Ad-hoc | 11 August 2006 08:00

Koenig & Bauer AG: KBA posts big jump in profits

Ad hoc announcement transmitted by DGAP – a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— In the first six months the KBA group posted a modest 5.1% lift in sales to €726.5m (2005: €691m). While the volume of new orders, at €719.3m, fell short of the prior year’s exceptionally high figure of €860.9m following softer sales of sheetfed, webfed gravure and security presses, the pace picked up again in July. An order backlog of €1,033.7m (2005: €1,062.9m) will keep production plants busy for the rest of the year. A substantial boost in earnings from web and special presses in the second quarter transformed an operating loss of €6.5m from the first quarter into an €18.8m profit (2005: €0.4m loss), even though sheetfed earnings were well below target. According to KBA president and CEO Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann, efforts to secure an innovation premium commensurate with the competitive benefits delivered over more conventional sheetfed technology are frustrated by market pressures. After deducting a financial loss of €0.1m (2005: €5.7m loss) KBA posted a pre-tax profit of €18.7m (2005: €6.1m loss), closing the quarter with a net profit of €12.5m (2005: €6.6m loss) and a proportional profit per share of 77 cents (2005: loss per share of 41 cents). Cash flows from operating activities eased to €52.9m, from €64.2m a year earlier, while the free cash flow shrank to €32.5m (2005: €56.5m). Funds at the end of June (€143.4m) were substantially higher than at the end of 2005 (€129m). Equity stood at €456.2m, or 31.8% of the balance sheet total. Notwithstanding the negative impact of hostilities in the Middle East on energy and commodity prices, currency movements and exports, KBA is targeting an increase in group sales to €1.7bn or more and a substantial improvement in profits compared to 2005. (c)DGAP 11.08.2006 ————————————————————————— Language: English Issuer: KOENIG & BAUER AG Friedrich-Koenig Straße 4 97080 Würzburg Deutschland Phone: +49 (0)931 909-4835 Fax: +49 (0)931 909-6015 E-mail: bernd.heusinger@kba-print.de WWW: www.kba-print.de ISIN: DE0007193500 WKN: 719350 Indices: SDAX Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), München; Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service —————————————————————————