose by 28% to 21.3 MEUR (2004/05: 16.7 MEUR). The main factors contributing to these developments were the high energy prices leading to increasing demand for EPS insulating materials, good capacity utilization in packaging manufacturing in Poland and the better product sales structure.
In the Machinery and Plant Engineering business segment, the POA showed an increase of 0.9 MEUR, rising from minus 0.7 MEUR to plus 0.2 MEUR. The reasons for this turnaround lie in the comprehensive cost cutting programs, especially in block machines, and in the higher sales achieved. Sales grew by 46% from 7.2 MEUR to 10.5 MEUR.
Profit and sales trends in the business segments in the first six months of 2005/06:
|
|
2004/05 |
2005/06 |
Change in % |
2004/05 |
|
Profit on ordinary activities |
0.2 |
2.3 |
>1,000% |
1.4 |
|
EPS Processing |
1.3 |
2.1 |
+62 |
2.9 |
|
Machinery and Plant Engineering |
-0.7 |
0.2 |
- |
-0.2 |
|
Other activities 1) |
-0.5 |
0.0 |
- |
-1.3 |
|
Sales |
26.0 |
31.8 |
+22 |
57.2 |
|
EPS Processing |
16.7 |
21.3 |
+28 |
34.5 |
|
Machinery and Plant Engineering |
7.2 |
10.5 |
+46 |
19.5 |
|
Other activities 1) |
2.1 |
0.0 |
- |
3.2 |
1 includes other business activities and operations sold in fiscal year 2004/05
The trends in quarterly figures from 1997/98 onwards can be seen on our website www.hirsch-gruppe.com under the main menu Investor Relations – Financial Data.
Outlook
Given the excellent performance over the first six months and the resultant higher planning reliability, HIRSCH Servo Group Management expects the POA to improve from 1.4 MEUR to 4.5 MEUR for the full year 2005/06 and earnings per share to rise by 3.99 EUR to 6.80 EUR.
These figures will result in an impressive turnaround for the HIRSCH Servo Group in the current fiscal year. Since 2000/01 when the company posted the best IAS POA in its history at 4.8 MEUR, the POA successively fell to 1.4 MEUR in 2004/05 but now appears to have bottomed out and be showing much more promise.
Management is also anticipating a favorable outlook for the 2006/07 fiscal year. When the expansion projects completed in 2005/06 begin to take effect, including starting activities in Romania and acquiring Slovakian EPS insulation manufacturer Polyform s.r.o, the POA should be at least 10% higher in 2006/07 than in 2005/06. The HIRSCH Servo Group is thus meeting its goal of sustainable value and earnings increase stated in its strategy up to 2010.
The next date on the financial calendar is May 2, 2006 when the results for the third quarter of 2005/06 will be announced.
*The HIRSCH Servo Group is the EPS specialist on the Vienna Stock Exchange with manufacturing facilities in Austria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Italy and shortly also in Romania. EPS products (EPS stands for expandable polystyrene and is better known under such brand names as Porozell® or Styropor®) support a variety of functions, including energy savings, as well as sustainable and eco-friendly growth. Their wide-ranging applications cover packaging, shape-molded parts, building insulation, modular boards for underfloor heating, construction blocks and Thermozell® lightweight concrete products.
For further information, please contact Michaela Promberger, Tel: +43 4277 2211-312, Fax: +43 4277 2211-370, E-mail: michaela.promberger@hirsch-gruppe.com, www.hirsch-gruppe.com