Ad-hoc | 19 May 2004 07:44

ORBIS once again reports quarterly profits

Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– ORBIS once again reports quarterly profits Saarbrücken, May 19, 2004 – As of March 31, 2004, ORBIS AG reported consolidated sales to the tune of TEUR 5.633 for the first quarter of the 2004 fiscal year (previous year: TEUR 5.898). These sales were primarily generated by consultancy projects in the company’s focus sectors: industrial companies, automotive suppliers, the consumer goods industry, and the commerce sector. The consolidated profit for the period under review totaled TEUR 87 (TEUR 148). With 9.1 million subscribed shares, this result corresponds to earnings per share of EUR 0.010 (0.016). The operating result (EBIT) for the first three months of 2004, totaling TEUR 71 (TEUR 205) confirms that ORBIS is once again a profitable company. Accordingly, stockholders’ equity increased during the period under review to TEUR 16.300, while at the same time total assets fell. This corresponds to an increase of the equity ratio to 57.3 percent (48.3 percent as of March 31, 2003). The scheduled repayments of long-term loans and the investments resulted in a TEUR 1.054 reduction in cash and cash equivalents during the first three months of 2004, compared with the annual financial statements for 2003. The cash flow from operating activities amounted to minus TEUR 707 (TEUR 1.453), resulting largely from the establishment of a trade accounts receivable portfolio. As of the reporting date March 31, 2004, ORBIS already boasts an order level that is equivalent to 62.1 percent of the planned total annual sales for 2004. The measures to align the company’s cost structure with the changed market environment, that were initiated and implemented in the previous year, have resulted in significantly lower costs. As a share of all sales revenue, a personnel expense ratio of 65.3 percent was achieved for the first quarter of 2004 (68.1 percent). As of the reporting date March 31, 2004, ORBIS employed 191 staff. With other operating expenses amounting to TEUR1.422, savings to the tune of 13.1 percent over the same period 2003 were in fact realized. Therefore ORBIS generates profits on a sustainable basis. The Supervisory Board has resolved to appoint the members of the Management Board, Thomas Gard and Stefan Mailänder, once again to the Management Board for a term of office until December 31, 2009. For more information contact: http://www.orbis.de or Dr. Sabine Stürmer, Head Investor Relations of ORBIS AG Ph.: +49 (0)681 99 24 605, e-mail: sabine.stuermer@orbis.de end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 19.05.2004 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 522877; ISIN: DE0005228779; Index: Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin- Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart 190744 Mai 04