Ad-hoc | 19 November 2003 07:30

ORBIS reports positive results in all areas

Ad-hoc-announcement processed and transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– ORBIS reports positive results in all areas Saarbrücken, November 19, 2003 – During the first nine months of the 2003 fiscal year (September 30, 2003) ORBIS AG recorded Group sales of EUR 15.9 million, primarily from consulting projects in the main fields of industry, automobiles, consumer goods and trade. Group profit for the reporting period was EUR 0.7 million. This equates to a per-share profit of EUR 0.08 for the 9.1 million subscribed shares. The operating result (EBIT) during the first nine months rose from a minus EUR 3.0 in 2002 to a plus EUR 0.3 million in 2003, again demonstrating that ORBIS is a prof-itable company. Equity capital increased correspondingly during the reporting period to EUR 16.5 million with a simultaneous decline in total assets. The equity capital ratio thereby rose to 55.4 percent (December 31, 2002: 47.7 per-cent). During the first nine months the scheduled repayment of long-term loans and investments led to a reduction of liquid assets, which declined by 0.3 million to EUR 8.6 million as of September 30, 2003. The cash flow from current operations was EUR 0.4 million. Orders received by ORBIS AG as of September 30, 2003, cover 93 percent of total projected sales for 2003. Adjustments to cost structures introduced and carried out during the previous and current fiscal years in response to the changing market environment led to a significant reduction in costs. During the first nine months of 2003 the ratio of personnel to sales revenues was 68.8 percent in comparison to 81.8 percent for the previous year. As of September 30, 2003, ORBIS had a total of 218 employees. Other operating costs fell 32.2 percent in comparison to the corresponding period of last year. The planned full utilization consultant capacities and lower costs resulting from cost management efforts during the last quarter of 2003 are expected to produce a positive operating result for the entire 2003 fiscal year. Further information is available at : http://www.orbis.de or Dr. Sabine Stürmer, Head of Investor Relations, ORBIS AG Tel: +49 (0)681 99 24 605, E-Mail: sabine.stuermer@orbis.de end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 19.11.2003 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 522877; ISIN: DE0005228779; Index: Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin- Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart 190730 Nov 03