Ad-hoc | 12 August 2005 07:59

Koenig & Bauer AG: KBA group posts half-year operating profit

Ad hoc announcement §15 WpHG Half-year figures Koenig & Bauer AG: KBA group posts half-year operating profit Ad hoc announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— German press manufacturer Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) booked a 17.7% increase in group order intake to EUR860.9m (2004: EUR731.6m) in the first six months, despite the absence of any exceptional stimulus like last year’s Drupa trade fair. Group sales totalled EUR691m, 29.2% above the prior-year figure of EUR534.9m. The EUR1,062.9m order backlog was also higher (30.06.2004: EUR1,053.6m) and safeguards production until well into next year. A EUR4.2m operating loss (EBIT) in the first quarter was turned into a EUR1.2m profit at the end of the second. A financial loss of EUR5.7m translated into a pre-tax loss (EBT) of EUR4.5m, substantially lower than a year earlier (-EUR18.5m). The net loss including deferred taxes was EUR5m (2004: -EUR16.5m), which corresponds to a proportionate net loss per share of 31 cents (2004: -EUR1.02). With earnings expected to receive a major boost from higher sales and a more profitable product mix in the second half of the year, KBA management reaffirmed the EUR1.5bn sales target announced some months earlier. The group stands by its goal for 2005 of a higher pre-tax profit than in 2004 (EUR15.9m). KOENIG & BAUER AG Friedrich-Koenig Straße 4 97080 Würzburg Deutschland ISIN: DE0007193500 (SDAX) WKN: 719350 Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard) und München; Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg und Stuttgart End of ad hoc announcement (c)DGAP 12.08.2005 120759 Aug 05