Ad-hoc | 5 April 2004 08:03

Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) 2003: Sales Down, Orders Up

Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) 2003: Sales Down, Orders Up Business performance: A 15.8% jump to EUR 1,255.8m in new orders booked by press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer (KBA) gives promise of an upturn in the print media market for the first time since 2000. Both its sheetfed offset (+14.5%) and its web and special press division (+17.2%) booked big increases in orders. At EUR 1,231.8m (2002: EUR 1,353.8m), group sales were just 9% below the prior year level. Sales of sheetfed offset presses stood at EUR 617.5m, roughly on a par with 2002 (EUR 619m). This contrasted with a 16.4% drop in web press sales to EUR614.3m (2002: EUR 734.8m). The group order backlog on the balance sheet date of 31 December totalled EUR 856.9m (2002: EUR 832.9m), a 2.9% increase on the previous year. Result: In 2003 the KBA group posted a loss for the first time since 1993. The main causes were the slump in web press sales, currency losses in North America, intense pricing pressures in the market and the heavy costs incurred in downsizing capacity at the group’s web press production plants. A EUR 1.9m operating loss and a one-off expense of EUR 45.1m from the closure of two minor assembly plants and redundancies at the main factories in Würzburg and Frankenthal resulted in negative earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of -EUR 46.1m (2002: +EUR 46.3m) and a EUR 49.6m loss from ordinary activities. After factoring in deferred taxes the KBA group posted a net loss of EUR 30m for 2003 (2002: net profit of EUR 28.1m). Earnings per share of EUR 1.75 for 2002 were transformed into a EUR 1.86 loss for 2003. Cash flows from operating activities rose to EUR 61.6m compared to EUR 11.9min 2002. The financial statements for the parent company, Koenig & Bauer AG, which are prepared in accordance with German accounting laws (HGB) and are the basis for dividend payments, showed a net loss of EUR 39.6m (2002: EUR 17.9m profit). So at the AGM on 24 June in Würzburg the management and supervisory boards will announce the cancellation of a dividend payment for the first time since the company went public in 1985. Business operations: Whereas the sheetfed offset division posted an operating profit of EUR 19.9m (2002: EUR 17.4m), the web and special press division returned a loss of EUR 66.9m (2002: EUR 29.2m profit) as a result of the high one-off restructuring expense and severe pricing pressures in the market. Downward adjustment in payroll Downsizing the web press facilities reduced the group payroll by 337 in the course of the year to 7,054 (2002: 7,391) and a further reduction is planned in 2004. Outlook for 2004: Management is confident that brisker sales of web presses and the higher volume of orders on hand in the early months of the current year will help to boost group sales in 2004, while new products slated for launching at Drupa will generate more sales in the short-term sheetfed market in the second half of the year. The group is targeting a return to profitability for 2004, but is unable to estimate the size of potential profits until the summer. end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 05.04.2004 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 719350; ISIN: DE0007193500; Index: MDAX Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), München; Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart 050803 Apr 04