The HIRSCH Servo Group announces a surge in sales as well as considerably higher raw material prices for the first nine months of the fiscal year in the primary business segment of EPS Processing. The Machinery and Plant Engineering segment achieved its best result ever in the third quarter. Group profit on ordinary activities (POA) was down 0.26 MEUR to 2.55 MEUR (previous year 2.81 MEUR), although sales rose 42% to 67.4 MEUR (PY 47.4 MEUR).
In the period under review, the primary business segment EPS Processing saw the facility in Cluj/Romania and the plant extensions in Wroclaw/Poland, Lodz/Poland and Glanegg/Austria going into operation on schedule. The resultant start-of-production losses and rapidly rising raw material prices (>30%), which could not be compensated for immediately by increasing sales prices, led to a reduction in POA of 1.82 MEUR (PY 2.36 MEUR). On the plus side there were high increases in sales and exchange gains of 1.1 MEUR. All in all, sales in the primary business segment grew organically by 34%. Taking the acquisitions in Slovakia into account, a rise of 62% to 50.5 MEUR can be reported (PY 31.2 MEUR).
In the Machinery and Plant Engineering business segment the POA climbed to 0.73 MEUR (PY 0.46 MEUR), thus showing an all-time high at the end of the third quarter. Sales rose to 16.9 MEUR (PY 16.2 MEUR). The positive prospects for the business segment can be seen from the highest number of orders in the company’s history at March 31, 2007.
Profit and sales trends for the business segments:
|
|
Quarters 1-3 |
Quarters 1-3 |
Change in % |
Fiscal Year |
|
POA |
2.81 |
2.55 |
-9 |
4.58 |
|
EPS Processing |
2.36 |
1.82 |
-23 |
2.89 |
|
Machinery and Plant Engineering |
0.46 |
0.73 |
+59 |
1.67 |
|
Other activities |
- |
- |
- |
0.02 |
|
Sales |
47.4 |
67.40 |
+42 |
68.7 |
|
EPS Processing |
31.2 |
50.5 |
+62 |
44.8 |
|
Machinery and Plant Engineering |
16.2 |
16.9 |
+4 |
23.8 |
|
Other activities |
- |
- |
- |
0.1 |
|
Employees (annual average) |
419 |
587 |
+40 |
438 |
Outlook
Management confirms the positive outlook for the 2006/07 business year. The strong demand for EPS heat and cold insulation due to the high energy prices, the large volume of orders on hand in Machinery and Plant Engineering, and the resultant increase in profits to some 3 MEUR in the business segment form the basis for sustainable growth in earnings. If the market environment remains unchanged, the POA should be around 24% up from 4.6 MEUR to 5.7 MEUR and the earnings per share by 25% from 7.44 EUR to 9.30 EUR for the full year. The forecast for the following years has also been confirmed.
|
|
Fiscal Year |
POA in MEUR |
Earnings per Share in euros |
|
ACTUAL |
2005/06 |
4.6 |
7.44 |
|
Forecast |
2006/07 |
5.7 |
9.30 |
|
Forecast |
2007/08 |
6.5 |
10.70 |
|
Forecast |
2008/09 |
7.5 |
12.30 |
The next date on the financial calendar is September 14, 2007 when the preliminary results for fiscal year 2006/07 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 Romania. EPS products (EPS stands for expandable polystyrene and is better known under the brand name of Porozell®) 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 ext.: 370, michaela.promberger@hirsch-gruppe.com, www.hirsch-gruppe.com