Corporate | 11 November 2004 07:31

OHB continuing on its impressive course of success in the first nine months

Corporate-news announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– OHB Technology continuing on its impressive course of success in the first nine months of 2004 – Total revenues up to over EUR 73 million – Further substantial improvement in margins – Earnings per share of EUR 0.27 fully in line with forecasts Bremen, November 11, 2004. In an impressive performance, OHB Technology AG (ISIN: DE0005936124) increased its total revenues in the third quarter of 2004 to EUR 73.3 million (previous year: EUR 63.6 million). This operative success has resulted in a further steady rise in profitability. The OHB Group generated EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) of EUR 7.7 million (previous year: EUR 5.1 million) in the period under review. This disproportionately strong increase of more than 51% over the same period one year earlier is also impressively reflected in the EBITDA margin of 10.5%, up from the year-ago figure of 8.0%. Similarly, EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) of EUR 5.5 million (up 52% from EUR 3.6 million in the previous year) benefited from this improved margin, with the group EBIT margin in the first nine months of the year widening from 5.7% in the year-ago period to a current 7.5%. In spite of the tax rate of just under 36%, which has reached a normal level this year, compared with only around 17% last year, consolidated net income in the first nine months of 2004 surged by some 22% to EUR 3.9 million, up from EUR 3.2 million in the previous year. This is equivalent to earnings per share of EUR 0.27, up from EUR 0.22 in the same period one year earlier. With a disproportionately strong increase of 20% in unconsolidated total revenues from EUR 55.1 million in the previous year to EUR 66.2 million in the first nine months of 2004, the Space Technology + Security business unit once again proved to be the main force driving the Group”s business performance. The direct result of this was a steady rise in EBITDA (EUR 7.1 million, up from EUR 5.6 million) and EBIT (EUR 5.6 million, up from EUR 4.7 million) over the previous year. This is all the more remarkable considering that unconsolidated total revenues in the first half of 2004 were well down by 20% on the year-ago figure. Up a good 1% to EUR 9.4 million (previous year: EUR 9.3 million), unconsolidated total revenues in the Telematics and Satellite Services business units remained steady, although profitability improved substantially, with EBITDA rising from EUR 0.064 million in the year-ago period to a current EUR 1.2 million. Last year”s loss of EUR 0.8 million at the EBIT level swung round to profit of EUR 0.5 million at the EBIT level, reflecting the excellent increases in the EBITDA margin to 12.9% and in the EBIT margin to 5.6%. As before, these figures include the Satellite Services business unit (EBITDA and EBIT of EUR 0.055 million). Cash and cash equivalents were also spurred by this strong operating performance and came to EUR 67.5 million at the end of the third quarter, thus exceeding the year-ago figure of EUR 36.2 million by more than EUR 31 million. The improved earnings situation and optimized working capital constitute the main reasons for the increase in cash inflow from operating activities. “OHB Technology Group”s ongoing ability to deliver on its forecasts is due to its unabated growth. As a result, we are expecting substantial organic growth in total revenues to around EUR 120 million for 2004 as a whole,” said Marco R. Fuchs, CEO of OHB Technology AG, commenting on the Group”s bright outlook for the rest of 2004. Key figures (EUR 000) Q1-Q3/2003 Q1-Q3/2004 +/- 2004/03 Total revenues 63,272 73,245 + 16 % EBITDA 5,085 7,689 + 51 % EBIT 3,596 5,459 + 52 % EBT 4,003 6,476 + 62 % Net income for the period 3,232 3,927 + 22 % EPS in EUR 0.22 0.27 + 23 % Order books 227,800 145,200 -36 % Cash and cash equivalents 36,152 67,528 + 87 % Headcount (9/30) 283 282 +/- 0 The full interim report is available on the Internet at http://www.ohb-technology.de For further information, please contact: Michael Vér Investor Relations Tel.: +49 421 2020-8 Fax: +49 421 2020-613 OHB Technology AG Karl-Ferdinand-Braun-Str. 8 28359 Bremen/Germany E-Mail: ir@ohb-technology.de Internet: http://www.ohb-technology.de end of message, (c)DGAP 11.11.2004 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 593612; ISIN: DE0005936124; Index: Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin- Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover und Stuttgart 110731 Nov 04